Kenny Chesney’s Entire Life Changed When He Stopped Trying To Be The “Newer Version Of George Strait”

I mean, I can’t really fault Kenny Chesney too much for wanting to be like George Strait.

I think most young country artists, male or female, would be more than happy with a career that’s even a fraction as successful and legendary as The King’s. But, then again, no one else will ever be George Strait, so trying to create a career like his is… impossible.

And during a 2023 interview with Country Countdown USA’s Lon Helton at CRS (Country Radio Seminar) this year, Kenny talked about how when he first got started in the business, he was trying to be too much like George and losing his unique identity in the process:

“I was a lot like a lot of artists, honestly. I was trying to be the newer version of George Strait. I think Garth would tell you the same thing, he loved George. That was the bar. I wore a belt buckle. I was trying to be that.”

He continued, saying he started to notice that he wasn’t the only one trying to emulate The King, and obviously that’s a great standard to be reaching for, but ultimately, he got lost in a sea of others trying to make it just like he was:

“This isn’t a slam toward anybody, but I realized there were acts out there that felt the same way I did. We were all trying to reach for Strait. I didn’t have as good of a song as Tracy Lawrence had, with ‘Time Marches On.’ I just felt I wasn’t truly being authentic as an artist during that time.

There was a phase, after Garth hit, where everybody wore the same shirt.”

It all clicked for him when he finally started being himself and not George Strait, adding that he “started really writing songs” after that:

“But the moment I stopped trying to be George Strait, that was the moment my life changed. I started really writing songs. And my life in the Virgin Islands, I spent a lot of time writing out there.”

He also talked about one of his biggest hits “Don’t Blink,” and how he actually hated that they pushed it as a single at the time:

“When we released that song… I hated it. I felt like it just touched every button you could possibly touch to get somebody to like a song and I hated it. We were at ABC Radio Networks in Dallas, and we were on the plane there, and I was in Joe’s ear the who two-hour ride about how much I hated this single choice:

‘It’s never gonna work, this is going to be the end of everything. I’ve worked really hard to be here and you’re gonna cut my legs off with ‘Don’t Blink.” I did my interviews and we are coming down the escalators and the lady at the front desk tells me, ‘I just love ‘Don’t Blink’!’

I looked at Galante and said, ‘You told her to say that.'”

The song was included on his 2007 Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates album, and ended up being a four-week #1 hit on the Billboard country airplay chart.

I mean, 17 years later and it’s just as timeless as ever…

“Don’t Blink”

Kenny Chesney Stopped Drinking To Prepare For His ‘Sun Goes Down’ Tour

The unofficial king of summer country music stopped by the Pat McAfee Show earlier this summer to talk all things sports and music, and while there were a number of funny moments (including the boys singing “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” after Kenny said he stopped playing it), there was one moment that really caught my attention.

Pat asked Kenny how he avoids getting boozed up every night, especially considering he brings the tiki bar vibe to every show. And his answer spoke to a common thread we’ve been seeing in country music more often as of late.

“How do you not get boozed up every day? Cause you’re bringing the party to everybody’s life.”

And Kenny responded:

“Yeah, see but I can’t do that boozed up… I used to, like, try to live with the fans and act, I don’t know, our life is much different out here now than it was in 2004.

In 2004, I mean it was a barrel of fun. Right, it was. But there became this moment where I had to make a decision. Okay, am I going to do this [signaling a little] or am I going to do this [signaling a lot]? And I got to a point in my life where I couldn’t do both.

This year we’re going to do Gillette. We’re going to play three nights at Gillette at the end of the year, so there won’t be any partying for Kenny to get through three nights.”

He went on to talk about his sauna and ice bath set up (which everyone with a bit of money seems to have these days) before continuing on the partying aspect of the musicians lifestyle.

“I haven’t had alcohol since January 1st. When I start to train to go on the road, you know I’m sitting there, okay, the first week of January and I’m trying to emotionally and mentally think about what it takes of me to be up there and I say “Okay, I’m not going to drink for awhile, get really lean,” and I measure my food and just get ready cardio wise…

But then it just happened, all of a sudden it’s almost July.

So, I don’t know, it’s not that I’m quitting, it’s just that I realized for me to go up there on stage and do what I do now at this point of my life, I just don’t want them to get all of me I want them to get the best of me. And I can’t do that hungover.”

If you’re going to have the length of career that Kenny’s had you’re going to have to make some sacrifices and it seems there’s no shortage of artists that are swearing off the booze lately.

From Tyler Childers and Treaty Oak Revival’s frontman Sam Canty completely calling it quits to Jon Pardi taking a similar break, it’s become way more common for artists still in the prime of their careers to not rely on alcohol to get them through the tough life on the road and instead channel that energy to something more productive.

Like he said, he’s not quitting for good, so don’t be shocked if you see him barefoot with a Mai Tai in hand when the Sun Goes Down Tour wraps up, but for now, Kenny is playing every show with a clear head.

I love when artists open up and give us their thought process on just about anything and Kenny’s appearance on the show today was nothing but that.