Cosmic Hallelujah is the seventeenth studio album by American country music artist Kenny Chesney. It was released on October 28, 2016, by Blue Chair and Columbia Nashville. The album was originally scheduled for release July 8, 2016, under the title Some Town Somewhere.
The song "Jesus and Elvis" also appears on songwriter Hayes Carll's 2019 album What It Is. Additionally, "Winnebago" was later recorded by its writer David Lee Murphy on his 2018 album No Zip Code.
Contents
Critical reception
Cosmic Hallelujah has generally received positive reviews from critics.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave the album a very positive review, saying that "Chesney is determined to connect with his times without abandoning himself, and the result is one of his best records."
Maura Johnston of The Boston Globe also gave the album a positive review, saying that "Chesney isn’t one to rest on his laurels, and his 17th album, Cosmic Hallelujah, bears that out."
Commercial performance
Cosmic Hallelujah debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart with 89,000 units, with 79,000 of that figure being pure album sales. It was the best-selling album of the week in terms of physical sales and downloads. The album also debuted at number one on the Top Country Albums chart. As of December 2017, the album has sold 239,500 copies in the United States.
Personnel
Wyatt Beard – background vocals
Kenny Chesney – lead vocals
Ross Copperman – background vocals
Chad Cromwell – drums
Kenny Greenberg – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Jesse Frasure – background vocals
David Huff – percussion, programming
Brett James – background vocals
Shane McAnally – background vocals
Rob McNelley – electric guitar
Allison Moorer – background vocals on "Jesus and Elvis"
Heather Morgan – background vocals
Greg Morrow – drums, cowbell
David Lee Murphy – background vocals
Josh Osborne – background vocals
Pink – duet vocals on "Setting the World on Fire"
Danny Rader – banjo, bouzouki, acoustic guitar, tres
Michael Rhodes – bass guitar
Mike Rojas – accordion, keyboards, Hammond organ, piano, synthesizer, Wurlitzer
F. Reid Shippen – programming, Wurlitzer