Country music star and actor Charles Esten honored with official certificate on TODAY show
Country musician and CMT Nashville star Charles Esten has been rewarded after bringing out a new single every week for more than a year.
After performing his song “Halfway Home” on NBC’s TODAY show, Charles Esten has been presented with the Guinness World Records title for the Most consecutive weeks to release an original digital single by a music act during Kathy Lee and Hoda’s segment.
The record reflects his #EverySingleFriday campaign which first began on 15 July 2016 and ended on 21 July 2017.
"On 1 July 2016, I posted a video where I promised to put out a brand-new original single every single Friday for as long as it made sense," he said.
"At that time, I had no idea how it would go, or how long I could do it. I only knew that, as a lifelong songwriter, through my role as Deacon Claybourne on ‘Nashville’, I had found my way to Music City and, surrounded by some of the most talented people in the world, I was feeling a level of inspiration and creativity that needed a different kind of outlet than an EP or an album."
The campaign yielded 54 original songs Charles wrote or co-wrote, recorded and released.
The song that Charles performed on the morning talk show, Halfway Home, was song #29 of 54 in the series.
Charles originally started singing and songwriting in college, where he also began performing on stage.
Eventually, his career would take him to acting in Los Angeles, where he landed roles for well-known US television shows Whose Line Is It Anyway? and The Office.
After landing a role as Buddy Holly for the London West End musical, Buddy, he was fortunate enough to perform for Queen Elizabeth II and then, for President George H.W. Bush at both The Kennedy Center and The White House.
Charles’s record title comes on the heels of his 100th performance on the Grand Ole Opry, which occurred Friday 20 July.
For now, he will continue to tour, write and record while he also travels to New Orleans to film a new, recurring role on TNT’s, Tell Me Your Secrets.