Kenny Chesney On Road, ACM's In Rearview Mirror

5/23/2008 Patricia Montesinos Country Music superstar Kenny Chesney is back on the road of his Poets & Pirates tour, putting to rest the controversy of the ACM Awards. Chesney expressed his frustration with the Academy of Country Music for changing the selection process for the night’s biggest grab: the Entertainer of the Year award.  While members of the Academy traditionally choose the winner, online voters chose this year’s winner. "I think it's a complete disrespect of the artist -- what they've lowered us to, to get entertainer of the year,” Chesney said after the awards.  “It's not about flying somebody to some shows and giving free songs away -- and giving this and that -- and seeing how hard you can push people's buttons on the Internet. As much as I love the ACMs and what they've done for my life, that's how I really feel about it.. And I can say that because I won tonight." The comments sparked a flurry of media coverage that criticized Chesney for encouraging fans to vote for him on his website, all the while criticizing the change in the selection process.  But Chesney has moved on, and picked up his tour in Grand Rapids, Mich.  His performance Wednesday scored gleaming reviews of the night, which didn’t go without Chesney’s tendency to surprise audiences with special guests.  Grand Rapids got to see Uncle Kracker perform David Allan Coe's “You Never Even Called Me By Name” with Chesney, while Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles joined him in “When the Sun Goes Down.” “This is turning out to be the summer of my life,” Chesney said.  “The folks we're playing with, the fans, all of it… It's so spontaneous and alive and real. When you get up on that stage, you just feel it! Who could ever want anything more?”