No One Was More Pumped for Cody Johnson’s CMA Win Than Jelly Roll

The CMA Awards Album of the Year trophy went to Cody Johnson at Wednesday night’s (Nov. 20) ceremony, but the “Dirt Cheap” singer may have been the second-most excited artist in the room.

Jelly Roll hopped out of his seat and gave his friend Johnson a hug like he’d just scored the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl.

Leather is the name of Johnson’s new album, and with the win, Johnson has his first CMA for Album of the Year. He beat out Kacey Musgraves‘ Deeper Well, Luke Combs‘ Fathers & Sons, Chris Stapleton‘s Higher and Jelly Roll‘s Whitsitt Chapel.

“I did not expect that,” Johnson said after taking the trophy from presenters Don Johnson and Katharine McPhee. He then gave the microphone to his production team.

Trent Willmon had one of the strangest lines of the evening when he said, “This is for this cowboy who’s been kicking Shaboozey for a lot of years.” It wasn’t clear if it was meant as a dig at the “A Bar Song” singer, or if it was just a poor choice of words.

Johnson has always over-delivered when it comes to album tracklists, and he continued to offer quantity — and quality — on Leather. The original release includes 12 tracks, and the singer doubled that on the deluxe issue, also including his long-awaited Carrie Underwood duet, “I’m Gonna Love You.”

The singer’s gotten his fair share of CMA nominations in the past, including two wins in the Single of the Year and Music Video of the Year categories in 2022.

The 2024 CMA Awards took place at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning co-hosted the show.

*Remember: The best way to watch the CMA Awards is on ABC with ToC on your phone.