Kenny Chesney vs. the Country Class of 1994: How His Career Stacks Up to Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Other Stars
None of the country newcomers on the scene when Kenny Chesney released his '94 debut, In My Wildest Dreams , have matched the 28.8 million albums he has sold since 1991 (according to Nielsen SoundScan) or the $750 million in touring revenue he has earned since 1995. But they haven't done badly for themselves. See how they've fared in the last two decades.
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Tim McGraw
No other artist has been as closely associated with Chesney, who supported McGraw on a 2001 tour and reteamed with him in 2012 on the Brothers of the Sun double bill. While Chesney overtook him at the box office, McGraw, 47, remains one of country's top acts. He has grossed $527 million as a headliner since 1994; released 13 albums, including this year's Sundown Heaven Town
; and sold 42 million total album units.
Tim McGraw's 'Sundown' Shines at No. 1 on Top Country Albums
Faith Hill
Hill, 47, became a star with debut single "Wild One" in 1994. Many years of radio, touring and retail triumphs followed, including huge Las Vegas shows with husband McGraw. Album sales, to the tune of 20 million units, hit songs and headlining tours have trailed off since her seventh album, 2008's Joy to the World
. Hill, who appeared in the 2004 film The Stepford Wives
, will return to the big screen in 2015 in Dixieland
.
Martina McBride
Though her debut album arrived two years earlier, McBride's career took hold in 1994. The 48-year-old artist has released a wealth of hits and maintained a robust touring career, albeit primarily at the theater level. She has grossed $42.4 million as a headliner since 1994, with record sales of her 12 albums, including this year's Everlasting
, totaling 14.5 million. She shares a manager, Clint Higham, with Chesney.
Martina McBride Brings Her Everlasting Tour to Nashville's Ryman Auditorium
Lee Roy Parnell
Parnell, 57, was already a veteran of the Texas club scene when he released his debut in 1990, the year Chesney came to Nashville, but didn't fully break through until 1994 with a finalist nod for the CMA Horizon Award. Now more entrenched in blues and roots music, Parnell still tours, though the last of his eight albums, Back to the Well
, came out in 2006, and he has reported only four headlining dates, totaling $17,993, since 1994.
John Michael Montgomery
The 1994 Horizon Award winner, Montgomery, now 57, was one of country music's top headliners and hitmakers in the mid- to late '90s. As his music became more pop-leaning, the hits dried up, though Montgomery still tours frequently, with a total of $13.7 million in box-office revenue since 1994. He has sold 11 million copies of his 10 albums, the last of which, Time Flies
, arrived in 2008.
This article first appeared in the Nov. 22 issue of Billboard .
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