Chesney Debuts Tenth Album At No. 1

Sales stats for Kenny Chesney’s latest album show the superstar continuing his hot streak. Hemingway’s Whiskey moved 183,000 units its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. This is more than double the debut week sales of his last project, Greatest Hits II, and also outpaces the first week sales of his 2008 Lucky Old Sun album.

Driven by his No. 1 single, “The Boys of Fall,” Hemingway’s Whiskey is Chesney’s sixth album to debut at the top of the all-genre Billboard 200. It’s his tenth consecutive project to enter at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Album Chart.

“My sixth number one album feels like my first one,” said an excited Chesney. “I love great songs and I love my fan base that has helped build all this… I’m proud of the songwriters, proud of [my producer] Buddy Cannon, proud of Renee Bell [EVP A&R Sony Music Nashville], proud of the musicians, and everyone involved in this historic ride we have all been on!!!”

His historic ride includes total album sales of more than 30 million, 20 No. 1 singles and Pollstar Magazine recently cited Chesney as the second best ticket seller of the decade, behind only Dave Matthews.

While Chesney did not tour in 2010, he spent the year working on his Summer in 3D movie which was released in April, and the Boys of Fall football documentary, which will be available at Wal-Mart on November 9.

Sony Music Nashville Chairman and CEO Gary Overton commented, “We’re so proud of Kenny and this is the result of all of the pieces coming together and everyone working as a team. This is a terrific number, and when you factor in a really tough marketplace to that, it’s even more impressive.”

This morning’s @MusicRow contained a detailed look at this week’s SoundScan report, including Chesney’s debut and more. @MR is available only to paid subscribers.