Kenny Chesney: Why His Superstar Still Shines Bright
Kenny Chesney has been a country superstar since the early 2000s. Chesney played his first headlining stadium concert on June 7, 2003, at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, not far from his hometown of Luttrell, Tennessee.
His heyday, one might say, was in 2004 through 2008, when he won the CMA’s Entertainer of the Year four times in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008. He did four straight Entertainer wins for the ACM from 2005-2009. And that’s not to say that he isn’t still massively popular: his 2024 “When The Sun Goes Down” Stadium tour saw him sell out multiple nights at the country’s biggest stadiums.
What keeps him on top in country is a combination of things. Of course, there’s his radio success: he has 33 number-one hits on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. But it’s also his persona, both in music and on stage. If you’ve seen him in concert, you know that he’s one of the best performers, in our genre or any other genre for that matter.
He is also the first country artist to embrace the beach life. He wore sea shell necklaces early on around his neck, sang many songs about being on the beach, and even performed in his bare feet on occasion. Many of his photo shoots have been with the Atlantic Ocean as his backdrop. To this day, he goes to the Islands to hold “Summer Songwriting Camp” with fellow Nashville songwriters and on occasion during that week, sings in local bars in the islands. More than anyone else, Kenny Chesney has brought country music to the beach.
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I interviewed Kenny for the first time in the late 1990s, and he was getting close to having a number-one record with his song at the time, “She’s Got It All” from his 1997 album I Will Stand. Kenny told me at the time, “I tell you one thing: If I have a number-one record, I’m gonna have a good time. I’ve been working at this for a long time. I’ve been taking little bitty steps to get to where I’m going, and I’m still taking those steps. This number-one record, if we have a number-one record, or if we don’t, this record has still moved my career farther along than it was say, six months ago.” As it turns out, “She’s Got It All” eventually became his first song to top the U.S. country singles charts.
Several number one hits followed, including 2002’s “The Good Stuff,” which spent seven weeks at number one and was thatInd year’s top country song.
I was fortunate to be on one of Kenny’s industry bus trips when he started to play stadiums. Industry bus trips are where the record label takes some industry media and insiders on a bus to a show to let them see firsthand what all the hype is about on the road. We got to the show stadium during soundcheck, and the country star took each one of us on stage to stand in front of the mic to give us what he felt each night on stage. Of course, the thousands of people were not there yet, but it was still quite an experience. I never forgot how it must feel to be the center of attention in a stadium full of thrilled and grateful fans, just happy to hear his songs and sing along.
It’s those songs, many of which he wrote or co-wrote, that really resonate with his audience, which he calls “No Shoes Nation.” They sing along to every word and have been doing so for 20 plus years. Kenny and his music simply don’t get old, and neither does his message: to let your hair down, forget your troubles, and have fun for the three hours he takes the stage.
His 33rd number-one song is from his latest album, Born, a song called “Take Her Home,” which he told us about earlier this year. He said, “There’s a lot of music on this record that holds significance for me, or they wouldn’t have made the record. It truly is a part of my DNA…my life experiences.”
He added, “But it doesn’t have to be the experiences that we describe in the song. It can be anything you do with friends, with family whatever it is to create connection and the intimate details that later in life that you’re going to look back on.”
Chesney will no doubt one day be a member of the Country Music Hall Of Fame. Until that day, he will continue to score number-one songs and give his fans a good time in stadiums, and arenas all over. I have a feeling even after he makes the CMHOF, he will tour with big shows and make his special kind of country music.
