He is one of the fastest rising artists in country music with his flip flops and beach cowboy style.
Kenny Chesney recently recorded his 15th album titled “Hemingway’s Whiskey,” which provides a vast collective of country musical styles. The album serves as a form of showing audiences that don’t necessarily listen to country on a regular basis that all country music and artists do not have the same sound.
Inside listeners will find that the album seems to be a mixture between the new Nashville sound of contemporary country and the older “twang” that has been a staple in the genre. Songs such as “Coastal,” “Small Y’all,” “Where I Grew Up,” and “Round and Round” are some of those traditional songs.
These traditional songs have lyrics that take listeners on a mental trip, or a flashback of growing up in the country. The lyrics to “Coastal” will most resonate with listeners who are looking to get away for a weekend and are looking for the upbeat track to be their anthem.
Another one of the great things about this album are the duets that Chesney performs with some great artists. In the song “Small Y’all” he teams up with Country Music Hall of Famer George Jones in a song that has a honkytonk “twang” to it, and shows just how great old school and modern country sound blended together.
The second duet that Chesney performs in the album is with rock singer Grace Potter from the band “Grace Potter and The Nocturnals.” Their duet “You and Tequila” has become one of the most popular songs in country music right now, already reaching the No.1 spot in the nationally syndicated Country Top 40 countdown, and the American Country Countdown.
Some of the other songs on the album that went on to earn the No.1 single spot in country music around the nation were “The Boys of Fall,” “Somewhere with you,” and “Live a Little.”
The song “Boys of Fall” translated into much more than just a No.1 hit for Chesney. Shortly after the album was released Chesney was the producer and co-director of the ESPN special titled after the song. The special outlined the making of the video, as well as the meaning behind the song, which was the adventure and spirit of the game of football for Chesney.
The song “The Boys of Fall” would become the theme song for the game of football all across the nation, with fans singing along to it at games at every level, from pee-wee football to in cameos for the NFL.
The new approach to country music apparently is being well received by listeners who have made “Hemingway’s Whiskey” one of the top-selling albums in country music within the past year. 183,000 copies were sold within the first week, and the album eventually went on to be certified platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America.)
After the album release, Chesney has been touring the country in the “going coastal” tour, which is selling out arenas all over the country as well is in Canada. Recently Chesney was recognized for being the only country artist since Willie Nelson to sell out the Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
This recent success, although great, pales to the accomplishments that Chesney has compiled in his time on the national country music stage. Since his appearance on the national stage in 1994 with his debut album titled “In My Wildest Dreams” Chesney has released 15 albums, 14 of those have gone on to be certified gold or better by the RIAA.
He has also amassed 30 top 10 singles, 20 No.1’s, and has been the American Country Music Awards Entertainer of the Year six times.
So what is next for Kenny Chesney?