In May, country star Jason Aldean released the single “Try That In A Small Town,” whose lyrics portray modern city life as a hellscape of crime and anarchy. “Those who hit someone on the sidewalk / Carjack an old lady at a red light”.
“You think you’re tough,” Aldean sings. “Well, try it in a small town.”
The song initially received little attention, reaching number 35 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. That changed last week after this song ended. Music video became the battlefield of the culture wars, with some accusing Aldean, one of the nation’s biggest hitmakers for nearly two decades, of using racist dog-whistle tactics, defending himself as the new victim of an out-of-control “cancel culture.”
The controversy sparked Aldean’s song’s popularity, with both streaming and downloads exploding last week. “Try That in a Small Town” debuted at No. 2 on the Hot 100, beating out current hits by Olivia Rodrigo and Morgan Warren to become Aldean’s highest-ever on any Billboard pop chart. Only Jungkook of South Korean supergroup BTS has surpassed Aldean this week, debuting at No. 1 with her debut solo single “Seven.”
Released on July 14th, the video for “Try That” opens with Aldean performing in front of a majestic building with an American flag. The building was quickly identified as the Morley County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee. In 1927, a young black man named Henry Choate was lynched, historians mistakenly believe, by a mob of vigilantes after he was accused of raping a white girl.
The video shows a series of montages of violent street protests, robberies, police officers in riot gear and their opponents. The scenes are juxtaposed with footage of the American flag being hoisted, children playing, and what appears to be a television news segment about farmers helping their neighbors.
Three days after its release, the video was removed from country music television rotation without explanation. However, it has been widely criticized as a flimsy attack on the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.
Tennessee State Representative Justin Jones wrote on twitter Lawmakers “should condemn Jason Aldean’s heinous song that calls for racist violence. What a shameful vision of gun extremism and vigilantes.”
Aldean, 46, has denied that race is involved in the lyrics and that “Try That” is “a pro-lynching song”. what to say on social media“These references are not only unhelpful, they are dangerous.”
Several artists, including country singers, defended him Cody Johnsonsaid at a concert, “If patriotism becomes an outlaw, I swear to God I will be an outlaw.” Ted Nugent“Fools hate this song by Jason Aldean because they hate us resisting violence,” he told Fox News.
At a concert in Cincinnati on Friday, Aldean took a defiance. “Cancellation culture is a big thing,” he says. told the crowd at the Riverbend Music Center. “It’s about trying to let people cancel you out if they don’t like what you say. It means trying to ruin your life, it means trying to ruin everything.”
“I am a proud American,” he added. “I love this country. I want to see everything return to what it was before.” [expletive] It started happening to us. “USA” chants echoed through the amphitheater.
Aldean is no stranger to controversy.in the past he Appeared in blackface For Halloween costumes and wearing T-shirts on stage. confederate battle flag.
As the debate over “Try That in a Small Town” heated up last week, the song’s consumption metrics soared.according to signboard, when the video was released, the track was garnering approximately 1,000 download sales and 200,000 streams per day in the United States.but it is closed the week Data from tracking service Luminate showed 228,000 sales (up more than 27,000 percent from the previous week) and 11.6 million streams.
Aldean has had a long record of country hits, but “Try That” is the first Top 10 hit on the mainstream Hot 100 chart since 2011 when “Dirt Road Anthem” reached No. 7 (Aldean’s last single, “That’s What Tequila Does,” peaked at No. 77 earlier this year).
Jungkook’s “Seven,” featuring Rat, was streamed 21.9 million times, sold 153,000 downloads and CD singles, reached 6.4 million radio viewers in the US, and topped the singles chart.
According to Luminate, Taylor Swift has held the number one spot on the latest album charts for a second straight week with “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” which according to Luminate has sold the equivalent of 121,000 copies in the US, including 96 million streams and 47,000 complete packages sold, according to Luminate. It is the third in a project to re-record Swift’s first six albums, each of which reached number one.
Swift has three other albums in the top 10, her last studio album, ‘Midnight’ at No. 4, ‘Lover’ at No. 6 and ‘Folklore’ at No. 10.
Warren’s latest album, ‘One Thing At A Time,’ remains at number two, while his previous LP, ‘Dangerous: The Double Album,’ is number five. Mexican songwriter Peso Pulma’s “Genesis” comes in at number three.
