sort of tear-jerker George Jones has worked wonders with in the past". Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly thought that Diffie "[sang] in his natural voice", but thought that its material "punches all the predictable thematic buttons." Also in 1992, Diffie was nominated by the Academy of Country Music for Top New Male Vocalist, along with Billy Dean and Mark Chesnutt, but lost to Billy. 1993: Honky Tonk Attitude Honky Tonk Attitude (1993) shipped a million copies in the United States and was certified platinum. The first three singles from the album all reached the top 10 on the country singles charts: the title track (which Diffie co-wrote) and the Dennis Linde composition "John Deere Green" both peaked at number five, with the number-three "Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)" in between. "John Deere Green" also accounted for Diffie's first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 69. "In My Own Backyard", the last release from Honky Tonk Attitude, reached number 19 on the country charts. Diffie told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the album was "a little rowdier than the first two." Nash rated the album more favorably than the ones before it, saying that Diffie "is maturing into a first-rate interpreter of working-class woes." Also in 1993, Diffie was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. Several other artists and he won that year's Country Music Association award for Vocal Event of the Year, for their guest vocals on George Jones's "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair". Tim McGraw also included two of Diffie's songs on his 1993 debut album: another version of "Memory Lane", which he released as a single, and "Tears in the Rain". 1994–1996: Third Rock from the Sun, Mr. Christmas, and Life's So Funny Third Rock from the Sun was Diffie's highest-charting top country album (where it reached number six), as well as his second consecutive platinum album. It was also the first album that he co-produced, doing so with Johnny Slate. The album included two consecutive number-one singles in its title track and in "Pickup Man". The latter of those two songs was Diffie's longest-lasting number one, at four weeks. Both songs also entered the hot 100, respectively peaking at 84 and 60. In 2005, "Pickup Man" was repurposed by the Applebee's restaurant chain for use in its television commercials. The album's next single, "So Help Me Girl",