Kenny Chesney Could Drive Up Beside You If You’re Blasting ‘Happy Does’
Now and then, while he's out cruising the highways, Kenny Chesney will stop next to another car at a stoplight and hear his own song playing. Believe it or not, it happened just recently, when the country singer caught his latest single, "Happy Does," emerging from a fellow driver's vehicle.
That's what the veteran musician and avid college football fan shared with Taste of Country Nights this week when he phoned in for an on-air chat. Asked about the craziest place he's heard the Here and Now cut, the 52-year-old crooner marveled at the street-side circumstance.
"It's only happened twice in my life," Chesney tells hosts Evan and Amber, on the line from his current digs in sunny Southern California. "I was at a stoplight, and the person next to me had their window down, blaring 'Happy Does.' They had no idea I was next to them."
"I had my windows down anyway," the singer adds, "but they had no idea it was me. That was just a couple of days ago, so that's one of the cooler places I've heard it — just at a light on the Pacific Coast Highway."
And seeing as how "Happy Does" is all about finding one's happiness, Taste of Country Nights also wanted to know what Chesney does to cheer himself up when he's got the blues.
"Usually, I try to jump in the ocean," the star says. "The energy of the ocean does a lot for your soul, does a lot for your brain, does a lot for your state of mind. That's what I've usually tried to do. Now, if I can't get close to an ocean — I know this sounds weird — but I'll sit in an ice tub."
Fans of Chesney's familiar with the singer's feel-good rituals likely know about his fondness for the ice bath. The musician admits the practice is "strange, but it does so much for your brain and your mental psyche. It's hard to do, but it's the best antidepressant there is."
All that said, there's probably one remaining question on listeners' minds. Although Here and Now, Chesney's 19th album, just came out last spring, does the musician have a new one in the works?
"I'm constantly writing songs," he explains, "and I'm constantly creating. I have a lot of my friends send me songs they've written. And maybe I'm working on it without even knowing I'm working on it. But, you know, I've collected a few songs here and there and tried to write something worth putting on a record. Technically, no, I'm not [working on an album right now] — but I know in my brain that, at some point, I'll start doing that."
Whenever that new Kenny Chesney album does arrive, however, make sure to crank it in your car with the windows down. Who knows, maybe Kenny will pull up next to you.
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