On Friday Oct. 28, Kenny Chesney will drop his new album, Cosmic Hallelujah. But the “Noise” singer already has a reason to celebrate. The upcoming album’s second single, “Setting the World on Fire”—which features pop rocker P!nk—hit the top of the Billboard Country Airplay chart this week.
“I knew the moment I heard this song, it was exactly the moment of life and love exploding, and everything turning Technicolor,” Kenny says in a statement. “Finding songs that are in the moment are harder, but in this kind of moment, it’s almost impossible. And the idea of bringing P!nk in adds to that sense of this song is happening as we sing it. It’s funny how people respond to stuff that feels real and right now.”
The highly anticipated new album was originally set to be released in July 2016 under the title Some Town Somewhere until an eleventh-hour change to accommodate the P!nk duet, “Setting the World on Fire,” pushed the release back to Oct. 28 with the name changed to Cosmic Hallelujah.
“The more I listened, the more these songs’ energy—especially ‘Setting the World on Fire’—took hold,” Kenny said in a statement back in July. “Some Town Somewhere is a great title, and it’s every single one of us. But then there’s how the album fits together, and even expands on what the last album did. So, I could go with what was already in place, or I could grab the title that felt the most right.”
Pushing back the album and adding the P!nk duet turned out to be a good move for the superstar. “Setting the World on Fire” not only hit the top spot on the charts but it allowed Kenny more time to find new songs that met his musical standards for the album.
“I was really happy we were going to be able to release [“Setting the World on Fire”] second,” continues Kenny. “To have country radio respond to P!nk the way they have, to be so welcoming, that makes me proud. I think when you bring an artist into country, you need to play to their strengths, but you also want them to feel caught up in what we do.”
Check out Kenny’s lyric video for “Rich and Miserable” from his upcoming album, Cosmic Hallelujah.
“We shot this on the streets of New York,” Kenny posted on his Facebook page.
