Kissel and his co-writers wrote the song with inspiration stemming from the idea of "how much sweeter everything is when we get to experience life's gifts with the people we cherish most". Kissel cited his relationship with his wife Cecilia as his personal inspiration. He initially did not intend for it to be a collaboration, before he laid down vocals on the demo and realized the potential of the song. Kissel's manager Jim Cressman had been friends for a long time with
Jeff Timmons of
98 Degrees, and knew that the band was initially looking to make a
country album so he sent them "Ain't the Same" to gauge their interest in recording it. At this point, the band had abandoned their plans for a full album, but were nonetheless interested in the song and asked Cressman if Kissel was interested in joining them on the track. Kissel immediately approved of the collaboration, and 98 Degrees recorded their parts within several days from a studio in
Los Angeles. ==Critical reception==