Category Archives: Kenny Chesney

Contemporary country star Kenny Chesney didn’t have the immediate breakout success that many of his peers enjoyed upon signing with major labels, but gradually built up a significant not long after via hard work, pop-friendly ballads, and a likable, average-guy persona. Chesney was born in Knoxville, TN, in 1968 and raised in the nearby small town of Luttrell, better known as the home of Chet Atkins. He grew up listening to both country and rock & roll, but didn’t get serious about material until college, when he studied marketing at East Tennessee State University. He received a guitar as a Christmas present and set about practicing, and was soon performing with the college bluegrass band. He soon began writing material as well and played for tips in local stages — most frequently a Mexican restaurant — every night he could; additionally, he managed to sell 1,000 albums of a self-released demo album. After graduation in 1991, he moved to Nashville and became the resident performer at the Turf, a rougher honky tonk in the city’s historic district. during he gained experience, it wasn’t the sort of place where he’d be discovered, and in 1992, he moved on to a publishing deal with Acuff-Rose. From there he acquired a record record deal with Capricorn and issued his debut album, In My Wildest Dreams, in late 1993.

Unfortunately for Chesney, Capricorn wasn’t much of a country label; not only was the album underpromoted, but the label’s country division shut down completely not long after its release. Still, it sold 100,000 copies and caught the attention of several big-time major labels. Chesney ended up signing with RCA subsidiary BNA, which issued All I Need to Know in 1995. The record gave him his first two Top Ten favorites in the title track and “Fall in Love.” His follow-up, 1996’s Me and You, became his first album to go gold, thanks to two number two singles in the title track and “When I Close My Eyes.” 1997’s I Will Stand was another gold-selling effort that gave Chesney his first-ever number one hit in “She’s Got It All,” plus another number two with “That’s Why I’m Here.” His big-time breakthrough, however, followed with 1999’s Everywhere We Go, which sold over two million copies and spawned two number one smashes with “You Had Me from Hello” and “How Forever Feels”; it also featured another Top Ten single in “What I Need to Do,” and another, “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” that just missed. In 2000, Chesney gave us his first Greatest favorites compilation, and two newly recorded music — “I Lost It” and “Don’t Happen Twice” — went to number three and number one, respectively.

Greatest smashes became Chesney’s second straight double-platinum release and dominated the country LP charts. He followed it with the all-new No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem in early 2002, which gave him his strongest commercial performance yet. It, too, hit number one on the country record charts and spun off four Top Ten singles in “Young,” the number one “The Good Stuff,” the Bill Anderson co-write “A Lot of Things Different,” and “Big Star.” A Christmas album plugged the gap for 2003, and he returned strongly with 2004’s When the Sun Goes Down, which won in the record of the Year category at the Country music Awards. He repeated the win, this time as Entertainer of the Year, with Be as You Are (songs from an Old Blue Chair). Chesney found himself the subject of much press rag fodder in 2005 with his surprise marriage to actress Renée Zellweger (he had composed 1999’s “You Had Me from Hello” after watching Zellweger in the 1996 film Jerry Maguire). The duo split that same year, citing irreconcilable differences, and Chesney gave us the chart-topping The Road and the Radio in November. In the years that followed, Chesney kept busy, releasing Live: Live Those music Again in 2006 and Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates in 2007.

Kenny Chesney Changes Record Labels!

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Kenny Chesney Blue Chair Records

KENNY CHESNEY SIGNS WITH WARNER MUSIC NASHVILLE Blue Chair Records/Warner Bros. Records is Superstar’s New Label Home   Warner Music Group and Warner Music Nashville are honored to welcome eight-time ACM winner and CMA Entertainer of the Year Kenny Chesney to the Warner Music family. As part of WMN, the songwriter/superstar’s music will be released on the Blue Chair Records/Warner Bros. Records label. Since leaving East Tennessee with a handful of songs and a dream bigger than he understood, Kenny Chesney has developed into the man The Wall Street Journal deemed “The King of the Road” and the Los Angeles Times proclaimed “The People’s Superstar.” With over 30 million albums sold, 30 No. 1s, and countless sold-out stadium tours that sell in excess of a million tickets every time he takes to the road, the 2018 Country Album of the Year GRAMMY nominee is on the verge of yet another creative renaissance. “It is a big deal to change labels,” said Chesney. “But when you hear Max, Espo, and Cris Lacy talk about music, about what it means and does, when you hear that passion, you can’t help but get fired up. To me, music is only complete when it gets to the fans and becomes part of their lives. The people at Warner understand my commitment to that idea, and they’re just as committed to those ideals as I am.” “Kenny Chesney embodies the relentless pursuit of artistic freedom and expression,” said WMN Chairman & CEO John Esposito. “An unapologetic free spirit, he has built a career on perseverance, drive, innovation, and most especially, great songs. Everything he does is inspired. It is with deep respect and honor that we welcome Kenny to Warner Music Nashville. We couldn’t be more excited to work with him and his team.” “Kenny’s not only a country music icon, but an American superstar, who’s still hungry to write, record, and perform amazing music that moves millions of people,” said Warner Music Group CEO, Recorded Music Max Lousada. “The fact that he has chosen Warner Music as his new label home is a huge testament to the culture created by Espo and his team, who have made our Nashville operation a magnet for both emerging talent and established artists. I join Espo in welcoming Kenny into the Warner family, and we’re all looking forward to amplifying his success and taking his music to fans across the globe.” About Kenny Chesney: Kenny Chesney is an American musical force. With 30 No. 1 hits, including “American Kids,” “When The Sun Goes Down,” “I Go Back,” “Noise,” and “Pirate Flag,” over 30 million albums and 38 million tracks sold, he has created the soundtrack for coming of age in the heartland in the 21st century. His commitment to his fans – known as the No Shoes Nation – has seen Chesney succeed as the only Country artist on Billboard’s Top 10 Touring Acts for the past 25 Years, as well as consistently playing NFL stadiums across the U.S. That commitment to giving his fans songs that hold Continue reading Kenny Chesney Changes Record Labels!→

Kenny Chesney’s COSMIC HALLELUJAH Scores Country Album Grammy Nomination

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Kenny Chesney News on Country Music News Blog

Kenny Chesney’s Unorthodox Grammy Nomination Cosmic Hallelujah Scores Best Country Album Nod at 2018 Grammy Awards Nashville, Tenn. — When Kenny Chesney switched the lead single to “Noise” nine days before the launch of Cosmic Hallelujah, people thought he was crazy. But the song – written, recorded and mastered in three days – spoke to the toxic information overload in a way that felt urgent, and the 8-time Entertainer of the Year decided to let the music speak to the 24/7 rush of constant connection. From that moment, everything about the songwriter/superstar from East Tennessee’s 16th album defied conventional wisdom. Today, Cosmic Hallelujah received Chesney’s first solo Grammy nomination for Best Country Album for at the 2018 Grammy Awards. Upon hearing the news, he marveled, “People thought I was crazy doing what felt right for the music. But sometimes songs need to be released, or given a video even if they’re not a single, or have the people who’re living the song make the video… It’s easy to lose track of the music in the marketing and the promotion, but for Cosmic Hallelujah, I wanted music to drive the decisions. Right now, I feel that was the right thing to do.” From “Noise” being written, recorded and swapped at the last minute, to the euphoric multiple-week No. 1 “Setting the World On Fire” with P!nk, a provocative, big budget “Paper Chase” video featuring John C. McGinley for “Rich and Miserable,” which never was a single, to a three-week No. 1 final single “All the Pretty Girls,” with a  video made by a pair of Belmont University students, nothing about Cosmic Hallelujah followed traditional orthodoxy. As Chesney says of the decisions, “It was a lot of heart, soul, and passion driven by music.” The critics agreed. The New York Times recognized the stretch, writing, “a long, long way from Mr. Chesney’s typical arena-country ballads about rural pleasures and island getaways,” and NPR cited the album’s depths of “folk’s storytelling, soul’s honesty and gospel’s spirit,” while Los Angeles Times opined, “the new album offers deeper, more nuanced thoughts on the distractions of the Instagram era (“Noise”), the comforts of home (“Jesus and Elvis”) and even the stagnation of the American dream (“Rich and Miserable”).” Co-produced with Buddy Cannon (Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard), Cosmic Hallelujah marked a progression from The Big Revival, both groundbreaking records for Chesney. Reflecting the kindred spirits of the No Shoes Nation, who are voracious to live life, Chesney’s fourth Grammy nomination stands as recognition for finding the intersection between connecting through traditional mainstream media/radio and creating music that digs a little deeper. Entertainment Weekly agreed, “His attempts at digging deeper make the lighter material feel earned, and they elevate his work above much of country’s escapist fare,” while Newsday called it, “country perfection,” and The Boston Globe deemed it “a love song to another person and to the idea of getting away…working from a larger sonic palette, one that incorporates ideas from stadium-rockers with whom he shares dressing Continue reading Kenny Chesney’s COSMIC HALLELUJAH Scores Country Album Grammy Nomination→

Kenny’s LIVE IN NO SHOES NATION Dominates First Week Sales

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Kenny Chesney on Country Music News

Kenny Chesney Live in No Shoes Nation is #1 219,000 in first-week sales makes 8th #1 Billboard 200 Bow, 15th Country Album – Biggest Live Country Album Debut of This Century Somewhere in No Shoes Nation — When Kenny Chesney started listening to show tapes from the last decade, it was just to relive some special moments from a life lived largely on the road. But the more he listened, the more he was struck by what he heard coming back from the other side of the footlights. It was the fans – known as the No Shoes Nation – who knocked him out track after track, summer after summer. And with that knowledge Live in No Shoes Nation came to life. “It’s such a rush to hear No Shoes Nation in full force,” Chesney says. “As fast as the nights go down, I didn’t even realize how good they sound – and the energy, the heart and the voices are awesome in the moment – so I wanted to make sure they got to hear what I was hearing during my year off.” To heighten that connection between the live experience and these recordings, Chesney opted to make the physical recordings available to anyone purchasing a ticket to next summer’s Trip Around the Sun 2018 stadium shows. As the only country artist on Billboard’s Top 10 Touring Acts of the Last 25 Years, in spite of only becoming a true headliner in 2002, Chesney has been called “The King of the Road” by The Wall Street Journal and “The People’s Superstar” by Los Angeles Times for his ability to connect at the stadium level for the last dozen years. “It is about the connection,” he says. “Before the people ever get close, I’m sitting at the farthest point from the stage feeling how far it is from where I’ll be standing. Whether it’s somewhere intimate like Stone Pony in Asbury Park or AT&T Stadium, I want to know how far to reach – so everyone is brought into these songs and this moment.” Evidently, it was a moment to hold onto. With stadium tickets on-sale, pre-orders and physical album sales, Chesney’s Live in No Shoes Nation comes in with total sales of 219,000. Beyond the sheer number, Live in No Shoes Nation becomes Chesney’s eighth No. 1 Billboard 200 debut, as well as his fifteenth No. 1 Top Country Albums bow. Live in No Shoes Nation is the biggest country live debut this century. Beyond seminal concert recordings Frampton Comes Alive, Bruce Springsteen’s Live 1975-1985, and the Allman Brothers’ Live at the Filmore East, Live in No Shoes Nation is the biggest double live country release since Garth Brooks’ 1998 Double Live. With this week’s sales, Chesney has hit Gold long before the 30 days needed for certification. “So much has happened over the last 10 years,” Chesney marvels. “But the one thing that remained consistent, that’s been there no matter what are the people of No Shoes Nation. Continue reading Kenny’s LIVE IN NO SHOES NATION Dominates First Week Sales→

LIVE IN NO SHOES NATION Available Friday

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Kenny Chesney on Country Music News

Denver. Asbury Park. Dallas. Atlanta. Tampa. Green Bay. Perdido Key. Austin. Foxboro. Just some of the places and voices that populate Live in No Shoes Nation, Kenny Chesney’s second live album – and one that documents his rise as the nation’s leading stadium headliner. Beyond the massive stadium shows, LiNSN is laced with intimate performances, special guests and songs that have only been performed a handful of times.

Kenny Chesney Tour Details Leaked!

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Kenny Chesney on Country Music News

You could hear the collective sigh of the entire No Shoe Nation when Kenny Chesney announced that he was taking 2017 off from touring, so it’s no wonder we’re all waiting with baited breath for his team to announce if and when he will finally get back on the road. We’ve been doing our part here at CountryMusicOnTour.com to answer that very question: When will Kenny Chesney go back on tour?

Kenny Chesney Launches Love For Love City Foundation

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Kenny Chesney on Country Music News

After releasing a statement regarding his wish to help areas being affected by HURRICANE IRMA last WEEK (NET NEWS 9/7), BLUE CHAIR/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE’s KENNY CHESNEY has created the LOVE FOR LOVE CITY FOUNDATION to benefit the U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS and BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS. For those wishing to donate, visit the foundation’s website here. CHESNEY, whose island home has been destroyed by IRMA, has also created LOVE FOR LOVE CITY FOUNDATION merch, which can be purchased here. “…I just wanted to say thank you to everybody that has donated to the LOVE FOR LOVE CITY FOUNDATION, because it’s going to help feed a lot of people,” CHESNEY expressed. “It’s going to help take supplies down to the island, and it’s hopefully going to help things has time goes on. And, I just wanted to say I’m very proud of everyone that’s donated, and I just wanted to tell y’all I love ya, and keep the VIRGIN ISLANDS in your prayers, in your thoughts, and I’ll keep you posted on what’s going on. GOD Bless you guys.”

Kenny Chesney Talks About “No Shoes Nation” Live Album

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Kenny Chesney on Country Music News

Our favorite poet and pirate Kenny Chesney wasn’t intending to make a live album when he started recording his shows in 2007. He just knew there were so many special, magic nights and he wanted the tapes to remember them. And then when he finished his Spread the Love 2018 Tour, the man The Wall Street Journal deemed “The King of the Road” decided to go back and listen to hear how these songs have evolved over the past 10 years. “Even more than the way the guys have found new spots inside the songs, the horns or the special guests,” Chesney marvels, “It was the sound of No Shoes Nation that really caught my ear. They were so loud, and they only got louder over the years. I guess I thought some of these songs would fade for people over time, but that wasn’t necessarily the case. Even more than that, hearing them really got me fired up. The energy No Shoes Nation brings is its own rocket fuel.” So, Kenny Chesney took those recordings into the studio and started really listening. The more he combed through the tapes, the more he knew his next project was going to be a live album –  something that captures not just the songs or the musicians, but the people who shared all those nights with the 8-time Entertainer of the Year. “In some cases, it was hard to decide,” says the songwriter/superstar from East Tennessee. “Every version of the song was better than the last one. I think I could’ve used so many different nights. ‘Anything But Mine’ was one of those songs: people were so hungry to sing it with us. At the end, we just let the whole song die – and let the audience take it. Some nights, I swear, they sound better than we do! “That’s the thing about these songs, to me. I may record them, and be on the radio with them, but night after night on that stage, No Shoes Nation shows me: those songs are theirs. They invest their life, and their loves, and their heartbreaks into what these songs are… And when they sing, ‘In the morning I’m leaving, making my way back to Cleveland…’ it could be anywhere. That’s not what matters; what matters is that summer love, the one they’ll never forget.” [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDkxwvyFbIA[/embedyt] Working hard to create a document that reflects that passion has consumed a great deal of Chesney’s year off. Laughing, he admits, “If you want to really miss being out there, rocking, listen to ten years of the greatest fans in the world day-after-day.” Between listening, comparing, mixing, and sequencing, the guy the Los Angeles Times called “The People’s Superstar” has unearthed some obscure jewels, found some alternative versions, and caught some special moments with good friends that were only for the night. Whether its stadium shows, pop-up bar gigs, amphitheaters, or the occasional beach takeover, No Shoes Nation was there celebrating their lives in his Continue reading Kenny Chesney Talks About “No Shoes Nation” Live Album→

All About Kenny Chesney’s New Music Video “All The Pretty Girls”

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Kenny Chesney Video for All The Pretty Girls on Country Music News Blog

It took a week’s planning and two days of shooting, but Jessica Martinez with her co-director Will Renner conjured a video that reflected the random nature of meeting that special someone during college break for Kenny Chesney’s  “All The Pretty Girls” music video contest. The pair of Belmont University students created a clip that was marked both by innocence and what felt like authenticity of that kind of summer love for the winning entry. “We thought the first day was only going to be five hours,” says Motion Picture major Martinez, 19, of the shoot. “But when we got started, we found some more creative things to do. We ended up shooting for 10 hours, with an hour for lunch.” The time spent shows. Tracing a group of girls – actual friends – having a day, but running into some boys and needing some money, the viewer watches the relationship between the lead girl and one of the boys evolve through house parties, bonfires, car rides, hiking and creek jumping. “Our vision was to capture the essence of a summer fling – just the feeling of freedom and having fun, not taking things too seriously,” Martinez says. “Because Will is from Virginia, he was able to get people he knows from high school (to be part of it), which made it really fun to shoot.” Martinez, who heard about the contest on the “Bobby Bones Show,” texted Renner with questions about editing software – and they decided to team up. Both have experience as PAs and low-tier jobs on student films, “but this was the first big project for both of us that was totally ours. It was such an incredible experience to do everything all the way from idea conception to editing.” “It’s cool seeing this creativity from college kids,” Chesney said after viewing the clip. “They understood how to build a storyline and narrative, and they bring a fresh eye to these moments. (Their clip)’s really sweet, and just what this kind of song needed. I’m as thrilled to be part of Jessica’s college education as I am to have her – and Will’s – creativity be a part of this song.” “All The Pretty Girls” will be World Premiered on CMT’s “Hot 20 Countdown” this Saturday, August 12. For film student Martinez and music business major Renner, it is the first step on a path that hopefully for her leads to directing films and for him owning his own production company. Chesney, who started playing for tips in college, understands the seeds of big dreams. “To create something at this level when you’re in college is a huge thing,” Chesney says. “In ‘the real world,’ this is the kind of accomplishment people look at. But I think what’s so great about their ‘All The Pretty Girls’ video is you can also see how they translate their hearts into the work. People will see this, and know what Jessica and Ryan are capable of.” Chesney’s been in creative Continue reading All About Kenny Chesney’s New Music Video “All The Pretty Girls”→

Kenny Chesney Launches Belmont and Tennessee State University Scholarship Contest

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Kenny Chesney on Country Music News

When it was time for a video for Kenny Chesney’s “All The Pretty Girls,” from Cosmic Hallelujah, the man The Wall Street Journal called “The King of the Road” could’ve gone the usual route. But in thinking about the song’s spirit and his own wild college days, it dawned on him: take “All The Pretty Girls” to the people living it, and have them make the video. “The best moments of being young and having fun should be captured,” says the songwriter from East Tennessee. “But nobody ever talks to the people who are right in the moment of living it about this kind of thing. Rather than look back, we oughta just go to the people living it.” Knowing how many young people come to Tennessee trying to get close to the dream, Chesney decided to reach out to the students at Nashville’s Belmont and Middle Tennessee State Universities, both schools with strong engagement in the music industry and invite them to create his next music video. And the winning entry – chosen by a blue-ribbon panel from Sony Nashville, CMT: Country Music Television and Chesney’s team – will receive a $5000 scholarship, as well as having their video world premiere on CMT: Country Music Television. Any student at Belmont University or Middle Tennessee State University may submit a video they’ve created for the song. Lyric, live action, notion, animation or something we’ve never thought of. As Chesney says, “Get creative. Get real. Get inside the song, and show us how ‘All The Pretty Girls’ looks, feels, and resolves.” For Chesney, who world-debuted the John C. McGinley pre-ambled album cut “Rich & Miserable” on the SiriusXM platform, seeking different ways to consider video speaks to his desire to create innovation in how supporting music is done. Now he wants to engage young filmmakers, music lovers and communicators to offer both a scholarship and a platform for their work to be seen. “I remember driving over the state line to West Virginia, playing in a restaurant, breaking down, driving back and parking in the music store lot, so I could turn in the sound system and get to class,” Chesney says. “When you have a dream, you’ll do whatever it takes. I’d like to bring some college students a little bit closer than I got… and I can’t wait to see the creativity everyone brings to this song.” “All The Pretty Girls” is the latest single from Chesney’s No. 1 Cosmic Hallelujah. Belmont and MTSU students can click here: www.KennyChesneyAllThePrettyGirls.com. Contest deadline is July 23. Winner will be announced July 31. “I wanna help a student filmmaker with school,” Chesney says. “And I want to give people a chance to get creative this summer.”