Kenny Chesney is one of the biggest country music stars in the world. The “Knowing You” singer has been nominated for six Grammys, and won seven Country Music Awards over the course of his career (via ABC News). But would you believe that the beloved star didn’t even study music in college?
The Tennessee native went to East Tennessee State University, according to The Boot. At the time, Chesney played for a bluegrass band, and performed at local bars and at frat parties, per Marie Claire. He aspired to a career in country music, but left college in 1991 without the world knowing his name (via Biography).
In fact, although Chesney moved to Nashville after earning his degree at ETSU, it wasn’t until 1993 that the singer would sign his first record deal (via Taste of Country).
So what did he graduate from college having studied? The answer will definitely amuse the country crooner’s fans.
Kenny Chesney didn't know he would hit it big
As Marie Claire reports, Kenny Chesney, who at one point hoped to play professional football according to ABC News, and initially pursued a business program, got his degree in advertising from East Tennessee State University. “In My Wildest Dreams” was released in 1994, just three years later (via Taste of Country and Britannica). And believe it or not, the musician had only received a guitar as a present from his mother a short time before hitting it big!
About his experience with his first, now-defunct label, Capricorn Records, Chesney has said, “I was 23 years old, and they were offering me a record deal” (via The Boot).
From that point, the singer, who was once married to Renee Zellweger, has become a worldwide star, but as he told Parade in 2010, “I really do feel there is a normalcy inside of me behind all this success. I’ve still got the same buddies I went to high school and college with.”
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