Kenny To Perform On First ACCA Awards

Kenny Chesney, the only country artist in Billboard's Top 10 Touring Acts of the Last 25 Years who will receive the American Country Countdown Awards' GROUNDBREAKER AWARD, is now set to perform during the Awards. Deemed "the People's Superstar" by The Los Angeles Times, Chesney will sing "Til It's Gone" on the live telecast from Nashville's Music City Center on Monday, Dec. 15 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on Fox.

"They told me this award recognizes taking country new places and to a lot of new people," Chesney says. "The truth is: all I did was sing songs I'd lived - and I knew people like me had lived. Show people their lives as a desirable thing, right where they are, and do a show that says 'We're all here to have the best night of the summer'... and they're gonna respond. So when I was trying to figure out what to sing, 'Til It's Gone' felt right. It's a song about being committed to the people you love, no matter what - and that's how I feel about every single member of the No Shoes Nation."

"Til It's Gone" hit Billboard's Top 5 this week. It follows "American Kids," his GRAMMY-nominated 2-week #1 from The Big Revival, up the charts - and into people's lives. Chesney's 13th Billboard Country Album Chart #1 debut, The Big Revival has been called "a coming-of-age tale full of life-changing memories" by USA Today, noted because it "captures the zeitgeist of American youth in a way John Mellencamp once owned" by Billboard and was singled out for its passion: "continuously brings a sense of musical energy and emotional urgency..." by Rolling Stone.

"Connecting with the fans is what drives me," Chesney explains. "Whatever we give them, they give us back double. That inspires everything we do. When I was cutting 'Til It's Gone,' even though it's a love song between two people, I always heard it as a song to the No Shoes Nation: 'One life, one chance, one ticket to the big dance/ You and me, hanging on, right down to the last song...' What other song would I do for an award that's as much the fans' as it is for me and the guys."

The ACCAM Groundbreaker Award is given to recognize an artist whose commitment to the genre moves what people expect of country music into new realms, horizons and realities. The award will be presented by actor/producer/writer Vince Vaughn.

Kenny Chesney has sold over a million tickets to each of his 11 headlining tours since 2002. An 8-time Entertainer of the Year, with 4 consecutive Academy of Country Music and 4 Country Music Association Awards, the man The Wall Street Journal crowned "The King of the Road" has also won the American Music Award all- Favorite Artist the ACM's Top Male Vocalist and Single of the Year ("The Good Stuff") and the CMA's Album of the Year (the sextuple-platinum When The Sun Goes Down), Video and Vocal Event Awards. With over 30 million albums sold - 7 debuting at #1 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums and 13 topping Country Album chart, his The Big Revival has spawned the multiple week #1 "American Kids," certified platinum, and the Top 5 and climbing "Til It's Gone."