SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Dec. 5, 2014) Kenny Chesney knew “American Kids” was special the moment Shane McAnally played it for him, but he had no idea the impact the McAnally/Luke Laird/Rodney Clawson song was going to have. Beyond spending two weeks at #1 three weeks before The Big Revival hit the stores, the song that celebrates the exuberance and freewheeling spirit of coming of age in America has now been singled out with a GRAMMY nomination for Country Song of the Year.

“I knew the second I heard it that I was going to cut ‘American Kids’,” Chesney said. “With two hooks, three rhythm scans and some of the most ingenious wordplay I’ve ever heard, this song’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard. It feels good. It says something about the heart and the passion people in small towns have – and it makes you smile every time you hear it.

“The fact that the Grammy voters heard it, too, that they recognized how truly special and innovative this song is makes me so proud for Shane, Luke and Rodney. This really is a song that breaks a lot of rules, does things you don’t expect and offers a picture of how it is that isn’t cliché or expected. What a cool thing to have happen to some very talented guys! I’m just glad I got to be the one who cut it.”

Chesney has always had an ear for songs that aren’t obvious. Whether it was Songwriter Hall of Famer Matraca Berg and Deana Carter’s yearning “You And Tequila,” which featured Grace Potter and earned every award nomination imaginable, Brett James’ 6-week #1 “When The Sun Goes Down,” a romping duet with Uncle Kracker or “Hemingway’s Whiskey” by venerable songwriter/icon Guy Clark, the 8-time Entertainer of the Year looks for songs that stand out.

“I came to town as a songwriter, and got to write with some of the very best, people like Whitey Shaffer and Dean Dillon,” he explains. “So I understand how hard it is to write a great song, let alone something as fresh and original as ‘American Kids.’ Coloring outside the lines, though, is where the magic happens. Today, three of my friends got one of the ultimate rewards: a GRAMMY nomination.”

“American Kids” helped set the tone for The Big Revival, Chesney’s 13th #1 Billboard Country Albums debut.USA Today called Chesney’s envelope pushing project “a coming-of-age tale full of life-changing memories,” while Billboard proffered “it captures the zeitgeist of American youth in a way John Mellencamp once owned” and Rolling Stone raved the album “continuously brings a sense of music energy and emotional urgency... His strongest collection of songs since 2010’s career-defining Hemingway’s Whiskey.”

As Chesney gears up for his 2015 The Big Revival Tour, he celebrates the writers who helped him put his new direction into focus. With “Til It’s Gone” hitting the Top 10 and climbing, it’s going to be a high energy summer with 20 stadium plays, 30 arenas and amphitheaters and the occasional pop-up honky tonk gig.

“When you can find songs that say something, then songs that make people smile when they’re thinking about it? That’s what this is all about. I can’t wait to get out there and play ‘American Kids’ for the fans.”