Rodney Atkins Atkins's debut single, "In a Heartbeat", spent one week at number 74 on the
Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now
Hot Country Songs) chart dated for August 30, 1997. One of the song's cowriters was Brian Gowan, who was also recording on Curb at the time as one-half of
Blake & Brian. Its
b-side, "God Only Knows", was also released as a single, but did not chart. but he was otherwise inactive until 2002. "In a Heartbeat" later appeared on the
soundtrack of the 2008 film
Camille.
Honesty In mid-2002, Rodney Atkins released his third single, "
Sing Along". Both it and its followup, "
My Old Man", peaked in the lower regions of the Top 40 on the country chart. Jeffrey B. Remz of
Country Standard Time gave the album a mixed review. He thought that Atkins seemed too similar in sound to labelmate
Tim McGraw, but praised some of the songs for having strong melodies. A more favorable review came from Matt Bjorke of
About.com, who called it a "confident debut from a talented newcomer."
''If You're Going Through Hell'' Having been absent from the country music charts for most of 2004 and 2005, he returned in 2006 with a single entitled "
If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)", which served as the lead-off to his second released album, ''
If You're Going Through Hell''. With this album, Atkins once again changed his musical image. He started wearing
baseball caps and performing "songs about his life." "If You're Going Through Hell" became his first number 1, spending four weeks at the top of the Hot Country Songs charts; it was also the top country hit of 2006 according to
Billboard Year-End. Following "If You're Going Through Hell" was "
Watching You", which Atkins wrote with Steve Dean and Brian Gene White. This song was inspired by Atkins' son, Elijah, who also stars in its
music video. "Watching You" was also a four-week number 1 hit, and the top country song of 2007 on the
Billboard Year-End charts. "
These Are My People" and "
Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy)" also went to number 1, making ''If You're Going Through Hell'' the first country album to include four number 1 singles since Tim McGraw's 2001 album
Set This Circus Down. The album's final single was "
Invisibly Shaken", which
Lee Greenwood previously recorded on his 2003 album
Stronger Than Time. Atkins' version of the song peaked at number 41. These songs also made top 40 on the Hot 100 while they were climbing the country charts, while "These Are My People" reached number 42. Atkins toured in late 2007-early 2008 as an opening act on
Brad Paisley's Bonfires & Amplifiers Tour. J. Poet of Allmusic gave the album a positive review, praising the "less produced sound" and Atkins' vocals on the singles. A mixed review came from
Country Standard Time, whose Robert Loy criticized Atkins for singing "about what a good ol' boy he is" on several songs, but adding that "it's fairly obvious he's at least as country as anybody else on the charts these days".
''It's America'' Atkins's thirteenth single, "
It's America", was released in November 2008. It was the first single from his third album, ''
It's America, released in March 2009. Atkins promoted the album through appearances on Larry King Live'' and a pre-sale promotion on his website. but did not make top 40. "
Farmer's Daughter" followed in early 2010, and after it reached top 5 late in the year, Curb added it and the re-recording of "Chasin' Girls" to a re-issue of ''It's America''. ''It's America
received mixed reviews. Todd Sterling of Allmusic and Liz Jungers of Roughstock both criticized it for lacking musical variety. It was more favorably reviewed at Country Standard Time'', with critic Jeff Lincoln criticizing the title track as "forced" but saying that otherwise, "Atkins has found his niche of singing about the southern tribe."
Take a Back Road "
Take a Back Road", the lead-off single and title track to his fourth album
Take a Back Road, was released in April 2011. It became his sixth (and to date, final) number 1 late in the year, and accounted for his highest placement on the Hot 100, at number 23. The song was co-written by
Luke Laird and
Rhett Akins, the latter of whom co-wrote "Farmer's Daughter". "
He's Mine" was the album's second single. The song was originally recorded by
Billy Ray Cyrus, and Atkins chose to release it because it received positive reactions from fans in concert. It peaked at number 23 on the country chart in April 2012. "
Just Wanna Rock N' Roll", the album's third single, peaked at number 31 on the
Country Airplay chart in late 2012.
Country Standard Time called Atkins "the type of wholesome country musician that you would enjoy hanging out with on a Sunday afternoon with your wife and kids." It received a "B" from
Entertainment Weekly, whose Mikael Wood wrote that Atkins "makes for a first-rate correspondent from Anytown, USA."
Greatest Hits and Caught Up in the Country In September 2013, Atkins released the single "Doin' It Right", which peaked at 53 on the Country Airplay chart. It was followed in October 2014 by "Eat Sleep Love You Repeat", which was co-written by
Walker Hayes and Ryan Bizarri. The latter song appears on Atkins'
Greatest Hits compilation, released in February 2015. This album also includes ten of his previous singles, plus the album cut "About the South" from ''If You're Going Through Hell''. In 2018, Atkins released a new single titled "
Caught Up in the Country", which features the
Fisk Jubilee Singers on backing vocals. This is the first single from an album
of the same name, released via Curb on May 10, 2019. As with his other albums, Hewitt again serves as producer. The album includes a song written about Atkins' grandmother-in-law. "Caught Up in the Country" spent 57 weeks on the Country Airplay charts, setting a new record for the longest continuous run on that chart in May 2019. On August 21, Rodney Atkins released a second single titled, "Thank God for You". This was followed in 2021 by a cover of
Anne Murray's "
A Little Good News". Atkins released a new single in November 2024 titled "True South". He co-produced the track with
Jordan Schmidt and co-wrote with
Rose Falcon,
Blake Redferrin, and Jake Saghi. This was followed in 2025 with "Watching You 2.0", a re-recording of "Watching You" with guest vocals from his son Elijah, who inspired the original song. ==Personal life==