We played a fair in Pennsylvania on Sept. 10, and we were supposed to have driven from Pennsylvania into New York City that night and start shooting my video that morning, basically a block away from the World Trade Center the morning all this happened. But we canceled the video a couple of weeks before then, and I’d forgotten all about it. And I woke up that morning, I was on the bus. I think we were traveling through Virginia, and I went up to the front of the bus and turned the TV on to CNN and saw what had happened. It didn’t hit me at first. I was laying on the couch, just watching this and couldn’t believe what I was seeing, and I thought, “Oh, my God.” I said, “We’re supposed to be there.” And it was a weird feeling. You know, I’ve always believed in guardian angels, but it really makes you believe that there’s something up there. I’m glad we weren’t there. I mean, I feel for everybody that was there. I think we’ve all been changed forever by it. — Kenny Chesney

The three shows had a deep effect on Kenny. Listen to him describe it on his bus after the third show:

(hat tip @GoodAndYou)

Ten minutes. That’s all the time country music star Kenny Chesney needs to pump out 300 pushups. It’s a staggering number, especially when you consider it’s more than most can do in an hour. (Just try it.)

But his secret is simple: vision and focus. In fact, it’s this same clear vision and laser focus that took Chesney from singing for tips in Nashville bars back in the early 90s to landing his fourth consecutive Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year award last December. And all along, his fit, lean body has been a key part of his plan.

By 2001, Chesney had accumulated five number one singles. Only he longed not to be a country music star, but a country music brand. And that meant he needed to be the ultimate entertainer, in every aspect. That’s when he hired personal trainer Daniel Meng, owner of MUV Fitness Coaching in Nashville, Tennessee. Meng’s charge: to help the singer take his stage performance to an all-new level.

While Chesney was already in good shape, he needed to transform physically to put on what now would be the highest-energy concert in all of music. “I have to train to do my show the way I want to do it,” he says. “I’m not one of these guys that just stands there behind the microphone. I work really hard to give the fans the best possible concert.” The effort has paid off: Chesney has grossed approximately $500 million from concert ticket sales during the past 10 years.

Read the full article and interview here.

Here’s the full list:

1. U2 ($195 million)
2. Bon Jovi ($125 million)
3. Elton John ($100 million)
4. Lady Gaga ($90 million)
5. Michael Buble ($70 million)
6. Paul McCartney ($67 million)
7. Black Eyed Peas ($61 million)
8. Eagles ($60 million)
9. Justin Bieber ($53 million)
10. Dave Matthews Band ($51 million)
11. Toby Keith ($50 million)
12. Usher ($46 million)
13. Taylor Swift $45 million)
14. Katy Perry ($44 million)
15. Brad Paisley ($40 million)
16. Tom Petty & the Heartbreaks ($38 million)
17. Jay-Z ($38 million)
18. AC/DC ($35 million)
19. Sean “Diddy” Combs ($35 million)
20. Beyonce ($35 million)
21. Tim McGraw ($35 million)
22. Muse ($35 million)
23. Rascal Flatts ($34 million)
24. Kenny Chesney ($30 million)
25. Rihanna ($29 million)

According to Forbes, the numbers encompass all pretax income earned from May 2010 to May 2011, before subtracting agent and manager fees. The totals were compiled with the help of data from Pollstar, RIAA and others, as well as interviews with industry insiders including lawyers, managers, concert promoters, agents and, in some cases, the musicians themselves.

In it he sings the praises of the town and the crowd and how special it was to play at such a historical football stadium.

Listen now:

[audio src="http://www.chesneyworld.com/media/greenbaythanks.mp3"]

(hat tip chesneychic1)

he recorded a song titled ‘Boats’ for his ‘Lucky Old Sun’ album, and it includes the lines, “vessels of freedom/harbors of healing,” which is very apropos to how he feels when he’s riding the waves.

“That line came from a gentleman and his daughter I met in St. Croix,” Kenny explains in the June issue of Boating magazine. “I think anybody who has a boat has an emotional attachment to it. It has a way of healing a person and gives him a sense of freedom. That’s where I feel the most freedom — and it’s helped me heal something that needed healing.”

Kenny currently has two Sea Rays, a 56- and a 60-footer, although he admits he’s a little bit more fond of the 60-foot boat. One of his favorite boating memories is right after he purchased his first vessel.

“My manager and some buddies and I left Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., says the superstar. “The idea was to drive as far as we could toward the Virgin Islands. We made it farther, all the way to Georgetown in the Cayman Islands. It was a very peaceful time, [and] I had a lot of people I loved with me.”

So what are Kenny’s plans for his birthday?

“I play Omaha!” Kenny laughingly told TampaBay.com. “My birthday plans are waking up in Omaha and going to work out.”

Happy birthday KC!

The Tennessean of the year designation, first awarded by the Hall of Fame in 1982, “honors an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to our society through sports or other methods, demonstrating strong character and high profile leadership,” Tennessee Sports Hall president Bill Emendorfer said.

Chesney isn’t the only music figure to have been so honored: Barbara Mandrell won the prize in 1982, Vince Gill won in 1995 and Hank Williams Jr. was chosen in 2007.

The 2011 Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Awards Banquet is set for Feb. 11 in the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville. Tickets are $125, and reservations may be made through Lynn Powell Toy at the Hall of Fame Museum: 615–242-4750 or lpowell@tshf.net.

Kenny tells Chicago’s WUSN radio he probably won’t be there in person when the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Green Bay Packers for the championship game.

He elaborates, “I don’t think so. The two teams that are in it, I’ve got a few friends that play on those teams, but I’m not emotionally or mentally invested in either one of those teams. So, I think I’m gonna have a small Super Bowl party at the house and have some family and friends over and relax and enjoy it at home so I don’t have to travel.” Chesney adds that he’s getting ready to hit the road for his upcoming “Goin’ Coastal” tour, so he’s going to stay home as much as he can right now.

“I think one time I held the star, you know, and did it behind them. You know, I never did show my face. I was holding the star going through the night. That’s all I did,” CMT Radio reports. “I remember doing that one year. But all my other buddies were Joseph and Mary and all that stuff. I never did really get out on stage that much. Never really did sing in the Christmas play, and I was pretty scared to get up there then.”