Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Billboard	(favourable)
The Boston Globe	(positive)
Entertainment Weekly	C+
Los Angeles Times
The New York Times	(favorable)
Rolling Stone
USA Today

Cradlesong is the second solo studio album by the Matchbox Twenty lead-singer Rob Thomas, released on June 30, 2009 by Atlantic Records. The album's first single "Her Diamonds" was a success around the world, while reaching number three in Australia and topping the Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart, meanwhile other singles "Someday" and "Mockingbird" attained success on the Adult Contemporary charts.

The album received mostly positive reviews, with the single "Her Diamonds", a song written about his wife and her illness, receiving praise by many reviewers. The album takes a pop rock feel with a variety of sounds mixed by longtime producer Matt Serletic who is praised for smooth production of the album. It debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number #3 selling 122,000 copies, while reaching top-ten positions in Canada and Australia.

On September 15, 2008, Thomas told Billboard.com that he's "probably about 80 percent done" with his second solo record, tentatively titled Cradle Songs at the time. Thomas characterized the album as "the usual mish-mosh of styles, but hopefully just holding true to a bunch of good songs." with the article also mentioning that the record will nonetheless feature several tracks that "take a more global, rhythmic direction after working with South American and African percussionists." Thomas explained one such experiment:

On February 25, 2009, it was announced via Fox News that the album's then-supposed title was Cradle Song. It was mentioned, in addition, that there "are at least four hot singles awaiting radio play including 'Her Diamonds' and 'Someday.'" On the same day, Thomas announced on his official website that he has been "back and forth to Los Angeles quite a bit, mixing the new record." However, he denied the album will be released in May, mentioning it "looks like it won't be coming until the last week of June or the first week of July."

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