Kenny Chesney Comments on CMA Awards Nominations

Kenny Chesney earned his 11th Entertainer of the Year nod at the upcoming 2018 CMA Awards, a category he has won a total of four times. Although the Tennessee native is grateful for the honor, he insists that isn’t why he keeps pushing himself in his career – and wasn’t a consideration when he released his recent Songs for the Saints album, with the proceeds helping those affected by hurricanes in the Caribbean.

“You don’t do this stuff for recognition,” Chesney says in a statement. “You make music to give people pieces of your life, pieces of their life – and in this case, to help put a whole lot of lives back together. The idea that music can heal, can give people hope or inspire? The islands always did that for me, but even in the face of such destruction, the willingness to dig in by the locals, that resilience and especially their joy in such dire times taught me a lot about life.”

Chesney just wrapped his headlining his Trip Around the Sun Tour, selling out stadiums all over the country.

“As for the touring, it’s hard to believe the fans could be louder, crazier, more passionate, but I can honestly say, having just wrapped two nights at [Boston’s] Gillette Stadium, they are,” Chesney reveals. “They came out, they sang with everything they had in a way I’ve never heard — and they showed me again how music can define people’s lives. It’s not just songs they’ve heard, it’s songs they’ve lived.”

Chesney is also nominated for Musical Event of the Year, for his collaboration with David Lee Murphy on “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.”

“David Lee Murphy was met like a rock star every time he walked out onstage,” Chesney says of his friend. “No matter what’s going on in today’s country, those fans knew every word to ‘Dust on the Bottle’ and ‘Party Crowd,’ and they sang ’em like they mean ’em. Real voices, artists who live what they write to me are what this music is all about, and that’s David Lee from top-to-bottom.”

The singer-songwriter owns a home on St. John, which is why the damage caused by Hurricane Irma and Maria had such a personal impact on Chesney – not because his home was destroyed, but because the homes of so many of his friends met the same fate. All of the songs on Songs for the Saints were inspired the resilience of those who call the islands their home, and is why Chesney decided to donate 100% of the proceeds from Songs for the Saints to recovery efforts through his Love For Love City Fund.

“I’ve always tried to cut songs that reflect life as I’ve lived it, or seen people around me live it,” Chesney reflects. “If I can see it, feel it, know that it’s real, I know it’s real for others, too, and that’s where music’s real power lies. Give people their life, lift them up or give them clarity, and you’d be amazed what can happen. Not just when songs capture someone’s life, but when they tell you how their life changed because of one of the songs you’ve written or recorded.”

Purchase Songs for the Saints at KennyChesney.com.

The 2018 CMA Awards will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, November 14 at 8:00 PM ET on ABC.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Emma Mcintyre/ACMA2018