In 1992, the head of writer relations at
BMI, Clay Bradley, recommended Chesney to his friend,
Troy Tomlinson, at Opryland Music Group. Chesney performed five songs during his audition for Tomlinson. Chesney left the audition with a songwriter's contract. A year later, an appearance at a songwriter's showcase led to a contract with
Capricorn Records, which had recently started a country division. Chesney's debut album,
In My Wildest Dreams, was released on the independent
Capricorn Records label in April 1994. The album's first two singles, "Whatever It Takes" and "
The Tin Man", both reached the lower regions of the U.S.
Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. The album sold approximately 10,000 copies before Capricorn Records closed its country music division in Nashville later that year and moved to Atlanta. In June 1995, Chesney signed with
BNA Records, and released his second studio album,
All I Need to Know. Chesney utilized musicians playing the
fiddle and
pedal steel guitar throughout this album, as he felt this would highlight the open-country, "down-home" feelings in his music; fiddle and pedal steel further helped to compliment his eastern-
Tennessean accent and "twang" heard in his singing and inflections. One of the intentions behind the record was to capture the "traditional" spirit that had made early country music so popular. Chesney's third studio album and his second major-label one, titled
Me and You, was released in June 1996. A cover of
Mac McAnally's 1990 single "
Back Where I Come From" was also included on this album. Even though Chesney's version was never released as a single, it has been regularly performed during his concerts. Chesney was honored with the 1997
Academy of Country Music's New Male Vocalist of the Year award. The album has since been certified platinum by the RIAA.
Everywhere We Go, Chesney's fourth album from BNA, was released in March 1999. That album produced two consecutive number one hits with "
How Forever Feels" and "
You Had Me from Hello" (the latter inspired by a line in the movie
Jerry Maguire). In September 2000, Chesney released his
Greatest Hits compilation album.
A Lot of Things Different originally written by Bill Anderson, was the third single from the album and peaked at number 6.
Big Star, released January 2003, was the fourth single released from the album and peaked at number 2 seven weeks later. In May 2003, ACM honored Chesney as Top Male Vocalist of the Year, while "The Good Stuff" received the award for Single Record of the Year. In April 2004,
title track won the Hottest Video of the Year at the CMT awards, given to the fan-voted "sexiest" clip.
No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems has since been certified platinum 5x. it right on the road and on the radio. The album became his third straight to top both the Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums Chart.
Live: Live Those Songs Again, Chesney's first live album was released in September 2006, via
BNA Records. This album includes live renditions of 15 songs, 11 of which were singles. "Live Those Songs", "Never Gonna Feel Like That Again", "On the Coast of Somewhere Beautiful", and "Back Where I Come From" were never released by Chesney as singles, although "Back Where I Come From" was released as a single from
Mac McAnally's 1990 album
Simple Life. In 2006, Chesney, along with
Tim McGraw, contributed to a version of
Tracy Lawrence's single "
Find Out Who Your Friends Are", which can be found on his album
For the Love. The official single version, only featuring Lawrence's vocals, was released in August 2006 but did not reach the Top 40 on the country charts until January 2007, when 'the album was released. After the album's release, the version with him, Chesney, and McGraw began receiving significant airplay, boosting the single to No. 1 on the country charts. The song became Lawrence's first No. 1 single in 11 years, as well as the second-slowest climbing No. 1 single in the history of the
Billboard music charts. In 2007, with Neil Thrasher and
Wendell Mobley, Chesney also co-wrote
Rascal Flatts' 2007 single "
Take Me There", which served as the lead-off single to their album
Still Feels Good. In 2007, Chesney also recorded a duet with
Reba McEntire on her album
Reba: Duets. "
Every Other Weekend" peaked at No. 15 on the
Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and No. 104 on the
Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. The album has sold 2.1 million copies world-wide and is certified Platinum by the
RIAA for sales of over 1 million. "Every Other Weekend" was the final single from the album. He also embarked on his Flip-Flop Summer Tour. In November 2007, Chesney was named the CMA Entertainer of the Year for the third time in four years. Also in November 2007, the compilation
Super Hits album was released as part of
Sony BMG's
Super Hits series. In September 2007, Chesney released the album
Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates. This album represented a move to a more
Gulf and Western sound with a number of "breezy, steel-drum island songs". It placed third in album sales that week, behind
Graduation by
Kanye West and
Curtis by
50 Cent. The lead-off single from the album was "
Never Wanted Nothing More", written by
Ronnie Bowman and
Chris Stapleton. It reached number one
Billboard country charts. On the U.S.
Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated for the week ending on September 15, 2007, the album's second single "
Don't Blink" debuted at No. 16, setting a new record for the highest debut on that chart since the inception of
SoundScan electronic tabulation in 1990, although the record was broken the following week by "
More Than a Memory" by
Garth Brooks. The third single, "
Shiftwork" (a duet with
George Strait) peaked at No. 2 on the country charts. In June 2008, the fourth and final single, "
Better as a Memory", became Chesney's fourteenth number one hit. The album topped the U.S. country charts, and also became his first to chart on the
Billboard Canadian Albums peaking a number 7. “Shiftwork” was later nominated for Best Country Collaboration With Vocals at the
51st Annual Grammy Awards. Chesney started his
Poets and Pirates Tour on April 26, 2008, at
Williams-Brice Stadium in
Columbia, South Carolina. During the introduction of his set, his boot got caught between a hydraulic lift and the lip of the stage surface, which crushed his foot causing a severe
hematoma in the ankle; most of the damage was centering within his toes. It took about 30 seconds for Chesney to pry his foot loose as he squatted down on the stage while the band continued to play an extended introduction of the song. When Chesney finally freed himself, he stood up and held his hand on his knee as he began singing. Chesney did not acknowledge the injury during the early part of his performance. However, he was visibly limping and seemed to rest near a drum riser while leaning over and holding his knee during the instrumental breaks of his songs. As he came offstage, a doctor from the
University of South Carolina cut off Chesney's cowboy boot and immediately began treating the foot injury. X-rays that were taken afterwards revealed several crushed bones in his right foot. Chesney did not cancel any shows due to the injury. On May 19, 2008, just a day after being honored as the ACM Entertainer of the Year at the 43rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, Chesney criticized the change in the awards process to awarding the honor based on fan votes and not determined by music industry professionals. In August 2008, Chesney released a song titled "
Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven", which reached number one
Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The album once again topped both the Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums Chart, and has since been certified platinum by the RIAA. Chesney's 2009 tour was titled the
Sun City Carnival Tour and featured both small and large venues in order to keep his ticket prices down. In May 2009, Chesney released his second compilation album,
Greatest Hits II, which included the No. 1 hit, "
Out Last Night", as the lead single. On February 9, 2010, the album was re-released with two new tracks "This Is Our Moment" and "
Ain't Back Yet", with the latter becoming the album's third single in February 2010. Also included on this album is one that
Willie Nelson recorded before Chesney did, "
I'm Alive". Chesney later recorded a version of the song as a duet with
Dave Matthews. This version was released in August 2009 as the album's second single. He also embarked on the
Sun City Carnival Tour. In July 2010, Chesney released "
The Boys of Fall" as the lead-off single from his album ''
Hemingway's Whiskey, which was released in September 2010. The song reached No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart for the week of October 9, 2010. That year, Chesney produced a documentary for ESPN titled The Boys of Fall
based on his song of the same name. Hemingway's Whiskey
topped both the Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums Chart, and has since been certified double platinum by the RIAA. The second single from ''Hemingway's Whiskey'', "
Somewhere with You", was released in November 2010. The song debuted at No. 35 on the country chart for the week of November 6, 2010. Both it and its followup, "
Live a Little", reached number 1 on the country charts. The next single was "
You and Tequila", co-written and originally recorded by
Deana Carter. Chesney's rendition, which featured
Grace Potter on backing vocals, reached number 3. "
Reality" reached number 1. Chesney produced and narrated a biographical film,
The Color Orange, on his favorite football player growing up,
Tennessee Volunteers football quarterback and
Canadian Football League hall-of-fame
Condredge Holloway. The film was produced for
ESPN's "Year of the Quarterback" series, and premiered on February 20, 2011. Chesney released his fourteenth studio album,
Welcome to the Fishbowl, on June 19, 2012. Its lead-off single, a
Tim McGraw duet titled "
Feel Like a Rock Star", debuted at number 13 on the country charts, making it the second-highest debuting country song since the
Billboard charts were first tabulated via
Nielsen SoundScan, and the highest-debuting duet on that chart. The song peaked at number 11. The album failed to top the Billboard 200 peaking at number 2 however it did top the Country Album Charts.'' His first release under Columbia was the album's second single, "
Come Over", which went to number 1. The album's third and final single was "
El Cerrito Place", which was written by
Keith Gattis and originally recorded by
Charlie Robison. Chesney's rendition, which featured Grace Potter on backing vocals, reached number 10 on the country charts. Chesney’s collaboration with
Grace Potter “
You and Tequila” was nominated for
Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the
54th Annual Grammy Awards. Chesney released his fifteenth studio album,
Life on a Rock, on April 30, 2013. The first single from the album, "
Pirate Flag", was released to
iTunes on February 5, 2013, and peaked at number 3 on the
Country Airplay chart in May 2013. Pirate Flag peaked at number 7 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, May 25, 2013. The album's second single, "
When I See This Bar", was released to country radio on June 10, 2013. When I see This Bar peaked at number 25 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, September 14, 2013. This specific album was a drastic change from his regular country feel, to an all beach and island touch. The album became his 7th to top both the Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums Chart. This song served as the lead-off single from his sixteenth studio album,
The Big Revival, which was released on September 23, 2014. The album's second single, "
Til It's Gone", was released in mid-October. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart the week of January 31, 2015. The third single "
Wild Child", which is a duet with
Grace Potter, was released two days later. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart the week of June 27, 2015. The album's fourth single, "
Save It for a Rainy Day", was released to country radio on June 29, 2015. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart. On October 24, Chesney announced his 2015 tour
The Big Revival Tour, which began on March 26, 2015 and included ten shows with
Jason Aldean. In 2016 he was awarded the CMA Pinnacle Award which is given out by the Country Music Association Awards to an artist that undeniably redefined the pinnacle of success in the genre. The album
Cosmic Hallelujah, was released on October 28, 2016. It included the single "
Noise", released in March 2016, and "
Setting the World on Fire", featuring singer
P!NK, released in July 2016. The song won Top Country Collaboration at the
2017 Billboard Music Awards. The album debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 selling 89,000 copies in its first week. Along with his 10th straight album to top the Country Albums chart. That same year he went on the
Spread the Love Tour. In 2018
Cosmic Hallelujah was nominated for
Best Country Album at the
60th Annual Grammy Awards. it has since reached gold certification. On August 25, 2012, at
Gillette Stadium in
Foxborough, Massachusetts, Kenny Chesney announced "No Shoes Nation" as the name of his
fan club. The term No Shoes Nation originated from Chesney's hit song "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem". The name was accompanied by a live album called
Live in No Shoes Nation, which topped the
Billboard 200 after its release in late 2017. No Shoes Nation inspired the name of Chesney's
Sirius XM channel, No Shoes Radio. In January 2018, Chesney ended his contract with Sony Music Nashville and signed to
Warner Records Nashville. Chesney released his first album with Warner, entitled
Songs for the Saints, in July 2018.
Songs for the Saints debuted at number two on the US
Billboard 200 with 77,000
album-equivalent units, including 65,000 pure album sales. It was Chesney's 15th consecutive top 10 album in the US. From April 18, to August 24 Chesney went on the
Trip Around the Sun Tour. In May 2020, Chesney released
Here and Now, which features the title track and
"Tip of My Tongue", a leadoff single that was released in mid-2019. The album debuted at number one on both the Billboard 200 and U.S. Country Charts and became Chesney's 16th top 10 album on the U.S.
Billboard 200, with 233,000 units. It has since been certified gold. In 2021 Chesney collaborated with
Kelsea Ballerini to release the song "
Half of My Hometown" which topped the Country Airplay charts. The song also won
Musical Event of the Year at the
55th Annual Country Music Association Awards. In 2022 Chesney embarked on the
Here and Now Tour which was originally scheduled for 2020 however it was postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. He then headlined the I Go Back Tour in 2023. On March 22, 2024 Chesney released his twentieth studio album
Born which debuted at number 20 on the US
Billboard 200, with 26,000 records sold in the first week. The single "
Take Her Home" became Chesney’s 33rd number hit on the Country charts the most of any other artist since its inception. He then went on a co headling tour with
Zac Brown Band in 2024. On October 19, 2025 Chesney was inducted into
Country Music Hall of Fame. On November 4, 2025, Chesney’s memoir
Heart Life Music, cowritten with music journalist Holly Gleason, was published. The book quickly topped the
New York Times' Hardcover Nonfiction and Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction Best Sellers Lists. ==Personal life==