Ben Johnson is an American songwriter, producer, and artist. His notable hits include "One of Them Girls," "Truck Bed," "All the Way," which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "All My Favorite Songs," which was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Rock Song" at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. He has written for artists such as Morgan Wallen, Jelly Roll, Charlie Puth, Hardy, Justin Timberlake, Lee Brice, Dierks Bentley, John Legend, Ava Max, and Weezer.
Ben Johnson grew up in Meridian, Mississippi, where he lived until moving to Nashville with his sisters in 2012 to pursue a music career. He began piano lessons at age six with his grandmother, developing his own style by altering compositions, which sparked his interest in songwriting. Influenced by The Beatles and Jimmie Rodgers, the "Father of Country Music," he and his sisters performed traditional and bluegrass music in church and at festivals, honing their skills. They gained recognition by reaching the Hollywood rounds of The X Factor in 2011, receiving praise from Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul.
After relocating to Nashville, Johnson and his sisters established a daily songwriting routine alongside their studies and side jobs, cultivating a reputation and connections with some of the city's most prominent songwriters. He attended Belmont University on a cello scholarship. He is a multi-instrumentalist.
Johnson has achieved eleven No. 1 singles, including "Bulletproof" by Nate Smith, "Gone" by Dierks Bentley, "Take My Name" by Parmalee (which was recognized as BillboardâÂÂs Country Song of the Year), and "New Truck" by Dylan Scott. He wrote the 2021 song "Believe," performed by Meek Mill and Justin Timberlake, which landed on the Billboard Hot 100, Rolling Stone Top 100, and Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts. His co-written song "One of Them Girls," performed by Lee Brice, won the Country Song of the Year award in 2021 across ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. The song was named song of the year by the Nashville chapter of the Association of Independent Music Publishers. It topped BillboardâÂÂs Country Airplay chart for three weeks, and reached No. 2 on Hot Country Songs.
At the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in 2022, Johnson received a nomination for Grammy Award for Best Rock Song" for the Weezer #1 Rock Airplay song "All My Favorite Songs." That year, he was also honored at the CMA Triple Play Awards. "Give Heaven Some Hell," performed by Hardy and co-written by Johnson was honored at the 2023 Nashville Songwriter Awards. "Bulletproof," performed by Nate Smith and co-written by Johnson was nominated for Male Song of The Year at the 2024 People's Choice Country Awards.
In August 2024, it was announced that Johnson was collaborating with Hardy and David Alan Johnson to produce the docuseries Music Row, which would provide an in-depth look at Nashville's music industry and the creative community behind country music. As of August 2024, Johnson held a worldwide co-publishing deal with Tape Room Music/APG/Runner Music.
In 2025, Johnson appeared on the Netflix music docu-reality series Hitmakers. In an interview about the show, Johnson spoke about being the "country guy" on the show and discussed how he met Hardy, who he has collaborated with extensively.
In 2016, Johnson married Lauren Conklin, whom he met as a 13-year-old at middle-school orchestra camp at Belmont University.