Country music and Rodney Atkins fans are getting the “full circle moment” they “didn’t know they needed.”
On June 19, country music legend Rodney Atkins took to TikTok to share a video of himself singing one of his hit classics, Watching You.
The song encompasses a father raising a son.
Originally released nearly 20 years ago in 2006, Atkins wrote the song with his son, Elijah in mind. Some of the lyrics read:
“So I said son now now where did you learn to talk like that. He said I’ve been watching you dad, ain’t that cool. I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you. And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are. We got cowboy boots and camo pants. Yeah we’re just alike, hey ain’t we dad. I wanna do everything you do. So I’ve been watching you…”
The TikTok video then gave Atkins fans a surprise. Atkins’ son Elijah appeared, singing the above verse in his own soothing voice.
@rodneyatkinsmusic Replying to @lorinamankus32 @Eli A. The best late Father’s day gift. #duet #countrymusic #fyp #rodneyatkins #watchingyou #90scountry #cowboyhats
♬ Watching You (Acoustic) – Rodney Atkins
“The best late Father’s Day gift,” Rodney captioned the video.
People in the comments were thrilled to see how big Elijah has gotten and how he’s seemingly following in his dad’s footsteps.
“We need this version released ASAP,” a fan wrote in the comment section. “Will work on that,” Rodney replied.
“Mannnn. Watching this made me feel like it became full circle. You’ve done an amazing job, both of yall,” another person added.
“My daddy and I used to sing this when I was just a buckaroo. He passed last year. This was unexpected but almost a Father’s Day gift from him to me.”
The video has already amassed seven million views in just 24 hours.
People also compared Elijah’s voice to Post Malone’s who has recently dipped his toe in country music after a successful pop rock career.
@elijahatkins___ Replying to @Tedford Thanks! Not intentional, but I’ve been getting this a lot lately. #postmalone #newmusic #originalmusic #fyp #lovesongs #watchingyou #rodneyatkins
♬ Poor mans story – Eli A.
It seems as though Elijah is looking to make a name for himself in the rock seen as well, using his personal TikTok page to share his original music.