Kenny Chesney’s Welcome to the Fishbowl marks his 13th studio album. If Chesney had any fears about that being an unlucky number, he needn’t worry; 13 was also the position where the album’s first single, “Feel Like a Rock Star,” debuted on the Billboard country charts.
The inspiration for the album’s title came after a visit to a bar in Grayton Beach, Fla. In an interview with USA Today, Chesney described how he walked into the packed bar with some friends and spent 20 minutes talking to people and signing autographs before he could relax. A friend said he didn’t realize Chesney’s life was like that. Chesney replied “Hey, man, welcome to the fishbowl.” At that moment, Chesney decided to write a song about “how our world and our culture is shrinking.”
Chesney likes to record songs that “move people physically and emotionally.” The first couple of releases from Welcome to the Fishbowl demonstrate that point well. The rollicking “Feel Like a Rock Star” is a collaboration with Tim McGraw. The duet will no doubt be a high point on stage, as the two friends are currently touring together on their Brothers of the Sun tour.
The second single, “Come Over,” is the polar opposite to “Feel Like A Rock Star.” The melancholy song deals with a broken relationship between two people who aren’t quite ready to let go.
When asked about recording “Come Over” and much of the music for Welcome to the Fishbowl, Chesney says on his new album’s site that, “My love and appreciation for music grows wider and deeper every day. I don’t know that I would record the same music today I did five years ago and I wouldn’t have recorded songs like ‘Come Over,’ ‘El Cerrito Place’ and ‘You & Tequila’ five years ago. I don’t know that I could have sung them with the same emotion and believability.”
Welcome to the Fishbowl demonstrates that, as Chesney matures, he has reached a point in his career where he can have more artistic freedom and step out of his comfort zone. "I think that's what I'm enjoying about this part in my career," Chesney told USA Today, "and the new album's going to show that even more. Not a lot of artists, especially if they're as mainstream as me, have that freedom."
Tracklist:
- “Come Over”
- “Feel Like a Rock Star” (duet With Tim McGraw)
- “Sing 'em Good My Friend”
- “Welcome to the Fishbowl”
- “I'm a Small Town”
- “El Cerrito Place”
- “Makes me Wonder”
- “While He Still Knows Who I Am”
- “Time Flies”
- “To Get to You (55th And 3rd)”
- “Always Gonna Be You”
- "You and Tequila" (with Grace Potter, live at Red Rocks Amphitheatre)