BNA Records, formerly known as BNA Entertainment, is a label group that shares ties with Arista Nashville and RCA Nashville from parent company Sony Music Nashville, which itself is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, BNA features country music acts on its roster. The company derives its name from the IATA and ICAO airport codes for Nashville International Airport.
The label was founded by Boomer Castleman, who sold it to BMG Music in 1993.
In August 2011, Sony Nashville announced a major corporate restructuring which included the merger of Columbia Nashville into BNA.
Kenneth Arnold "Kenny" Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Chesney has recorded 15 albums, 14 of which have been certified gold or higher by the RIAA. He has also produced more than 30 Top Ten singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, 20 of which climbed to the top of the charts.
Over the life of his career, Chesney has been honored with numerous awards from the Academy of Country Music (ACM), Country Music Association (CMA), American Music Awards (AMA), Country Music Television (CMT), Billboard Music Awards (BMA), People's Choice Awards (PCA), and the French Country Music Awards (FCMA).
Chesney recently produced and co-directed a film for ESPN, "The Boys Of Fall". Chesney has received six Academy of Country Music awards(including four consecutive Entertainer of the Year Awards from 2005 to 2008), as well as six Country Music Association awards. He is one of the most popular touring acts in country music, regularly selling out the venues at which he performs. His 2007 Flip-Flop Summer Tour was the highest-grossing country road trip of the year.
Kellie Dawn Pickler (born June 28, 1986) is an American country music artist and television personality. She gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of the Fox reality show American Idol, eventually finishing in sixth place. In 2006, she signed to 19 Recordings and BNA Records as a recording artist, releasing her debut album, Small Town Girl, later that year. To date, it has sold over 800,000 copies. The album, which was certified gold by the RIAA, produced three singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts: "Red High Heels" at number fifteen, "I Wonder" at number fourteen, and "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind" at number sixteen. She released her self-titled second album in Fall 2008 and has produced the singles "Don't You Know You're Beautiful" at number twenty-one, "Best Days of Your Life" at number nine (which she co-wrote with Taylor Swift and her first Top 10 hit), "Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You" at number fourteen, and "Makin' Me Fall in Love Again" at number thirty. In 2012, she was ranked as the 14th best American Idol alumna.
Rachel Christine Proctor (born August 11, 1974 in Charleston, West Virginia) is an American country music artist. Before signing to a record deal, she co-wrote Martina McBride's 2002 single "Where Would You Be". By 2003, Proctor had signed to BNA Records, releasing her debut single "Days Like This" that year. This song, which peaked at #24 on the country charts, was the first of four singles from her 2004 debut album Where I Belong. Proctor's only album for the label, it also produced her highest-charting single in the #18 "Me and Emily". Although she has not charted a single since 2004, she has written singles for Jessica Simpson and Jesse Lee.
Rachel Proctor was born in Charleston, West Virginia. When she was in grade school, she appeared in local productions of Annie and The Sound of Music. By the time she was in junior high school, she had signed with a New York management company that also managed New Kids on the Block. Proctor also competed on the television talent show Star Search, and by the time she was eighteen, she had begun writing songs and performing in local bands as well. (One band in which she performed also included a then-unknown Blake Shelton.)
Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. (born September 25, 1980), better known by his stage name T.I., is an American rap artist, film and music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of Grand Hustle Records.
T.I. has released seven studio albums (I'm Serious, Trap Muzik, Urban Legend, King, T.I. vs. T.I.P., Paper Trail, and No Mercy) with the most recent five being highly successful on the commercial market. He has released such successful singles as "Bring Em Out", "What You Know", "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)", "Swagga Like Us" (featuring Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne), "Whatever You Like", "Live Your Life" (featuring Rihanna), "Dead and Gone" (featuring Justin Timberlake), "Got Your Back" (featuring Keri Hilson) and "That's All She Wrote" (featuring Eminem). He has served two stints in county jail, twice for probation violations and a federal prison bid for a U.S. federal weapons charge. While serving 11 months in prison he released his seventh studio album, No Mercy. T.I. has also had successful acting career, starring in the films Takers and ATL.