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By Shanon Cook CNN Adjust font size:
    ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Kenny Chesney's staff has the best tans in the business. That's no accident. Having spent his last five summers touring relentlessly, Chesney -- "a beach bum at heart" -- keeps echoes of the ocean close at hand when on the road. Backstage there's a tiki bar generously stocked with rum and two brightly painted deck chairs. And as soon as each tour ends, he'll high-tail it to the U.S. Virgin Islands, which for Chesney represents paradise found. He takes his entire band, crew and their families with him, too, giving everyone a chance to unwind after the long grind of a concert tour. Life in paradise should be doubly sweet this year. Chesney's "The Road and The Radio" tour, which wrapped up earlier this month, sold more than 1 million tickets and made close to $63 million, according to Pollstar magazine. That's even more than Chesney's take last year ($61.8 million) when he was named the top-grossing country touring act in North America. (Watch Chesney admit, "I'm tired right now" -- 2:48 As a toast, Chesney released his first live album September 19, "Live Those Songs Again." The perennial hat-wearer spoke with CNN about life under the stage lights. CNN: Why release a live album at this particular point in your career? KENNY CHESNEY: I just feel that the last four or five years of our life out here on the road have been very special to us and to the fans. I do feel like I've had such a great connection and relationship with the fans and the people that have been such a huge part of what's happened to us that it was time to maybe relive some of those moments. This live album isn't necessarily our biggest records on the radio; it's just our most fun moments on the road and on the stage. CNN: What's your favorite song to perform on the road? CHESNEY: It changes, but at the moment I'd have to say "Living in Fast Forward." ... And the first time I heard that song it just reminded me so much of my own life. We've had the gas pedal down all year long. It's the perfect definition of how we're living our life right now. CNN: You're a very energetic performer. How do you sustain that energy through an entire concert? CHESNEY: To feel that energy from [the fans] sustains me. Some nights I could play forever because of it. And there are certain nights where just a few minutes before I go on stage I just don't have it. My gas tank is completely empty. And when I get up there, they always fill it up somehow. CNN: You've had to work pretty hard to build up a substantial following. Are you in a place now where you can look around you and think "I'm in a good place. This is great"? CHESNEY: I do look around and think this is great. But once you get comfortable you lose a little bit of your edge. ... I think that if I ever sit back and look at how great everything is ... I'm afraid I might lose a little bit of my competitive edge. CNN: You've had to deal with a lot of media attention unrelated to your music. There was the marriage to Renee Zellweger, followed by the annulment. ... How distracting to your music is that kind of attention? CHESNEY: It didn't really bother me that much because nothing about that was about music. And nothing about that was about my connection with the fans. Not to say I haven't written songs about it, because I have, but ... if you take a look around at all these guys out here, these guys are my family, and this is what was real to me. All the attention that that brought ... it just never seemed concrete. CNN: You give acting a try in the mini-movie that's part of your new music video for the love song "You Save Me." Did acting come naturally to you? CHESNEY: Everybody says, "You did really great job acting for the first time." And I really didn't. It's only two lines! And the rest of it's editing. It took us two days to shoot that five-minute intro to "You Save Me." And I realized then that I didn't want to be an actor. I didn't leave there wanting more. I don't aspire to do that. I remember telling everyone that I wanted my day job back (laughs). CNN: Do you sleep in a hat? CHESNEY: No I don't. I don't sleep at all. I haven't slept in three years (laughs). |
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Kenny Chesney's last two tours have each topped $60 million, making him the No. 1 country touring act in North America.
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