Music has never been just about a catchy tune, a good beat, and lyrics to match. Rather, it has often been used as a form of expression. It can be political, talk about traumas, and stop and make people think. It can also rile people up – for better or worse. Country music star Jason Aldean is no stranger to this. Most recently, he has faced backlash over his new hit song “Try That In A Small Town.” This is the controversy and why he and his wife are speaking out about it.
Jason Aldean Faces Controversy Over New Hit Song
Jason Aldean’s new song Try That In A Small Town was released back in May of this year. When the song was first released, no one really said anything about it. It wasn’t until Aldean released the music video on July 14. However, everything changed. The song quickly rose to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 – and also found itself in the center of a hot controversy.
The song references the intense riots in cities around the United States in 2020 and 2021. The lyrics talk about how, in small towns, neighbors take care of each other rather than fight over differences. These riots, Aldean says in the song, wouldn’t happen in small-town America. (1)
“Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light it up / Yeah, ya think you’re tough,” says one of the lines in the song.
The Controversy
As already mentioned, when it was just a song, people didn’t really take notice. It was the release of the video that sparked all of the controversy. The video features actual video clips from the riots that gripped the United States during the pandemic years. It shows people burning American flags, giving cops the middle finger, and vandalizing cities. It is assumed that these clips come from the anti-police brutality riots that broke out in 2020 and 2021.
The video has also received heat because some believe it is racially charged. Some say that the video is against the Black Lives Matter movement because some clips may be from some of the BLM protests. However, as reported by The Washington Post, the music video has recently been edited to remove clips of Black Lives Matter demonstrations.
Others have also called it racially charged because it features the singer singing in front of the Maury County Courthouse. People are calling this a “dog whistle” move for racists or have said that it appears “pro-lynching.” (2) This is because this courthouse, located in Columbia, Tennessee, was the site of two distinct moments in American history. The first of these was the 1927 mob lynching (lynching being the hanging of someone without a legal trial) of an 18-year-old black boy named Henry Choate.
Choate had been accused of assaulting a 16-year-old white girl. Despite the girl being unable to identify Choate as her attacker, he was taken to the Columbia jail. A group of 350 white men then used sledgehammers to break him out of jail, beat him, and hang him from the second story of the Maury County Courthouse for all to see. (3) Additionally, this courthouse was also the site of the 1946 Columbia race riot.
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Aldean Refutes These Claims
Aldean has refuted the claims that his video and his song are racist or pro-lynching. He took to social media recently to defend his song and himself. He wrote the following on Twitter:
“There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it — and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage — and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music — this one goes too far,”
Tackle Box, the video’s production company, has also spoken out about the choice to use the Maury County Courthouse. First of all, they pointed out that Aldean did not choose the location. Secondly, they pointed out that this building is a popular site for many music videos and movies alike. Movies that feature the courthouse are Lifetime Original movie Steppin’ Into the Holiday with Mario Lopez and Jama Kramer, as well as 2022 Paramount Holiday Film A Nashville Country Christmas with Tanya Tucker. Even the 2009 Miley Cyrus film Hannah Montana: The Movie has scenes shot there. In 2019, Runaway June shot scenes from their video for their song We Were Rich at the courthouse, as well. The company spoke out saying that the claims about the decision behind the location were false. Jason Aldean’s full Twitter post reads:
In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests. These references are not only meritless, but dangerous. There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it- and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage -and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music- this one goes too far. As so many pointed out, I was present at Route 91-where so many lost their lives- and our community recently suffered another heartbreaking tragedy. 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. Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences. My political views have never been something I’ve hidden from, and I know that a lot of us in this 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. But the desire for it to- that’s what this song is about. (4)
In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests. These references are not only meritless, but dangerous.…
— Jason Aldean (@Jason_Aldean) July 18, 2023
His Wife Backs Him Up
Aldean’s wife Brittany, who herself has been at the center of controversies in the past regarding transphobic comments, also spoke up to defend her husband. She shared a post on her social media as well. One was a photo of herself and Aldean, the second a text post. The text reads:
“Media, it’s the same song and dance. Twist everything you can to fit your repulsive narrative. How about instead of creating stories, we focus on the REAL ones such as CHILD TRAFFICKING. Food for thought.”
Though Country Music Television has pulled the video from their channel, Aldean is not bothered. He says he will continue to play the song live and won’t let “cancel culture” take him down.
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Sources
- “Jason Aldean ‘Small Town’ backlash: Country singer, wife Brittany fight back amid controversies.” Fox News. Elizabeth Stanton. July 20, 2023.
- “Controversy sells for Jason Aldean, whose song debuts at No. 2 on top pop chart.” CBC. July 25, 2023.
- “The story of the lynching site where Jason Aldean filmed a music video.” Washington Post. Timothy Bella. July 19, 2023.