Kenny Chesney photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

“It was literally like the hand of God going, ‘Okay, this is why you can’t play sports anymore,’” says Kenny Chesney when he redirected his drive and ambition from sports to music as a college freshman. Backstory: Kenny Chesney, premiering Thursday, July 12 at 10 p.m. Eastern on GAC, tells Kenny’s remarkable story — through those closest to him including NFL coaches Sean Payton and Jon Gruden and tour mate Jake Owen — of a football fanatic and the detour that led him to become one of the most successful artists in contemporary music.  Many never before seen photographs from the singer’s personal collection are included in this one-hour biodoc.

Watch a sneak peek >>

Although Kenny scored his first Top 10 hit in 1995, what followed was valuable time spent on the road and in the studio learning his craft. “I had a greatest hits album with 17 songs on it and nobody knew who I was,” he recalls.  “But they knew the songs.” After some soul searching, Kenny admitted to himself that he was not going to be one of his heroes.  “There were a lot of guys trying to be George Strait at that time and I was one of them,” he says. “I can’t be somebody else and still be successful. I had to get better as an artist, a songwriter and a musician because if I didn’t, I was going to have my little run and that was going to be it.  There was something inside of me that was not going to let me settle and it’s still there.”

The lifelong sports fan began treating everything he did like an athlete, even taking a trainer on the road with him for two years. It was a metamorphosis that affected every aspect of his career. “My song sense changed, the way Buddy (Cannon) and I recorded our records changed, the way we mixed them changed.”  The island influence in his lifestyle translated into his writing and performing and it suited him well. The amazing transformation grew with the release of the quadruple platinum LP, No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems in 2002.  By 2004 Kenny was selling out stadiums and remains one of the few artists in any genre to still be doing so today.

“This is definitely a more intimate look at how Kenny Chesney rose from a being a member of the pack to one of music’s top superstars,” says GAC GM/SVP Sarah Trahern.  “We appreciate his willingness to share his stories and his personal photographs with our viewers.” Continue Reading

ShareThis

Kellie Pickler photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Kellie Pickler – with her quick wit and engaging personality – is the perfect star for live television.  In the first-ever LIVE episode of The Collection, Wednesday, January 18 at 8 p.m. Eastern, Kellie sits down with host Storme Warren to talk about the making of several of the music videos in her catalog.  The platinum singer/songwriter has made videos for many of her top hits including “Best Days of Your Life,” a song she co-wrote with Taylor Swift, “Didn’t You Know How Much I Loved You,” and “I Wonder.”

Throughout the telecast, members of the TV and viral audience will have the opportunity to submit questions to Kellie via GAC’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/GAC (clicking on the ‘Kellie Pickler chat’ tab).  The questions chosen will be sent to Storme’s on-set iPad and he will share them with his guest.

Following the one-hour show, Kellie will continue engaging fans through an online chat on the GAC Facebook page.

“We loved the idea of doing something live and interactive with Kellie, an artist our fans have loved since she released “Red High Heels,” said GAC GM/SVP Sarah Trahern. “She is often at the top of our fan-voted chart and when Kellie and Storme get together for a live hour of television, who knows what will happen?”

ShareThis