Cody Johnson and Carín León performed one of the many drinking songs to grace CMA Fest earlier this month in Nashville, taking the stage at Nissan Stadium for their recently-released duet “She Hurts Like Tequila.”
Johnson was clearly thrilled to introduce León to the CMA Fest audience, sharing his enthusiasm with the crowd as the duo delivered an emotional performance of the searing track, which combines Johnson’s classic country sound with elements of Mexican music.
“She Hurts Like Tequila” is a bilingual tale of a woman who the song’s narrator just can’t get enough of, with Johnson and León trading lines in English and Spanish. “Con sus besos se va el estrés / Y pone mi mundo al revés,” León declares, while Johnson adds, “No drink from a bottle could get me that high / She hurts like tequila.”
Prior to his performance on the Nissan Stadium stage, Johnson shared how he was first introduced to León’s music, revealing that he heard his latest duet partner on the sound system at a restaurant. “I was sitting in this restaurant one day and I heard this guy singing, and so I walked up to the bartender that was there, because where the screen was, and I was like, ‘Who is that?’” The bartender shared that it was León, which Johnson said prompted him to “immediately” download all of León’s music.
“The next day we were roping at my house, and I’ve got speakers at my arena, and so I just pushed play,” he recalled. “And all my buddies are like, ‘We can’t understand anything this guy’s saying. We’re listening to Mexican music.’ I said, ‘But it’s amazing, right?’ They’re like, ‘Yeah, it’s really good.’ And so then I reached out to Chris Lacey at Warner Music Nashville and said, ‘What if we did a song together?’ They reached out and said, ‘Maybe we’ll meet in Vegas, we’ll write a song, and we’ll record it together.’ And that’s exactly what happened.”
León echoed the restaurant story, noting that while his music is “very different for [Johnson],” it has “a lot in common” with country music, which is what the pair “tried to express” with “She Hurts Like Tequila.” The performer added that he was “so excited” to be performing with Johnson at CMA Fest.
Johnson and León’s duet came in the middle of Johnson’s solo set, which also saw him perform current single “The Fall.” Along with performing during CMA Fest, Johnson also served as co-host of the festival’s 2025 television special alongside Ashley McBryde. This was the Texas native’s first year as co-host and McBryde’s second.
2025 CMA Fest
Dubbed “The Music Event of Summer,” CMA Fest Presented by SoFi featured 30+ performances from some of Country music’s hottest stars, including Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Cody Johnson, Riley Green, Jason Aldean, Trace Adkins, Jordan Davis, Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, Parker McCollum, Ashley McBryde, Rascal Flatts, The Red Clay Strays, Dylan Scott, Zach Top, Keith Urban and more.
The three-hour broadcast also included unforgettable collaborations from the 2025 CMA Fest. Brooks & Dunn teamed up with Lainey Wilson for “Play Something Country” and with Marcus King for “Rock My World [Little Country Girl],” Dierks Bentley joined forces with Zach Top on “Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)” and a “Mountain Music” medley, Cody Johnson and Carín León performed “She Hurts Like Tequila,” Brandon Lake and Jelly Roll delivered a powerful performance of “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” Jason Aldean and Travis Tritt united for “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive,” Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins teamed up for “Hillbilly Bone,” and Bailey Zimmerman and BigXthaPlug showcased their new duet “All The Way” and more.
CMA Fest presented by SoFi was filmed at Nissan Stadium during Music City’s four-day country music festival, which took place Thursday, June 5, through Sunday, June 8. 2025 marked the 19th consecutive year that CMA has produced a summer concert TV special. The show is a production of the Country Music Association, executive produced and written by Robert Deaton and directed by Alan Carter. The 2025 airing marks the 22nd consecutive year CMA has produced a summer concert TV special.
The CMA Fest special aired on Thursday, June 26 at 8/7c on ABC and is available to watch on-demand on Friday, June 27 via Hulu.
