The eight-year journey of Cody Johnson and Carrie Underwood’s duet

It’s a classic love song, stable and true, delivered so clearly by its star singers that its unconventionality goes almost unnoticed.

Cody Johnson and Carrie Underwood debuted at No. 13 on the Hot Country Songs chart on October 12 with “I’m Gonna Love You,” blessed with forever and ever lyrics by Randy Travis that is based on a musical foundation that combines several classic ones styles.

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“It’s big, like a pop song,” Johnson says. “It kind of feels like a blues song, but we sing it like a gospel song.”

They also make it sound normal. But that’s not it. First of all, the time signature shifts a little. The verses alternate in 3/4 and 4/4 time until the “I’m gonna love you” hook begins with successive waltz bars at the end. Then they go into a 4/4 chorus – if the song actually has a chorus. There’s an uplifting four-line verse that fills the space where a chorus would normally sit. But this section doesn’t contain the hook and never makes it to the root chord. Instead, it segues into the next verse, which ends up feeling like an extension of the chorus.

“I think of it as a bridge that you repeat, even if it feels like the chorus,” says songwriter Chris Stevens (“Everything’s Gonna Be Alright”). “You can label it whatever you want.”

It took a long time for “I’m Gonna Love You” to go from creation to public, as its initial sources of inspiration came from the 2016 Dixie Chicks tour. (The band has since renamed itself The Chicks.)

songwriter Kelly Archer (“Sleep Without You,” “Wild As Her”) saw her in Chicago on June 5, and Travis Denning saw her twice in August, in Atlanta and Nashville. The morning after the Bridgestone Arena show, Denning and Archer met in Stevens’ writing room at Starstruck. When The Chicks became a topic, they discussed their preference for simple, to-the-point choruses paired with deeper verses. They decided to write with this approach and Archer suggested “I’m Gonna Love You” as a simple title.

However, the process was time-consuming. “We wanted to make sure it wasn’t just for your significant other,” says Archer, “but also for your children, for anyone you love, for your parents, for whoever.”

They worked on it until at least 5:30 p.m., building it up little by little with firm concentration. The opening verse addressed the reliability of the universe with its stars, sun and moon. Verse two brought the story into the Earth’s atmosphere, with birds, snow and April rain. In the finale, they focused even more on the song’s couple, noting that even as things turn gray and weathered, the couple’s bond will remain strong.

“Everything kind of came together like puzzle pieces,” Archer says. “One line led to the next line, which led to the next line, which led to the next line, and then we added a big ol’ solo in the middle.”

Stevens developed the pulsating keyboard part and changed the harmonic tuning of the third note of each 3/4 and 4/4 couplet to create a gospel undertone. And Archer offered a key line in the bridge-like chorus, “Steady and true like a Bible verse,” that reinforced that feeling.

“It added another depth to the message of the song, and not necessarily religious,” Denning says. “For example, when I think of a Bible verse, I think of tradition; I think about the test of time.”

Denning sang the demo that day and played a languid guitar solo that mimicked Vince Gill’s melodic style. “I don’t know if anyone as a guitarist in country music gets more out of individual notes than he does,” Denning says. “He can shred. I mean, he can do anything. But I think when he does this emotional thing, there’s no one who can do it better.”

When Archer added harmonies, Denning realized they were something special. Stevens found this out as he finished producing the demo that evening. “I had a panic attack,” he says. “I got this rush of adrenaline because I felt like there was something alive there. The song became something that would be important to my career.”

“I’m Gonna Love You” was one of three songs Denning recorded for a demo that landed him a record deal with Mercury Nashville the following year. Early on, he boldly asked if Underwood would join him on a duet version – “They gave me the nicest answer ever: ‘No,'” he says – and the song was presented to her separately, too.

“I thought it was a beautiful song,” recalls Underwood, “but I felt like it might be better for a male artist to sing it, and besides, it didn’t really fit the direction of my new song album went at that time.” ”

When Johnson was looking for a label in 2018, a manager from Big Machine played him the label as an example of the type of songs they would bring him. He ultimately signed with Warner Music Nashville (WMN), but regularly inquired about the song. Denning eventually recorded it, but felt he needed to properly prepare his career before releasing it. The pandemic put a damper on his plans, and in 2022 he finally handed power to Johnson. Johnson had started a friendship with Underwood at the 2022 CMT Music Awards and thought she was the right singing partner. She agreed.

Producer Trent Willmon (Granger Smith, Drake Milligan) cut it in two different keys in March 2023, and Underwood came into the studio via FaceTime to listen to it during the session. She chose the lower key, a choice that would give her voice a new sound. “[Her] “The voice has that Aretha Franklin sultry quality to it in that key,” Johnson says. “I thought it was a part of Carrie we haven’t seen yet.”

The band simply played, framing the melody without drawing attention to themselves, and Johnson was present when Underwood later came into the studio to overdub her part. During playback, Johnson sensed that she was dissatisfied, and when asked, she said she would rather sing it together. “For me, the best possible situation is always when whoever I’m singing with, we have the luxury of recording our singing together,” she says. “I think that’s when the real magic happens.”

They each entered a singing booth and could see each other through the glass, and as they locked themselves in, Willmon estimates that 95% of the singing came from a single performance. “It just reinforced why I love making music for a living,” he says.

Willmon turned to Gill for the solo, and he gave him the same melodic, soulful phrasing that Denning would have expected. “He was on tour with the Eagles and it took him a minute to get there,” Willmon remembers. “He played this solo and it’s funny. He leaves this message: “Hey, T-man, I just played what I thought was necessary, and if you don’t use it, I’m okay with it.” It wouldn’t be the first time Carrie Underwood fired me. ‘ ”

The duet was held back by Johnson leather The album since its release did not fit Underwood’s schedule. WMN released “The Painter” and “Dirt Cheap” instead and saved “I’m Gonna Love You.” Leather deluxedue November 1st. The duet was released on September 27 and is at No. 32 on Country Airplay and No. 21 on Hot Country Songs. Eight years after it was written and six years after Johnson started asking for it, “I’m Gonna Love You” works as he hoped it would.

“I waited,” Johnson says. “I already went to the trouble of making this one.”

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