Nashville, TN. (Top40 Charts/ RCA) - Sometimes you can only get out of the way - and when
Kenny Chesney dropped Just Who I Am:
Poets &
Pirates amidst the biggest beef of the year between hip-hop's
Kanye West and 50 Cent, he decided to take the quiet route. Rather than ramp up the vamp, he hit radio, kicked off the fall concert series on 'Good Morning America,' stopped by 'The View' and performed on 'The Late Show with Conan O'Brien.'
'There are some things you can't fight,' Chesney said simply. 'And I've never been very good at that sort of thing. I think the music will do the talking for me in the long run - and I know that our albums tend to keep selling week-after-week-after-week...'
Chesney, who sold 386,685 copies, just wrapped his sold out Flip Flop Summer Tour - sponsored by Cruzan Rum - playing six NFL Stadiums in Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Seattle. 'Never Wanted Nothing' More,' the lead single for Just Who I Am was Chesney's fastest No 1 - a mere 7 weeks - and the year's longest running chart-topper at 5 weeks, with 'Don't Blink' hitting the Top 10 after just four weeks on the chart.
'It's crazy how fast these records are moving,' Chesney laughs. 'I've never ever had to learn two songs from an upcoming album before the tour came off the road. But what's crazy is the way people respond: as soon as they hear that banjo lick of 'Never Wanted Nothing' More' or the opening of 'Don't Blink,' the crowd responded every night like it's 'Young' or 'The Good Stuff.' To see people react like that, especially with just these few weeks of radio, well, that tells me you're saying something about who they are, what they value and how they feel.'
With sales in excess of 25 million - including multi-platinum sales for Greatest Hits, When The Sun Goes Down, The Road & The Radio and No Shoes, No Shirts, No Problems, the two-time and current Country Music Association and three-in-a-row-and-reigning Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year is evolving into the man whose music is the soundtrack to how his fans live their lives. Having reached inside to create his most diverse album yet - including a duet on the blue collar Calypso shuffle 'Shiftwork' with George Strait, the buoyant what happened folly of 'Got A Little Crazy' and the searching country desolation of 'Demons.'
'It's amazing to be able to grow as an artist and take your audience with you,' marvels Chesney, who is nominated for four CMA Awards - including Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Video and Vocal Event of the Year. 'But I think like me, my fans are growing, seeking, trying to figure stuff out. When I look in those faces every night onstage, I see a lot of people I know - and I know they're a lot like me.'
Look for Chesney's interview with on CBS' 'The Early Show,' rescheduled to tomorrow. Also look the high energy performer on 'The 41st Annual CMA Awards' Nov. 7th on ABC.
