Kenny Chesney’s ACM Awards Nominations Make Him ‘Really Happy — And Proud’

Kenny Chesney took a bit of a risk by taking a year off the road to work on his latest album, 'The Big Revival,' but the reward has been huge. His song 'American Kids' has been nominated for four ACM Awards, for Song of the Year, Single Record of the Year (as artist and producer) and Video of the Year, and Chesney says he couldn't be happier with the nominations.

"‘American Kids’ was everything I was looking for: musically and rhythmically incredible, but the pictures painted are so real!" Chesney says. "No matter where you’re from, pieces of that song capture who you are, who you really are. And it doesn’t whitewash it; it says we’re all 'a little messed up, but we’re all alright.'

“For the Academy of Country Music to recognize what I saw, that makes me really happy -- and proud," he adds. "Proud for Shane [McAnally], Luke [Laird] and Rodney [Clawson], all the guys who played on it or played it, Shaun [Silva] and his team for capturing the spirit of the song -- and everybody out there who is living their life with that kind of joy.”

Eric Church and Luke Bryan also each have four ACM Awards nominations this year. Miranda Lambert tops the list of nominated artists with eight nods, followed by Dierks Bentley with seven and Florida Georgia Line with five.

Chesney is set to kick off his 2015 Big Revival Tour with two shows in Nashville on March 26 and 27. The 2015 ACM Awards will air live from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on April 19 at 8 PM ET on CBS.

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