He’s a man of many talents.
On Tuesday Cody Johnson posted a reel to Instagram in conjunction with CMT, in which he attempted to answer rapid fire interview questions while untangling a large strand of Christmas lights.
Cody did an impressive job, especially considering straightening out Christmas lights might be the single most infuriating thing anyone has ever done. He even managed to glance up and make occasional eye contact, which I know I wouldn’t have been able to do.
He started out by giving us his favorite and least favorite Christmas songs, those being “White Christmas” and “Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer” respectively. He also shared that he prefers a real tree to a fake one.
The “Leather” singer was then asked his favorite childhood Christmas memory, to which he shared a touching story about his father.
One time I wanted a bicycle, and it was a really expensive bicycle, and I asked for it. And I never could figure out as a kid why my dad was taking all these extra jobs. He took extra overtime jobs to go get me that bike, and I’ll never forget when I got it.
He then brought in a bit of humor, naming himself the country artist most likely to be both on Santa’s naughty and nice lists. He interestingly cited red wine as the thing that his Christmas can’t go without, which was a unique choice.
When asked if his family had any Christmas traditions, he had this to say:
Most of our traditions are revolving around the piano or the guitar. My personal Christmas tradition is to watch “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” the day after Thanksgiving.
At the same moment he was telling this story, Cody hit a particularly rough patch in the light strand, which he clearly found fitting to his previously answer, saying:
I feel like Clark Griswald right now.
Cody confirmed that the Johnson clan participates in the matching pajamas tradition. His entire family will be joining him in his upcoming Christmas special, and he had this to say about why performing with his family was special to him:
“Because it makes my parents terribly nervous to be on television. I’ve always wanted to have them. That’s the foundation of where my music comes from. Sitting around that piano with my dad, my mom.
And for my girls, I want to give them an opportunity to go be in front of people and sing. It doesn’t matter if that’s not what they want to do for the rest of their life. It’s good for people to step out of their comfort zone at an early age and know that it’s not so scary to be on stage. “
He wrapped the interview (and the light strand) up with a neat bow, citing himself as the person most excited for his upcoming performance.
Honestly, me. After two days of rehearsing and listening to the amount of talent that we have here tonight. From all the singers, all performers, the musicians, this is the best band I’ve ever been in a room with, so I’m pretty stoked.
Cody Johnson has posted several videos this week leading up to his “CMT CoJo Christmas” special, which is set to air Wednesday, including a clip with that featured a heartfelt story of one of his first Christmases with his wife Brandi.
Check out a few personal favorites from Cody’s 2021 Christmas Album:
If We Make It Through December
Silent Night (featuring his wife and daughters)
White Christmas