Duet salutes to former dreams in powerful video
Rising country music superstar Cody Johnson and icon Reba McEntire are both featured in the cinematic and powerful music video for their duet of “Dear Rodeo.” Directed by Shaun Silva, the video was shot in the Tennessee Miller Coliseum in Murfreesboro, TN and features actual footage of Johnson’s bull-riding career. The duo hopped on YouTube moments before launch to count down to the world premiere going live.
McEntire, a former barrel racing competitor, related personally to the message of the song which prompted her to join Johnson for the duet. “It’s kind of like rodeo released me,” McEntire says in the video. “It said, ‘Come on. You go do what you’re supposed to be doing over here.’
“The minute that I went to my first high school rodeo here in this arena, I fell in love with the whole show, the whole thing,” Johnson shares in the video Looking back now, I think the bull was just a representation of something I was looking for. I didn’t know then that that was going to lead me to the things I have done now.”
Co-written by Johnson and Dan Couch, “Dear Rodeo” serves as Johnson’s love letter to his former bull-riding career. The reflective single was Top 3 most-added at country radio upon impact and has earned more than 45 million global streams to date. In 2018 and 2019, Johnson performed the emotionally-charged song at the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world, RODEOHOUSTON, which he sold out both years.
In addition, Johnson recently tipped his hat to McEntire with his stunning version of McEntire’s GRAMMY-winning No. 1 “Whoever’s in New England,” now available on all streaming services. Sounds Like Nashville described it as “a beautiful yet plaintive cover,” stating: “Johnson’s vocal prowess and aching delivery is most palpable in the final chorus as he hits the key change in true perfection.”
Called “a beautiful piece of work” by MusicRow, “Dear Rodeo” is featured on Johnson’s major-label debut album Ain’t Nothin’ To It, which arrived at No. 1 on both the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and their all-genre Digital Albums chart. The record also features gold-certified single “Nothin’ On You” and platinum-certified debut single “On My Way To You,” the latter of which boasts more than 280 million streams worldwide and gave Johnson his first Top 10 at country radio. Written by Brett James and Tony Lane, the song was named as one of ASCAP’s “Most Performed Songs of 2019.”
Approaching two billion career streams globally, Johnson continues to establish himself as an upcoming country star. With ACM and CMA new artist nominations to his name, he sold out 45+ headlining shows in 2019 alone and joined Miranda Lambert’s Wildcard Tour at the top of 2020. He has received critical praise from outlets such as The New York Times, Associated Press, Billboard, Rolling Stone, and more, with MusicRow claiming “this Texan just might be the future of real country music.”
