The music video for Jason Aldean’s country song “Try That in a Small Town” has become a massive hit in the wake of a woke backlash that accused the song of evoking racism.
Despite CMT pulling the video from its rotation, the music video for Aldean’s song has increased viewership by a whopping 999 percent.
Per The Messenger:
Per Penske Media Eldridge’s music sales and streams data tracker Luminate, the song’s on-demand audio and video streams have increased by 999 percent, from 987,000 to 11.7 million. Sales are up as well, selling 228,000 units this past week (a whopping 22,700% increase from the week before the controversy, when the track only sold 1,000 units).
As Breitbart News reported, CMT recently pulled the music video for Jason Aldean’s new single “Try That In a Small Town,” which aggressively attacks recent riots and rising lawlessness in the United States. The video features Aldean performing in front of a courthouse amid interspersed footage of “a flag burning, protesters screaming and attacking police in various scenarios, and robbing a convenience store,” according to Billboard.
Later in the video, a Fox News chyron appears with the words “state of emergency declared in Georgia.” Aldean’s video juxtaposes these violent images with more harmonious scenes like a girl playing hopscotch and a raised American flag. Critics of the song took issue with several lyrics wherein Aldean calls out criminals and rioters directly. Per Billboard:
Written by Kelly Lovelace, Neil Thrasher, Tully Kennedy and Kurt Michael Allison, the song is an often confrontational take, with lyrics challenging those who “carjack an old lady at a red light” or “pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store” or “cuss out a cop” to try that in a small town and “see how far ya make it down the road/ around here, we take care of our own.”
In a later verse, Aldean, who was on stage when the worst gun massacre in U.S. history took place at the Route 91 Festival in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, 2017, sings, “Got a gun that my granddad gave me/ They say one day they’re gonna round up/ Well, that sh-t might fly in the city/ Good luck.”
Aldean addressed the controversy over his song after CMT removed it from circulation on Tuesday in a lengthy message on his Instagram Stories.
“I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject too the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests. These references are not only meritless, but dangerous,” he said.
Aldean asserted that he never brought race into the song and that he used real news footage.
“NO ONE, including me, wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart. … ‘Try That In A Small Town,’ for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief,” he said.
Country singer and gun control singer Sheryl Crow, however, called his song “lame” while accusing him of promoting violence.
“I’m from a small town. Even people in small towns are sick of violence.There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence. You should know that better than anyone having survived a mass shooting. This is not American or small town-like. It’s just lame,” she said.
.@Jason_Aldean I’m from a small town. Even people in small towns are sick of violence.There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence. You should know that better than anyone having survived a mass shooting.
This is not American or small town-like. It’s just lame https://t.co/cuOtUO9xjr
— Sheryl Crow (@SherylCrow) July 19, 2023
Several GOP politicians have come to Aldean’s defense, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and former President Donald Trump.
“Jason Aldean is a fantastic guy who just came out with a great new song. Support Jason all the way. MAGA!!!” Trump said on Truth Social.