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. He entered the Top 10 for the first time in late 2003-early 2004 with "Honesty (Write Me a List)", which went on to peak at number 4 on the country charts and 57 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was the title track to his album Honesty, which was released by the end of 2003. "Someone to Share It With" and "Monkey in the Middle" (both also co-written by Gowan) were also issued as singles, with the former peaking at number 41 on the country charts. Atkins told the Associated Press that he chose to record "Honesty" because he and producer Ted Hewitt wanted a twelfth song for the album, and co-writer David Kent had recommended it to Hewitt. 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."