On Wednesday night in Nashville, Kenny Chesney celebrated another number one hit. The party for “Somewhere With You” was held at Cabana, and songwriters Shane McAnally and TJ Harding were in attendance:

(Chesney with songwriters Shane McAnally and JT Harding. Photo from Digital Rodeo)

The Tennessean has more:

McAnally offered a tearful round of thanks to family members and business associates who’d bolstered him along the way, recalling a tough time in his life and career when he thought to himself, “If I could get a song to Kenny Chesney, everything would change.”

“It took a lot longer than I wanted it to,” he said, eyeing Chesney and laughing.

BMI vice president of writer and publisher relations Jody Williams shared a few highlights from Harding’s rock ‘n’ roll background — which includes songs cut by Uncle Kracker and the Jonas Brothers and a stint as the personal assistant to the superstar Williams cheekily called “country great Marilyn Manson.” That background fed into a country hit that Williams categorized as the “freshest, coolest and most different-sounding song on country radio” — a sentiment country megastar Chesney seemed to agree with.

“I realized that it was such a unique song and a lyric that everybody has lived with,” Chesney said of the first time he heard “Somewhere,” which traces a deep, lovelorn longing. “…I’m awfully glad that I’m the guy who gets to sing this song for the rest of his life, I’ll tell you that.”