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78
AUGUST 2012
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
TURN ON YOUR LOCAL
country radio sta-
tion, and the stars tend to sound stamped
with sameness, like so many branded ca le.
Kenny Chesney, 44, is not like that. In spite
of the fact that he is his own darn thing—
ormaybe preciselybecause of it—hehas been
very, very big for a very long time. Soon a er
he graduated from East Tennessee State in
1990, hemade his way toNashville and eventually found himself
as player in residence at Music City honky-tonk The Turf. A er
that, it was the stuff country legends are made of, with 14 of his
albums certified gold or higher and some two dozenof his singles
making it to the top of the charts.
While other country singers found a groove that eventually
deepened into a rut, Chesney branched out, incorporating island
motifs and penning travelogues that reflect how much his life
has changed since he was a kid with a guitar and a truckload
of ambition back in Tennessee (he was, a er all, briefly married
to Renée Zellweger). He name-checks L.A. and New York just as
o en as the Deep South, whichmay explainwhy he draws large
crowds everywhere he goes. A er 20 years in the business, he still
writes songs that manage to smack of sincerity even though he
has seen it all and done most of it, too.
Chesney’s broad interests anduncommon range are showcased
on his new record,
Welcome to the Fishbowl
, which veers from a
brawny duet with TimMcGrawon “Feel Like a Rock Star” (which
had the second highest chart debut of any country single) to the
tender mercies of “Always Gonna Be You.” There’s a longing and
vulnerability to the albumthat’s a longway frommacho cowboy
posturing. We talked to Chesney some about the record and his
current tour, butmostly about what it’s like a er the stage lights
go down and that thing called life happens.
HOUSE, ROCKED
Clockwise from right,
Kenny Chesney
ripping it up in Tampa;
with Grace Potter
and Jake Owen at the
2011 CMA Awards;
performing with
TimMcGraw
THE
HEMI
Q&A:
KENNY CHESNEY