Kenny Chesney’s Mediterranean-Style Malibu Home

Country music star Kenny Chesney purchased a Mediterranean-style compound in Malibu, California, for $7.4 million in February. And now, according to reports, he has already put it back on the market for $7.5. I wonder why he changed his mind? It looks like a great place to hang your hat!

According to the MLS listing, it has 5 bedrooms and 5 baths, but upon closer inspection it appears that only 2 of those bedrooms are in the main house. There are also two guest houses on the property.

Here’s the agent’s description of the home:

“Spectacular Mediterranean compound, private and gated, panoramic views of Santa Monica Bay, Catalina Island, and Malibu Point. Voluminous main house and two detached guest houses, enormous flat grassy yard, beautiful fruit trees and gardens, tiled pool, outdoor oven and barbecue. La Costa Beach rights and tennis membership included.”

I love that the main house is “voluminous.” I’ve never heard real estate described that way, have you? Berg Properties reports that in this case, voluminous means 3,723 square feet, to be exact.

The property is pretty amazing. I’d buy it just for those views!

I first saw the story mentioned on Big Time Listings, and you can read more about the house there. The site also notes that Chesney owns an extra-voluminous (my new favorite real-estate term) 7,242-square-foot house on a 48.77-acre estate Franklin, Tennessee, as well, that he bought in ‘03 for $2.5 million.

As you know, I can never resist sharing a little extra information about the celebs themselves when we talk about their houses.

Kenny Chesney, the reigning Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year, says he didn’t even pick up his first guitar until his freshman year of college.

According to the CMT website, he was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and raised in nearby Luttrell. He attended college at East Tennessee State in Johnson City and became a fixture in the area’s venues. “The scene up there then was mostly blues, rock and folk,” he recalls. “I was about the only one doing George Jones and Hank Jr. I got to where I had a pretty good following.”

A month after graduating from college in ‘91 with a degree in advertising, he headed for Nashville. For a while he could only get work as a songwriter. But by the mid-90s, he signed with RCA’s BNA Records and began turning out the hits.

Me and You (album cover shown above–look how young he looked!) was certified gold (1996). I Will Stand (1997) was certified platinum and Everywhere We Go (1999) was certified double platinum.

Chesney made headlines in 2000 when he hopped on a police officer’s horse at a fair in New York state. According to CMT:

Chesney said he had permission, but when the officer tried to pull him off, touring pal Tim McGraw blocked the policeman’s efforts. Both men were acquitted for their alleged crimes — Chesney for disorderly conduct, McGraw for obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest. The publicity was priceless, as Chesney found himself with his highest media exposure to date.

He became tabloid fodder five years later when this photo of newlyweds Chesney and Renee Zellwegger shocked the world. The actress, then 36, and the singer, then 37, wed in a small ceremony on the Caribbean island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Unfortunately, the surprise marriage was followed a short four months later by news of their surprise annulment. (Read original story at MSNBC online.)

Chesney said of the short-lived marriage: “I remember coming back from the wedding and we landed in Little Rock, Arkansas. I had a show. We didn’t have a honeymoon, you know? Welcome to Little Rock, baby. Happy Honeymoon.”

His professional life has been more successful. Chesney has produced more than thirty Top Ten singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, thirteen of which reached Number One. In addition, Chesney has received three Country Music Awards. He’s proven to be one of the most popular touring acts in country music, selling out the venues at which he performs. His 2007 Flip-Flop Summer Tour was the highest-grossing country road trip of 2007. (Via Wikipedia.)

His most recent album is the 2007 release Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates (shown below; you can buy it here).

Chesney’s Malibu home photos via The MLS and Keller Williams Realty. Album photos via Amazon.com.

Go to Celebrity Houses for links to all of the others I’ve featured, from Britney Spears to Madonna.

Tagged as: California, celebrities, country music, country music television, entertainment, Famous Houses, House Tour, Kenny Chesney, malibu, mediterranean, MLS listing, Real Estate