The controversy surrounding Jason Aldean’s “Try That In A Small Town” has driven it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song debuted at the #2 spot.
The controversial song debuted in May to limited fanfare and it wasn’t until July when CMT pulled the music video associated with the song that it began to gain more traction. Data from Luminate shows the song has gained around 30.7 million streams (165%+) and 8.8 million radio airplay impressions through the July 21-27 reporting week—and just a week after CMT announced it would pull the music video.
According to Billboard, the song saw its largest digital sales that week for a country title in over 10 years following CMT’s decision to pull the song. The network declined to say why the song was removed from its rotation, with Aldean commenting on the firestorm during a show in Cincinnati.
“I feel like everybody’s entitled to their opinion. You can think something all you want to; it doesn’t mean it’s true. What I am is a proud American. I’m proud to be from here—I love my country, I love my family, and I will do anything to protect that—I can tell you that right now.”
This marks the first Billboard Hot 100 hit for Aldean, but his 40th song entry onto the charts. His first hit to stumble onto the charts was way back in 2005 with “Hicktown.” It’s also the best song for the label Broken Bow, whose previous Billboard top ten hit was also Jason Aldean’s “Dirt Road Anthem.”
What’s curious about this week is that the top three spots are all country hits. Billboard says this is the first time this has happened in chart history—more than 65 years of tracking since 1958.
- Jason Aldean | “Try That In A Small Town”
- Morgan Wallen | “Last Night”
- Luke Combs | “Fast Car”
