Kenny Chesney, Post-Renee, Doing 'Good'
Nov. 7, 2005— -- Kenny Chesney says he is doing "good," months after the breakup of his four-month marriage to Renee Zellweger.
"It's (my heart is) good," Chesney told "Good Morning America" today in his first TV appearance since his much publicized breakup with the star of "Chicago" and "Bridget Jones' Diary." "It's up and down, but it's good."
Chesney also performed from his second new album this year, "The Road and the Radio," which was recorded while he was on tour. Chesney explained that he would have songs faxed to him, sift through the best, and when there was a chance, he and his band would record.
"Anything that's been going on in my life, I usually look to the road or the radio to get me through it," Chesney said.
Chesney, 37, and Zellweger, 36, met at a tsunami relief benefit in January 2005. The two married on May 9 in a small ceremony in front of 35 friends and family on the Caribbean island of St. John. But just four months later, on Sept. 14, Zellweger filed for divorce, citing "fraud," and launching a tabloid frenzy.
Even before Chesney met his wife-to-be, he had been vocal about Zellweger, saying she was his ideal woman. He wrote one of his biggest hits, "You Had Me From Hello," to honor Zellweger in her breakout movie, "Jerry Maguire."
But there are no traces of his relationship with Zelleweger on "The Road and the Radio." Chesney told VNU Entertainment News wire that songs dealing with Zellweger, "might be on the next record (but) nothing (on "The Road and the Radio") is a snapshot of current events. This album was done before a lot of stuff happened."
Chesney also will be performing in an ABC special entitled "Somewhere in the Sun" that will air on Nov. 23. Fans will get a chance to see Chesney perform, but they will also get a more personal picture of the star.
"We also took some cameras and got on my boat in the Caribbean and had a little fun," Chesney said.
Chesney didn't pick up a guitar until he was 19 when his mother, a hairdresser, gave him one for Christmas. Chesney taught himself to play in three months and after graduating from college in 1992 he set off for the Nashville music scene where he took $125-a-week job writing songs at one of Nashville's many production houses.
Chesney caught his big break in 1999 with the song "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy," and in 2002 his album "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem" sold more than 3 million copies.
The album he released earlier this year, "Be As You Are: Songs from a Big Blue Chair," debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, as have four out of five of his last albums. "The Road and the Radio" hits stores on Tuesday.
Chesney will be the opening at the Country Music Association Awards in New York on Nov. 15, and will also sing at the 33rd annual American Music Awards in Los Angeles on Nov. 22.
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