New video is causing controversy

Jason Aldean has addressed the backlash he’s receiving over his latest single, “Try That in a Small Town.” While the song has been out since May, it’s attracting negative media attention for the video that was released last week. In the clip, Aldean and his band perform in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Tennessee, where Henry Choate was lynched in 1927, with an American flag draped from the entrance. The performance is interspersed with real news footage of violence and looting from around the world.

The song was written by Kelley Lovelace, Neil Thrasher, Tully Kennedy and Kurt Michael Allison with a conventional take on protecting yourself, property and neighbors. In the song, Aldean sings, “Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up / Well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck.”

“When u grow up in a small town, it’s that unspoken rule of ‘we all have each other’s backs and we look out for each other,'” Aldean tweeted when sharing the video on July 14th. “It feels like somewhere along the way, that sense of community and respect has gotten lost. Deep down we are all ready to get back to that. I hope my new music video helps y’all know that u are not alone in feeling that way.”

Many have accused the outspoken country star of being racist and promoting gun violence with the song’s message and video’s imagery. The media outlet Consequence wrote that Aldean is “taking right-wing propagandizing to a whole new level.” However, Aldean says that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“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,” Aldean writes on social media on Tuesday (July 18th).

Social media users remind the Georgia native that he was on stage when the worst gun massacre in the US took place during the Route 91 Festival in Las Vegas in October 2017.

“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,” he says.

“‘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.”

Billboard confirms that CMT has pulled the video from its platforms, but the network has declined to comment on its decision. The clip has received over 380k views as of press time. The song also topped the US iTunes singles chart.