Published by Cel Manero from Global One Media Inc.
“I’m not sure I did enough to stay in the top three,” the country singer admits in PEOPLE’s exclusive sneak peek.
Blake Shelton and Keith Urban are inching closer to helping one rising country star achieve their dreams.
In PEOPLE’s exclusive sneak peek of the Sunday, October 26 episode of The Road, viewers see contestant Cody Hibbard take the stage to perform his original song, “Dying Breed,” as part of the competition where 12 up-and-coming artists vie for the chance to open for Urban, 57, on his High And Alive tour.
“I don’t know if I did enough to stay in the top three,” Hibbard admits in the clip. “We’ll see, we’ll find out. I think I picked the right song choice — it’s winning over crowds. You know, I still got a little butterflies here and there, and there’s so many talented artists. It’s not every day you look up in the crowd and Blake Shelton and Keith Urban are up there.”
After his performance, the camera pans to Shelton’s phone, where the “God’s Country” singer, 49, appears to give Hibbard an eight out of ten. “Even though it’s an original, it feels like an anthem,” Shelton says. “Instantly fell into it, singing along. I just wonder how much confidence he has in his singing. Because if you’re singing a little bit sharp, you got more up there — you’ve got further to go, you know?”
Urban agrees, pointing out that Hibbard may be performing in the wrong key. “He likes singing low,” he explains. “We should take the key up. I never understand why people are singing — they’re singing sharp all the time. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, because it’s too low. Just go up a little, you’re good.’”
Before joining The Road, Hibbard opened up to PEOPLE last August about his journey from hardship to hope. Born in South Korea and adopted as a baby, he was raised in Tulsa by a math teacher mother and a father who ran a trash route.
After high school, Hibbard initially planned to join the Marines but instead accepted an offer to attend the U.S. Naval Academy — until a shoulder injury requiring two surgeries derailed his plans. The pain medication prescribed after those surgeries led to a dependency that spiraled into addiction.
“I got on pain medication from the first surgery, and I got easily hooked,” he said. “I wanted more and needed more and didn’t think something a doctor would give you would be something that bad.”
The addiction led to financial strain and personal turmoil. “I took some pills, and I was drinking whatever I had,” he recalled. “I was behind on every single bill. My ex wanted to leave me. I was a young father trying to take care of our daughter. I lost my first house. I thought the repo man was after me.”
Ultimately, Hibbard turned his struggles into songwriting material for his deeply personal album, Long Ride in a Short Bed.
“I’ve never cried in the vocal booth,” he admitted. “And I have never cried in the studio as much as I have recording about four or five of these songs. Revisiting those dark times helped me create something real.”