Cody Johnson Drops New Video For “The Painter” Inspired By Special Needs Fan

Terry Wyatt / Stringer / Getty Images, Cody Johnson / YouTube

Cody Johnson just released a new video for his No. 1 song, “The Painter,” inspired by a special-needs fan.

“The Painter” was originally inspired by Cody’s wife, Brandi.

Speaking about the song, Cody has said, “My favorite lyric in ‘The Painter’ is ‘For every wall I built, she saw a canvas.’ If there’s anything that describes my marriage with my wife, Brandi, it’s that line. And that’s why we’ve been together for 15 years. I hope my fans are encouraged to take the time to appreciate the people they have around them. The ones who make their life beautiful and bring all the beautiful colors to their world when it could just be black and white and dark. Remember them and tell them you love them.”

During his performance at the 2023 CMA Awards, a gorgeous painting of Brandi appeared behind Johnson.

The song’s music video showed Brandi and Cody’s relationship from the very beginning. They even cast younger actors to play their younger selves to tell their incredible love story.

RELATED: Cody Johnson Releases New Music Video For “The Painter”

“The Painter” now has a second video.

A young fan of Cody Johnson named Katie McCormick, who has special needs, discovered a “love of painting” during her therapies for various ailments. She has intractable epilepsy, which has required many surgeries. Due to this, she has weakness on her right side and has a learning delay disability.

Painting became a “therapeutic outlet” thanks to Katie’s art teacher, Debby Francis. Katie’s story and her beautiful painting of birds sitting on branches made their way to Johnson’s label. Katie and her painting inspired them, so they partnered with an AI artist who helped them create a world inside of Katie’s painting to accompany the song “The Painter.”

Katie’s mom, Theresa, said, “While this song is written about a man’s love for his wife and how she colors his world, it allows everyone who hears it to drift away in thought to that person who adds beauty and color to their own life. Be that a child, a parent, spouse, or friend. This is what country music is all about.”

To differentiate the videos, this one is titled “The Painter (Katie’s Version).”

Fans had an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the video.

Whether it be on social media or YouTube, fans were loving this take on the song. Theresa is right, music is all about how you interpret the lyrics and we love that Katie took this song to a new place.

See some of the fan reactions below.

“Thank you! From a Special Needs mom. Was already my 2nd favorite song of yours and the reason behind this video just made it #1. You’re an amazing person!”

“Everything about this is amazing, the fact that his label took the time to acknowledge this young women’s disability and make a way for her to experience her painting in this live version.”

“I’m a special needs mom and this is beautiful. Thank you for making our community feel seen and heard. #differentnotless”

“What a class act Cody and his team are. The rest of the industry could learn a few things from them.”

“Wow! Stunning!! Fans be sure to share Katie’s artistic talents and let her feel the love from [Cody Johnson] and the [Cojo Nation] ! Together we can be sure to make Katie feel the love back!! ❤️ she is one talented and beautiful person!”

Watch the gorgeous video below.