Cody Johnson on Watching Kid Rock Cover ”Til You Can’t’ on Turning Point USA Halftime Show: I ‘Had Tears in My Eyes’

“‘Til You Can’t,” with its message of following dreams and seizing opportunities as they come, became a breakthrough hit for Texan Cody Johnson, reaching No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts and garnered CMA and Grammy accolades.

In February, when Kid Rock performed at Turning Point USA’s alternative Super Bowl halftime show, he surprised viewers by not only performing “‘Til You Can’t,” but adding a new, faith-referencing verse to the song’s end. Shortly after Kid Rock’s TPUSA performance, he officially released that new version of “‘Til You Can’t,” which became his first song to reach No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Christian Songs chart.

During a recent episode of the Rodeo Time With Dale Brisby podcast, Johnson detailed just what made him agree to let Kid Rock perform and record the song.

Johnson noted that when he had to cancel a concert at Arizona’s Hondo Rodeo Fest in November while recovering from burst eardrum surgery, Kid Rock filled in for him. It was there that Kid Rock debuted that new rendition of “‘Til You Can’t.”

“Kid Rock filled in and he played that last verse. And I was like, ‘That’s pretty cool.'” Johnson said, adding that Warner Records Nashville head Cris Lacy then gave him the heads-up that Kid Rock wanted to do more than just cover his song in concert.

“Cris was like, ‘He’s going to call you. … He wants your blessing on him releasing this version of the song,'” Johnson explained, adding, “I actually said, ‘What do Ben Stennis and Matt Rogers think about it?,’ because they’re the writers.” Lacy replied that the songwriters didn’t want to sign off on it unless Cody also signed off on it. “I was like, ‘That’s really respectful.’ That was really cool to feel the admiration from those guys , of taking their song that they wrote and making it what it is,” Johnson said.

He continued, “[Kid Rock] texted me, and I called him and was just like, ‘Man, I love it. I think you’ve done a great job.’ … He said, ‘I feel that Ben and Matt did such a great job writing this song, I don’t want to insinuate that they didn’t write it good enough,'” Johnson said, adding that Kid Rock listed off several top lines in the song, before telling Johnson, “‘But they just didn’t include God.’ And he’s like, ‘I just felt like you can only ask for forgiveness and get to know Jesus until you can’t.'”

Johnson’s reaction to that new line was instant. “I was like, ‘What a great’ – and coming from Kid Rock? It raised the hair on your arms. That was a conversation I never thought I’d have in my life, you know? And I was like, ‘I 100% sign off on it.'”

Johnson watched Kid Rock’s performance of that version of “‘Til You Can’t” on Turning Point USA’s alternative halftime show, saying, “I watched it, had tears in my eyes. I was like, ‘Freakin’ Kid Rock singing my song, that’s cool. That’s pretty neat.’ I wish he’d have worn a Cody Johnson hat, but I couldn’t talk him into that.”

See Johnson’s full interview below: