Chesney's Enjoying His Time In The 'sun'

At a time when the country record industry is wondering whatever happened to the young demographics the format attracted during its '90s boom years, Kenny Chesney has found that audience.

Since debuting on BNA Records in 1995 after a short stint on Capricorn, Chesney has cultivated an enthusiastic fan base that has placed him among the top concert draws.

It also propelled his last studio album to No. 1 on The Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums chart, where it logged an impressive 11 weeks at the summit. And last May, he won the Academy of Country Music Awards' top male vocalist accolade.

His new set, "When the Sun Goes Down" (Feb. 3), is widely expected to be equally successful. The first single, "There Goes My Life," has already logged seven weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

"I expect 'When the Sun Goes Down' to pop big from week one," says Tony Thomas, music director at country KMPS Seattle. "It'll be fun to see some in the mainstream media say, 'Who's that guy?' His fans know, and they're ready."

SONGS FANS RELATE TO

Chesney is proud that he attracts a diverse audience. When he looks out into the crowd at a concert, he says he'll see "somebody with a Dave Matthews shirt on [and] somebody with a Britney Spears shirt on. Then I'll see somebody with a Kid Rock shirt on, and at the same time they're into what we are doing."

He attributes that appeal to the songs he records and the high-energy live show he has developed.

"I sing some songs that relate to their lives," he says of his fans. "Also, our live show is very intense. It has become less of a show and more of an experience. We have people out there that are tailgating in the parking lots hours before the show starts.

"It all comes down to songs and how you represent yourself, and I really believe that we've recorded some songs that have captured that audience," Chesney continues. "When they have come to see us live for the past four or five years, a certain demographic went back and told all their college buddies—everybody in their fraternities and sororities—and their high schools how much fun they had, and it just kind of grew and grew and grew."

Chesney thinks the enthusiasm of younger fans bodes well not just for his own career but for the format in general.

"I can't tell you how many people have come up to me and told me they don't really listen to country music, but they love what I'm doing," he says. "I hear that all the time . . . I love the fact that we've captured a demographic that can grow with us."

Thomas says, "Kenny's dedication to his career and some great song choices have been a powerful combination. The No. 1 thing I hear from younger female fans is 'He's hot!' But guys seem to relate to him, too, in a solid, 'guy' kind of way. Kenny comes off like that high-school buddy of yours who made it but hasn't forgotten where he's from."

To get his band revved up for his March tour and to alert college audiences to his impending release, Chesney is going back to school, performing dates at six college campuses prior to street week.

"It's something different for us," the East Tennessee native says of the shows, which will include stops at the University of Mississippi, the University of Georgia at Athens, Florida State and the University of Florida.

"For the past couple of years, we've been playing these arenas, and it's awesome. But before we went out this year, I wanted to go and play two weekends of college bars, because I wanted me and the band to get back in the environment where we really learned to love music," Chesney says.

According to BNA senior director of marketing and artist development Debbie Linn, the label plans to have street teams in those markets handing out flyers trumpeting the release of "When the Sun Goes Down."

The initial shipment of more than 1 million CDs will be a limited-edition collection that will include three live tracks from last year's sold-out show at Neyland Stadium at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The live cuts are "Please Come to Boston," "What I Need to Do" and "Live Those Songs." BNA will also issue a companion DVD featuring six Chesney videos including the hits "Young," "There Goes My Life" and "Big Star."

Linn says Chesney is scheduled to visit 30-40 radio stations during the first two weeks of the album's release. BNA is also planning a Valentine's Day promotion with Country Music Television where viewers can log on to cmt.com to win a trip for two to a Chesney concert followed by a Caribbean vacation. There will also be "Win it before you can buy it" contests at country radio the weekend before street date.

MOVING INTO NEW TERRITORY

Chesney invested a little more of himself in this record by increasing his contribution as a songwriter. "I wrote four songs on this album, two of them completely by myself. I've never done that on a record before," says Chesney, who co-produced the disc with Buddy Cannon.

The album's title cut is a Brett James-penned tune that Chesney does as a duet with Uncle Kracker, who will open for Chesney on his summer tour and several of the college dates to "spice it up a little bit," according to Chesney. Other tour dates will feature Dierks Bentley and Keith Urban, and Rascal Flatts will open the summer shows.

Chesney is booked in-house by his managers Dale Morris and Clint Higham.

What does Linn see in Chesney's future? What's next to conquer? "I would love for it to be the world," she says. "I would love to give it a shot outside of North America."

Though a global assault is just in the talking stages, Chesney is game. But right now he's savoring the sweet spot he's in.

"I would like to do a stadium tour at one point," he says. "That's a goal of mine. But my long-term goal is to still be making great music and just to keep growing this thing.

"I've had the luxury of not happening early [in my career], even though it tore me up in the middle '90s when I couldn't get my records played on radio or when I was going to venues [to perform] and they would have Mark Chesnutt's name on the marquee.

"We got past that little by little, year after year, and we sold records, had more people come see us and then all of a sudden we are playing venues and performing the kinds of shows that our heroes did."