Rhett Akins Shares Crazy Reaction to Hearing Son Thomas Rhett on the Radio the First Time
Rhett Akins joined his son and country star Thomas Rhett on the first episode of Where We Started Radio With Thomas Rhett on Apple Music Country. During the episode, the father-and-son country singers chatted about Thomas Rhett’s early career, and Akins shared the particularly strong reaction he had when he first heard his son’s single, “It Goes Like This,” on the radio.
"I'll never forget Bobby Bones premiering it on his show and I was in my truck,” Akins recalls, according to People. “That’s when I still lived in Hendersonville. And he goes, 'Coming up next we got the brand new one from Thomas Rhett, 'It Goes Like This,' and I literally pulled over on the side of the road and almost threw up."
Akins says his reaction came from the anxiety he felt due to being a co-writer on the song. The 52-year-old singer wrote the track alongside Ben Hayslip and Jimmy Robbins, and he wanted the tune to be a great success.
"I was like, 'If Thomas Rhett fails in this business, I don't want it to be because of me. I don't want my song to be the one that killed the career here.' So I was so nervous when it came on," he shares. "I remember going to see you when you were still playing like little theaters and stuff, and every night the crowd just seemed to get bigger and bigger and know that song a little bit more. Then I knew it was taking off."
"Yeah, that was definitely a, for me, 'where we started' moment," Thomas Rhett adds.
"It Goes Like This" ended up becoming a Triple-Platinum selling No. 1 single. Since then, Thomas Rhett has gone on to release more than 15 No. 1 songs and five albums. His upcoming sixth album, Where We Started, is set for release on April 1, and he will share his Country Again: Side B project later this year.
Akins, on the other hand, has become one of Nashville's top songwriters in the years since his successful solo career. He has written songs recorded by Blake Shelton, Brantley Gilbert, Jason Aldean and many more.
Where We Started Radio With Thomas Rhett airs Tuesdays at 6PM ET on Apple Music Country.