Corey Kent Celebrates Chart-Topper ‘This Heart’

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Pictured (L-R, back row): Kari Barnhart, Shaina Botwin, Dennis Reese, George Couri, Chris Fox, Mason Hunter, Laura Alexander, Shannan Hatch, Bethany Mako, Kos Weaver, Keithan Melton and Sam Shelton. (L-R, front row): Jacob Hackworth, Thomas Archer, Corey Kent, Michael Tyler, Blake Bollinger and Chris Farren. Photo: Larry McCormack for BMI

Corey Kent gathered the Nashville music industry at the BMI office on Tuesday (Feb. 10) to celebrate his chart-topping hit, “This Heart.”

Hosted by BMI and SESAC, the celebration reunited Kent with his collaborators, including songwriters Thomas Archer, Jacob Hackworth, Blake Bollinger, Michael Tyler and producer Chris Farren.

Emceed by BMI’s Mason Hunter, Boom Music Group’s Shaina Botwin, Sony Music Nashville’s Dennis Reese, Young Guns Publishing’s Laura Alexander, SESAC’s Shannan Hatch, Warner Chappell’s Bethany Mako, Combustion’s Keithan Melton and Goat Island Sound’s Sam Shelton each took the stage to honor the team behind the track.

Many echoed the same sentiments, thanking Kent and his team for their continued belief in the song and their commitment to pushing it all the way to the top of the charts.

Studio Bank sponsored the event, with Kari Barnhart presenting a special donation in honor of the writers to the Tim Tebow Foundation.

During the party, Kent gifted the songwriters and producer a commemorative bat to acknowledge the song’s success. To celebrate BMI’s new partnership with Green River Whiskey, Kent and each songwriter were each gifted a special single barrel bourbon.

The track marked Archer’s sixth No. 1, Hackworth’s second No. 1, Bollinger’s first No. 1 and Tyler’s seventh No. 1.

Each writer spoke of their long-time friendship and how proud they were to share this accomplishment with one another, thanking their families and teams for their hard work and sacrifices.

“This accomplishment in my mind is entirely a Sony radio team, a songwriter’s accomplishment and a producer accomplishment,” Kent shared during the event. “I’m just fortunate to be the artist that got to be on this song. I’ve never really changed musically what I’ve been doing. The only thing that has ever changed is that God decided to bless it, and so I want to give one-hundred percent of the credit to the hard-working people in this room and to Jesus Christ for changing my life.”

Photo: Larry McCormack for BMI

Photo: Larry McCormack for BMI

Lauryn Sink
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