In 2004, Kenny Chesney was riding high with the retrospective “I Go Back,” the latest in his string of hits that would make him a superstar.

Little did he know, another native of East Tennessee, Kelsea Ballerini, was paying attention. 

“It’s so crazy” she tells ABC Audio, “like I remember driving around listening to ‘I Go Back’ when that was his single and thinking it was the craziest thing that he was singing a song about Knoxville. And I was living in Knoxville.”

“And I just thought it was so crazy that someone that came from the town that I was living in was doing that, something so big with their life,” she continues. 

Now, Kelsea herself is doing big things with her own life, as the chart-topping female vocalist has her own song about where she grew up, “Half of My Hometown,” complete with vocals from none other than Mr. Chesney himself. 

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