Cody Johnson’s “Till You Can’t” Is Becoming The Song of 2022
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Ever since Billboard tweaked their formula for how songs are slotted on the Hot Country Songs chart in 2012, it has given rise to heavyweight tracks that sit atop the chart for weeks and weeks on end. Where the #1 song on country radio regularly changes nearly every week or two, the more consumption-based Hot Country Songs chart looks more like a monopoly of a few select mega-songs.
For example, in 2021, there were 34 songs that reached #1 on country radio, but only 13 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. This included “Fancy Like” by Walker Hayes, which sat at #1 for 20 weeks, and then wrapped over into 2022 for an additional four. 2021 started with Gabby Barrett’s “I Hope” being on the charts for six straight weeks, wrapping over from 2020 where it was #1 for an additional sixteen weeks.
Dan + Shay’s terrible “10,000 Hours” with Justin Bieber, the mediocre “The Bones” by Maren Morris, Blanco Brown’s “The Git Up,” and of course “Meant To Be” by Florida Georgia Line and Bebe Rexha—which broke the all-time record (and still holds it) with an insane 50 weeks at #1—are other examples of this chart-dominating phenomenon. “Meant To Be” broke the record held by another terrible song, Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Backroad.” So you see the kind of competition we’re talking about here.
All the more reason that the current song to get stuck at #1 is something to be celebrating. It’s none other than Cody Johnson’s “Till You Can’t.”
First going #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in late February, here it is early April, and it’s spending its sixth official week at #1. Unlike some other radio tracks that are artificially foisted into the #1 position by playlist manipulations, “Till You Can’t” got to #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart first and primarily off of public appeal. Then it spent two weeks at #1 on radio too at the end of March before ceding the position on radio to Sam Hunt’s “23” this week.
But it could be many weeks before “Till You Can’t” gives up the ghost on the Hot Country Songs chart. It’s still #2 on country radio this week. It’s also the #2 streaming song, and the #3 downloaded song in country music. It also currently sits at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100. That’s right, “Till You Can’t” by Cody Johnson isn’t just dominating country, it’s one of the Top 20 songs in all of popular music.
As country chart expert Chris Owen said in late March, “Country fans on every platform want to hear it … Incredible run. This will likely be the biggest hit of 2022 in the country format.”
Of course, some purists and Americana snobs will still grumble that the theatrical and overstated song is just another version of pop country, even if Cody Johnson came up through grassroots support in Texas and on the rodeo circuit. Sure, this isn’t Tyler Childers or Cody Jinks. But ever since Billboard changed its chart rules in 2012 right before the onslaught of Bro-Country, it’s been quite literally the worst songs and artists in country music history achieving the success Cody Johnson and “Till You Can’t” are currently experiencing.
And again, this is virtually all organic. Cody Johnson’s last two singles both petered out at #43 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs. The best he’d ever achieved on any chart outside of Texas before “Till You Can’t” was #11. There was a good chance Cody Johnson’s mainstream career was over. This is all being achieved off the strength and true appeal of the song itself.
And just as we saw mega hits like Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise,” Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Backroad,” and “Fancy Like” by Walker Hayes launch their careers into the stratosphere, we might see the same from Cody Johnson. And the implications for mainstream country and the effort to save country music could be very, very significant.
The wild, unpredictable success of “Till You Can’t” is the latest sign that the shift in country music back to country music is real, and expanding.
April 6, 2022 @ 8:26 am
Cody Johnson’s career trajectory is awesome, and his management is smart.
Chalk this one up as a win for the good guys!
April 6, 2022 @ 8:27 am
As Trigger wrote in Cody Johnson’s last album review, his pragmatic music is what country radio should sound like.
This is not even close to my favorite song off of this album, but it’s a good one. My 4-year-old and 2-year-old belt it out every time they hear it.
April 6, 2022 @ 8:48 am
Appreciate, this is his first single from the album. There could be three or more coming from it after the success of this one.
April 6, 2022 @ 7:22 pm
Im wondering what other songs might be a decent radio single, maybe lets build a fire or treasure, but im still not optimistic. i also never woulda guessed this would be a #1, so i hope i get proven wrong again
April 6, 2022 @ 7:39 pm
Honky Tonk Hardwood Floors opened my version of Human………..it’s a hit. Period………… oh of course not…… “it’s too Country”……..lol
April 8, 2022 @ 7:38 am
exactly my point, just like dear rodeo was “too rodeo for radio”
April 2, 2023 @ 3:13 am
Cody Johnston i hope is coming to conquer Ireland. Follow in the footsteps of G Brooks, L Combs. All the top acts started their world tours in Ireland for the simple reason it set them up for the rest of the tour. Cody Johnson is the absolute real deal in country music. Giddie UPP Lad. 🎶☘️
April 6, 2022 @ 8:32 am
If this doesn’t get at the bare minimum a single of the year nomination I’ll be shocked
April 6, 2022 @ 9:11 am
My 3 year old granddaughter LOVES COJO- LOL
April 6, 2022 @ 9:13 am
Formulaic pop country.
Live Like You Were Dying, etc.
April 6, 2022 @ 9:23 am
Live Like You Were Dying is one of the best big country hits of the 2000s. There’s a reason it’s become a staple of the era and probably one of Tim McGraw’s most remembered songs.
Not particularly sure how you could call that song or Till You Can’t “formulaic”, they’re both great songs. Both are performed well, both sound fantastic, and both have emotionally resonant lyrics.
April 6, 2022 @ 9:52 am
Yeah I agree, but if people wanna like it that is up to them. Just doesn’t do anything for me.
April 6, 2022 @ 12:25 pm
Yes Di! I’m not sure if this is what your referring to but I call it the Brad Paisley formula.
Build up, build up, build up, then drop a word or phrase like the punch line of a joke.
ie.. Alcohol, start a band, water, I’m still a guy, tick….
I don’t have as much experience as others on this site, maybe there’s a lot of songs like this out there but I always seems to notice Brad doing it.
These are just a few I can think off off the top off my head but you get the picture.
April 6, 2022 @ 12:56 pm
@Tom T.
To tell the truth, i’m still thinking about that whole fishing video cluster.
All of the guys in the video look like really nice guys. And the theme of the video is
sweet. Especially with the Grandpa, & a bunch of friends/relatives restoring a car.
But, that’s not how people fish.
You don’t stand that close to each other, looking like you are getting ready to throw down in a kindergarden game of musical chairs.
Fish are a lot smarter than that.
Surprised there weren’t a lot of surface bubbles, from laughing fish.
And, who wears waders with a rod & reel?
And, who wears waders, in 2 feet of water.
They think a bass gonna be in 2 feet of water, & be so big that he is gonna drag their butt in up to their crotch?
Do we, the readers of SCM, need to stage a fishing intervention?
One of my favorite ways to fish, is shooting mangrove snapper, or hogfish with a speargun. Tasty!
No way would i get in the water with a speargun, with any of the guys in this video.
(but in all fairness, i can’t stand to bait a hook with a squirming night crawler) i hold it down, gently, with the bait lid, while threading it on my hook. But most of the time someone else does it for me.
With a speargun, all you have to do is load the spear.
April 6, 2022 @ 1:13 pm
If your main criticism of the #1 song in country music at the moment is you can’t made heads or tails of the people fishing in the video, you’ve lost the plot.
The point of the people fishing in the video is to say, “Go fishing with your buddies/family members while you still can. Because they may not be around forever.”
April 6, 2022 @ 1:44 pm
: D i understand the plot. Was being silly.
And, of course, love the restoring of the car, with family & friends.
Come on Trig, be serious.
But the song is not my cup of tea.
Too formulaic.
That it is #1 on the country charts, should surprise no one.
You like it, a lot of people like it. Great!
April 6, 2022 @ 7:17 pm
Come on, its the most traditional #1 since heartache medication, we gotta appreciate that radio might be improving.
April 6, 2022 @ 8:04 pm
@Lefty,
Agree with you.
April 6, 2022 @ 9:24 am
Some slick from New York City must have staged that fishing scene. Doesn’t look much like largemouth water to me. No person over the age of 6 should use a spincast reel. And he couldn’t even hold it correctly. Dude has never been fishing in his life.
April 6, 2022 @ 9:28 am
Ranking the mentioned dominant songs
1. Till You Can’t
2. 10000 Hours
3. I Hope
4. The Bones
5. Meant To Be
6. Cruise
7. The Git Up
8. Fancy Like
9. Body Like A Back Road
Till You Can’t is the only legit great song, the rest range from awful to merely pleasant to me
April 6, 2022 @ 10:30 am
Mostly agree with that ranking except to me 10,000 Hours is one of the most annoying songs in the history of music (I like a lot of pop but can’t stand Bieber. Or Dan & Shay for that matter). And I liked I Hope and The Bones quite a bit.
I’m ok with “Till You Can’t” but to me the 2 best current radio songs are duets: Never Wanted to Be That Girl, Carly Pierce and Ashley McBride, and Never Say Never, Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson (whom I get to see in a couple of months with Jon Pardi, yay!)
April 6, 2022 @ 10:51 am
I’ll admit I’m probably much kinder to Dan + Shay than most. I also have an extremely high tolerance for sappy love songs like 10,000 Hours. I find it sweet, catchy, well sung, and just generally pleasant without being anything exceptional.
I Hope is pretty good, but I think it was overproduced to hell, mostly on the chorus. The Bones I also find to be pretty good, but a bit boring.
I also agree those two songs you mentioned are two of the best on radio right now. 23 is probably Sam Hunt’s best hit, even if that doesn’t say much. Sand In My Boots was very good a few weeks ago. I think the number 1 radio hits have been getting better recently.
April 6, 2022 @ 9:36 am
Question for you Trig – would you say that Body like a Backroad was what elevated Sam Hunt’s career into the stratosphere?
To me, Montevallo was literally everywhere after it’s release and from what I remember a bunch of different songs did well on charts. I’d argue Montevallo singlehandedly made him into a mainstay, and had some somewhat interesting music to boot. Body Like a Backroad was a record breaking hit for sure (though it also sucked – that’s radio for you), but Sam Hunt proceeded to release basically nothing for the next several years and his career has never reached the same heights as his debut album. Body Like A Backroad was the start of a precipitous career decline for him, not some further launch to greater musical success.
I understand that he’s trying to make a push back into relevance with 23, but my music tastes have moved on and also 23 is a dumb song.
April 6, 2022 @ 9:44 am
Yeah, you could pick a song from Montavello and say the same thing about it. “Body Like a Backroad” though was his song that broke all the standing records at that time. It displaced “Cruise” as the longest-running #1, which was then dethroned by “Meant To Be,” so if there was one song from Sam Hunt you’d want to cite, it would probably be that one.
April 6, 2022 @ 10:58 am
23 is probably both the “best” and “most country sounding” of Sam Hunt’s hits, even if that’s both not saying much and the song sounds A LOT like 7 Summers by Morgan Wallen (both in terms of production and lyrical subject matter).
I guess that latter point shouldn’t be surprising considering Shane McAnally worked on both 7 Summers and 23
April 6, 2022 @ 9:39 am
100% agree with Trigger on this one.
Di, I somewhat disagree with your post but you are still a sweetheart.
April 6, 2022 @ 10:14 am
@Wayne, and RD,
Wayne, laughing because when first read your post, thought you were calling DJ a sweetheart. And i was going to agree, i think he’s a sweetheart, too. But, thank you.
And RD, i couldn’t believe that video, either.
Thought what the heck are those guys doing with with a rod and reel, wearing waders, looking like they are going fly fishing. Guide friends at Orvis, in the Adirondacks, will be rolling their eyes if they see this. And you are correct. Not largemouth bass water. Since we’re pretending in this video, let’s pretend they are after brook trout.
Oy
April 6, 2022 @ 10:54 am
Di,
Ha ha. Glad you clarified. I woudn’t want others to think I had gone rouge.
April 6, 2022 @ 9:53 am
Glad to see a good quality country song is doing well on the charts.
April 6, 2022 @ 11:26 am
OK a few thoughts.
1. This is an extremely powerful song. i understand why people like it. I like it myself.
2. But at the same time, if we’re trying to imagine Cody Johnson as the 2020’s version of Randy Travis in the 80s; well, I don’t think i’m going out on a limb here by saying, He ain’t no Randy Travis.
3. If this is where mainstream country ends up, i’ll be SATISFIED. By satisfied, I do not mean happy. The song has too many pop theatrics in the chorus for my taste; but if you ignore the chorus, the rest of the song is absolutely pure country music. So yeah, I won’t be happy, but I would be satisfied in comparison with where we were.
April 6, 2022 @ 1:45 pm
Not seeing why so negative, this song is great. Its an acoustic guitar based, lyric driven, honest song about life and how special it is.
I happen to love the song.
Sure its a common theme, but at least its not a love song.
I didn’t watch the video, but I reckon I fish like they do in the video. A bunch of us grab assorted fishing gear and stand around having a talk and a beer. No one catches fish, but we all have a good time.
Yay for Cody, long may he reign
April 6, 2022 @ 2:26 pm
Sad, this discussion thread is getting just like every day life. People always got to bash something or call it a name. If you don’t like the song fine but don’t go acting like something you listen to is more country than this. I don’t believe anyone is saying Cody johnson is randy travis either. He’s Cody Johnson.
April 6, 2022 @ 2:32 pm
Because a lot of commenters on this site instinctively hate anything popular.
April 6, 2022 @ 2:55 pm
I got makes me a snob because I have now listened to this song twice and would give it a 5/10, so be it. That said I have heard far worse on the radio back when I worked at a terrible shop in PA with people who liked Jason Aldean. Honestly the verses are trite (which is not entirely a problem, some classic songs have pretty dumb lyrics), what gets me is the chorus definitely has a mega-church worship-music vibe that I find grating, I have heard “Live like you are dying” used as a sermon illustration and I could see it with this one as well. That is not a compliment. I’ve heard worse and better, best of luck to Cody.
April 6, 2022 @ 3:38 pm
Cody’s pretty much been doing it the right way and deserves respect for self-releasing a bunch of pretty decent albums while still in his twenties. Yeah those choruses in his last two hits approach bombast-land but he’s got some pretty good pipes and folks these days really dig that kind of singing.
April 6, 2022 @ 4:05 pm
Speaking of actual country music being played at radio — Jon Pardi’s “Last Night Lonely” is currently #28 after only 4 weeks. It seems to be doing well and fast climb
April 6, 2022 @ 7:14 pm
pardi sure has been consistently putting out hits, even if they climb slow. It just sucks that he seems like an anomaly as far as traditionalists on the radio, but hopefully this isnt CoJo’s last mainstream hit. i just wish some other major label guys like Larry Fleet and Randall King could get some more attention. Justin Moore has been putting some decent stuff out lately and still getting played too.
April 6, 2022 @ 7:34 pm
The song was written by Ben Stennis and Matt Rogers
April 6, 2022 @ 9:12 pm
I’ve been able to see COJO at least three times over the years. The first time was in 2010 at Houston’s Ziegenbock Festival. All three shows were fun, and energetic. He’s worked for where he currently is, and I don’t see him taking it easy any time soon.
April 6, 2022 @ 11:34 pm
He’s making music people want to hear, plain and simple – and has cred to feed it. Too bad for the so called “critics” and whiny Americana snobs. Certainly not “bro” or pop…. I’ll take, in this case, “theatric and overstated”(unfair statement BTW) over an “overwrought”Americana art house therapy session any day. Not everything is the Carter family, nor does it have to be.
April 9, 2022 @ 11:00 am
I would say it IS pop-country, it just doesn’t sound like today’s pop-country. It sounds like it would have been right at home on country radio in the mid-2000s.
April 9, 2022 @ 11:28 am
Agree to disagree. The song is not typical of today’s assembly line/reality show/auto tune/hip hop/wannabe influenced “product” of today. Country had one of its best times from 1989 up to the mid 2000’s(pre TS sellout/FGL/SH et al), so it’s not a bad place to be. Tacky pop and Americana snobbery are a turn off for some. This sing is a welcome happy medium.
April 7, 2022 @ 7:42 am
What about acknowledging the son writers?
Benjamin Stennis / Matthew Roger
May 6, 2022 @ 11:20 am
Thank you. Matthew J. Rogers been writing for 20 years and has had three # 1s in the U.S. (We Went, Freedom was a Highway, and ‘Til you can’t) and one Platinum song (The Long Way) and four #1s in Canadian Country. Ben Stennis was also a part of another one of these. Finishing up his master’s degree at Syracuse, he left Northeastern Pennsylvania and set up in Tennessee. In those 16 years, no one has ever mentioned his name on TV until Cody did it on the CMT awards.
Matt’s dad(of course)
April 7, 2022 @ 11:42 am
This success for Cody Johnson is awesome. I just wish country music could return to the days where the songwriter was the hidden “star.” Most of these new country songs are boring to me.
April 8, 2022 @ 2:15 am
I for one am saying NO to Autotune.
April 12, 2022 @ 9:04 am
Man, I really wish music in general would get away from that stale chord change (1, 6, 4 and/or 1,6,4,5). Throwing a capo on the first fret doesn’t change the progression.