Jason Aldean continues to defend his controversial song “Try That in a Small Town,” which has been accused of promoting gun violence and racism in its lyrics and music video.
The country music artist, 46, appeared on Wednesday’s episode of the Audacy podcast Coop’s Rockin’ Country on Saturday nights and reflected in the viral song and video. He shared why he feels he has to release the song and stands by its message, despite the criticism it has received.
“If you have common sense, you can watch the video and see, I’m not saying anything that’s not true,” Aldean said of the visual, which features footage of the riots that took place during 2020, and was filmed in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where a black man, Henry Choate, was lynched in 1927.
“In the video, I show you what happened — I didn’t make it, I didn’t create it — it just happened, and I saw it, and I’m not cool with it,” the country singer told host Coop.
Jason Aldean Responds to Backlash Over Controversial ‘Try That in a Small Town’ Music Video
The singer-songwriter explained that he felt prompted to release the song — which includes lyrics that encourage those who might “scold a cop” or “step on a flag” to “Try it in a small town / See how far you can go” — after seeing what he felt was “wrong”.
“I don’t care what side of the political fence you want to stand on, but to me what I saw was wrong and nobody would say anything, especially in the music industry or the entertainment industry,” Aldean said. “It just gets to a tipping point where you say to yourself, ‘Somebody’s got to say something, and if nobody’s going to do it, then I’m going to be the one.’
The “She’s Country” singer noted, “Country music is blue-collar music, for every man out there, and that’s always been my thing — it’s like, this is how I feel.”
Jason Aldean performs in Wisconsin in July 2023.
Joshua Applegate/Getty
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The ACM winner also shared what he interpreted as what bothered listeners when the song was originally dropped in May. “I think the biggest problem people had when we released the song was that it mentioned ‘having a gun that my grandfather gave me.’ I mentioned a gun, that’s a ‘no, no’ right now,” the musician said of the line, “I’ve got a gun that my grandfather gave me / They say they’re gonna get it together one day / Well, that s– – might be flying around town, good luck. ”
He added: “I just remember thinking, ‘Man, you guys haven’t even seen the video yet’.”
Still, the “Dirt Road Anthem” singer insists that people have “made the song and the video into something they’re not,” but thinks the amount of attention it’s gotten is “really incredible.”
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The divisive song eventually reached No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart and No. 2 on the Board Hot 100 shortly after the release of the music video in July. It also had the biggest sales week for a country song in more than 10 years, per Board.
Following the release of the video — which was pulled from CMT’s programming after a week — and the subsequent backlash, Aldean shared a statement on social media calling the allegations surrounding the song “dangerous.”
The “Big Green Tractor” artist also spoke about the controversy on stage, referring to the “cancellation culture” among other things. He said, “I am a proud American. I’m proud to be from here. I love our country, I want to see it back to what it used to be before all this bulls— started happening to us. I love our country, I love my family and I will do anything to protect it. I’ll tell you right now.”
Fellow artists like Sheryl Crow expressed concern about the single on social media, and fans suspected Maren Morris included a response to it in her video for “The Tree.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education