Always keeping it real. Tonight at the 2025 CMA Awards, Cody Johnson is up for four different awards in his first-ever Entertainer of The Year nomination, as well as nods for Male Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year and Music Video of the Year with Carrie Underwood for their song “I’m Gonna Love You (with Carrie Underwood),” so he’s likely to take home at least one or two of those, as well. But Cody knows there’s some stiff competition for the coveted Entertainer of the Year trophy, as he’s up against Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen and Lainey Wilson for the award, probably the four biggest names in mainstream country music right now. He says you cold “throw a dart at the board” for who wins, because everyone is so deserving, and he likened this years group to the heyday of country music in the 90s: “I think that everybody in that category deserves it. I mean, I quoted this earlier, close your eyes, throw a dart at the board, whoever hits, I mean, it could’ve gone that way. It’s just like Male Vocalist. It’s like, man, if you win Male Vocalist, that means that you won something over Chris Stapleton, who is one of the greatest vocalists of all time, male or female. And I think that being in the category this year, Entertainer of the Year is probably tighter than it’s been since the maybe mid-to-late ’90s. When it was in like the country hey day, really big. And I know all these people personally, they’re all my friends, so, yes I want to win, but it’s hard not to be happy for any one of them if they do, because I admire their work so much.” I love what he had to say about the Male Vocalist category in particular, because he’s right… if you’re able to take that one home over the illustrious Chris Stapleton, who has won it eight times, you can consider that a massive win. And while winning big awards like that can be fun, CoJo knows that, at the end of the day, it’s not really going to change anything for him… he’s still going to be playing shows for country music fans all over the country and making the music he loves, regardless of any trophy: “Honestly, I’m one of those guys, like, no matter what I want, no matter what life throws, you just gotta keep going and keep performing. It’s not gonna change anything, if I win or if I don’t, for me. It might for my management, it might for my label or whatever else, and all the logistics to go into booking shows, because now you’re booking the Entertainer of the Year, but for me, I’m not changing anything.” I think that’s a super healthy perspective to have, and I would love to see CoJo end up taking home EOTY for the first time, though he is right in that it’s a very touch category and it’s really anybody’s trophy. Cody unfortunately won’t be performing as he’s recovering from surgery for a ruptured eardrum that occurred in October, but you’re sure to see him in the crowd on hopefully onstage accepting an award as the 59th Annual CMA Awards will air live tonight from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena at 8PM ET on ABC, hosted by Lainey Wilson. The full interview is available below. Cody also scored the highest charting song of his career this week, as his cover of “Travelin’ Soldier” debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart this week, which encompasses all musical genres. “Travelin’ Soldier” The post Cody Johnson Says Winning The Coveted CMA Entertainer Of The Year Award Wouldn’t “Change Anything” For Him first appeared on Whiskey Riff.