Kenny Chesney tops '06 with most concert tickets sold

"With those kinds of numbers, I'm glad I don't have to do the math," said Chesney. "And I don't know who's number 1 or number 31, what I know is we had a big year out there... and we saw a lot of faces, and we had a lot of fun. Even though we played fewer shows than we have since people started actually wanting to see us, it felt like we sure did see a lot of people."

Chesney sold out Gillette Stadium in the Boston area for the second straight year, doing so more than five months in advance. He went clean at New York's famed Madison Square Garden in 20 minutes.

The Dave Matthews Band was second in North American attendance, notching 1,100,038 tickets sold. The Rolling Stones came in at 1,013,616 on this continent.

"Look, we do a lot of shows," Chesney said. "We have a pretty cool stage, a lot of lights… but in the end, it still comes to down the songs, my band, and the way we play. And the energy the crowd throws back at us! You know, I've said it before: I know what it's like to want to bring a date to a show and not know if I can afford to do it…I understand what tickets cost when you're working a part time job, going to school…and I don't want someone to not be able to come because it was too much money.

"I think when people come see us, they think it's great. But I also think they leaving having had a lot of fun… having had one of those nights where whatever was bugging you, you realize on the way out, you'd forgotten it. To do that for the fans, well, that's kind of why we do it."

The next single for Chesney will be "Beer In Mexico," written poolside at Sammy Hagar's Cabo San Lucas retreat. Chesney performs Tuesday at the People's Choice Awards, finishing up work producing Willie Nelson's next album and continuing work on the follow-up to his triple-platinum "The Road & The Radio."

He also is slated to hit stadiums again this summer with Gillette once again on the list.

It's getting to be that time of year, where we get ready to make some announcement. I just hope people are ready, 'cause we've definitely got some stuff in store."