Business

Jason Aldean’s Controversial ‘Try That In A Small Town’ Debuts At No. 2 On Billboard Chart

July 26, 2023

Topline

Country singer Jason Aldean’s song “Try That In A Small Town”—which was released in May but made headlines last week over its music video featuring footage of people protesting against police and lyrics about gun ownership and vigilantism—debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Monday.

Jason Aldean performs during CMA Fest 2022 in Nashville, Tenn., on June 9, 2022. Aldean’s “Try That … [+] In A Small Town” debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart at No. 2 with the biggest sales week for a country song in over 10 years, according to Billboard. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)

2022 Invision

Key Facts

The song debuted with the biggest sales week for a country song in over 10 years, Billboard reported, likely due to the controversy surrounding it after Country Music Television pulled the video, which was released July 14.

A CMT representative wouldn’t tell Forbes why the music video—which had footage showing anti-police protests, people robbing stores and violent interactions between protesters and police and drew criticism from politicians and activists—was pulled.

The release of the music video also led to fresh criticism for the song’s lyrics in which Aldean talks about a gun his grandfather gave him and a town “full of good ol’ boys, raised up right”; he sings that if you “cuss out a cop, spit in his face” or “stomp on the flag” in a small town, the consequences are harsher than they would be in a large city.

Aldean, whose 2017 concert in Las Vegas was the site of one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history, defended his song amid critiques—often from gun violence advocates—saying he’s never hidden his political views and that he’s a “proud American” and wants “to see (the country) restored to what it once was before all this bullshit started happening to us.”

Key Background

Some of Aldean’s critics—including Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America—pointed out the juxtaposition of the song’s lyrics and his concert being one of history’s deadliest mass shootings. In 2017, a gunman opened fire at the Route 91 Harvest music festival while Aldean was performing and killed 60 people, making it the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history. Shortly after the concert, Aldean told the Associated Press “it’s too easy to get guns,” and appeared to support some stricter regulations, but added that he thought mass shootings were being misused during arguments about gun control. Since the controversy over the song and video began last week, Aldean took to Twitter to remind people he was at the Route 91 shooting and said he doesn’t want to “continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart.” He said the song is about the fact that the desire to address gun violence is there even though many people in the country don’t agree “on how we get back to a sense of normalcy where we go at least a day without a headline that keeps us up at night.”

Contra

Aldean did receive some support for his music video and song, largely from conservative politicians and country music magazines. Former President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Aldean is “a fantastic guy who just came out with a great new song” and encouraged his followers to “support Jason all the way.” North Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) also shared support for the video. Music Mayhem Magazine called the video a “thought-provoking clip” that “takes a bold step . . . to shine a light on pressing social and political issues.”

Surprising Fact

Some critics alleged Aldean’s lyrics were describing a “sundown town,” or town where people of color were supposed “to get out before dark,” according to Variety. Adeem the Artist, a satirical country and Americana singer from the south who identifies as non-binary, released a parody of Aldean’s song titled “Sundown Town,” posting it with the caption: “I love COUNTRY MUSIC! & how inclusive it is!!” The song—which Adeem joked was a “cover” of Aldean’s song—includes the lyrics: “And we all wear boots and we love to shoot, And we root for the cops to stop people like you, This is a sundown town.”

Tangent

Country music had been scarce on the Billboard Hot 100 for years, but has staged somewhat of a comeback in 2023. In June, Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs held the first and second spots on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking the first time in more than 40 years that the top two positions were occupied by country music artists. Wallen’s song “Last Night” was the most successful song of the first half of the year, charting at No. 1 on the Hot 100 list for 12 weeks before losing its spot.