NASHVILLE, TN. (Bna Records ) - Normally when people are talking about Kenny Chesney's quads, it's got something to do with that sculpted physique that's helped make him one of the sexiest men alive. But now the reigning Country
Music Association Entertainer of the Year has a whole other set of quads, as his Greatest Hits joins No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems for sales of over 4 million copies.
"It's crazy to realize how long these records just keep selling," said the truly amazed man whose triple platinum When The Sun Goes Down is also the CMA's Album of the Year. "You hope that people won't get tired of your music, will find something in it that's a part of their own lives... and that's what these certifications mean to me: that this music is holding up for the people who're coming to our shows."
With over 1.2 million tickets sold to this year's Guitars, Tiki Bars & A Whole Lot of Love Tour - second only to Prince, who did it with several multiple night plays in various cities - and the fan-voted American Music Award for Favorite Artist in any genre (besting Usher, Norah Jones, Outkast and Evanescence), it's no wonder the soft-spoken singer/songwriter from Luttrell, Tennessee just picked up Radio & Records' Most Valuable Player overall - and Male MVP as well. Aside from his concert business, hit singles and critical acclaim, Chesney becomes the first country act in the history of R&R's chart to amass more than 10 million airplay points.
"I'd hate to have to be the person who had to figure that out," laughs the man who wrote "I Go Back," in addition to his multiple week chart-topping "There Goes My Life" and "When The Sun Goes Down," with Uncle Kracker. "The idea that across the country, my songs were played over 10 million times is a little hard to get your head around. I mean, we've made a lot of music... and I'd like to think, like I said, it stands up. But that's still A LOT of airplay!"
As "Anything But Mine" climbs the country charts - and the fading-summer's-memories'n' surfcentric video power rotates at CMT, Chesney is taking a short break before returning in 2005 with Be As You Are: Songs From An Old Blue Chair. The introspective song cycle - which arrives Jan. 25 - embraces the aspects of his life and times spent in the Caribbean, and offers a window into a deeper part of the man whose live shows are known for their unbridled good times.
With upcoming features in Entertainment Weekly, Billboard, Redbook. Blender and Country Weekly, along with a Feb. 1 appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," look for this deeply personal 13-song release to arrive on its own terms. And then in March, look for the Somewhere in the Sun Tour to begin kicking up dust everywhere it plays.
