Rodney Atkins accepts the "Best New Male Vocalist" award onstage during the 42nd Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 15, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Kevin Winter/ACMA/Getty Images for ACMA)
May 15, 2008 — Rodney Atkins will be a familiar name during the "43rd annual Academy of Country Music Awards" on Sunday. He was nominated six times and he’s slated to perform on the show when it’s broadcast live from Las Vegas.
"Watching You" is a double-nominee, up for both Song of the Year and Video of the Year, and Rodney says the nominations gave him a sense that he really has arrived.
"It was an eye-opener," he says. "It gives you a sense of validation that others know who you are. I am still shocked when I am out and a guy like Tim [McGraw] or Kenny [Chesney] says, ‘Hey, Rodney, how’s it going?’ but to know that there are this many songs — like ‘Going Through Hell’ was the most-played song of the year in 2006. I was so proud of that. When it wasn’t nominated, I was kinda a little disappointed: ‘Well, it’s all political; no worries.’ When ‘Watching You’ gets nominated and it’s about my son, and it’s the core of who you are, then you go, ‘Wow, it does work.’"
Rodney’s had four No. 1 singles from the album If You’re Going Through Hell, and he’s hoping he’ll hit the top again with the fifth single from the CD, "Invisibly Shaken."