Jason Aldean’s controversial song Try That in a Small Town has sparked fiery debate – with fellow country star Sheryl Crow dismissing it as ‘lame’ for ‘promoting violence’ while Donald Trump Jr sprung to its defense after it was removed from CMT.
The tune topped the iTunes chart on Wednesday despite the country music channel pulling it from airwaves the day before due to mass anger over Aldean’s bloodthirsty lyrics, which many believe idealize gun-toting criminals.
It actually came out two months ago, but Aldean, 46, released a dramatic anti-woke music video for it on Friday, which slams left-wing antagonists for antics that he claims wouldn’t fly in the South.
Both the lyrics and the video, which interlaced clips of BLM protestors vandalizing cities with lines endorsing traditional values and ‘taking care of our own’ – implying that he’d do so with guns, if necessary – have caused outrage online.
But many fans also found it hard to disagree with its traditional values, and the polarizing hit rose by four places on the iTunes chart on Wednesday, toppling Jung Kook & Latto’s Seven from the top spot.
Sheryl Crow is the latest star to slam Jason Aldean’s controversial song Try That in a Small Town over its bloodthirsty lyrics, calling it ‘lame’ in an incendiary Twitter post
Donald Trump Jr questioned the removal of Aldean’s hit from the airways amid a widespread clash of opinions about the music video online
As interest in the song grew, Trump Jr – the penultimate president’s eldest son – weighed in on CMT’s ban while applauding Aldean for ‘having the guts to tell the truth’.
‘How on earth is this video controversial?’ he asked his more than 10 million followers on Twitter.
‘Why would CMT take it down? Support Jason Aldean and other artists who have the guts to tell the truth… watch it, download it, and push back against the bs.’
Meanwhile, Missouri-born Crow, 61, slammed the song, citing herself as a small-towner after she grew up in Kennett, Dunklin County.
‘I’m from a small town,’ she said. ‘Even people in small towns are sick of violence. There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence.
‘You should know that better than anyone having survived a mass shooting. This is not American or small town-like. It’s just lame.’
Crow re-tweeted a photograph showing some of the offending lyrics, including the lines: ‘Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up / Well, that s— might fly in the city, good luck / Try that in a small town’.
The country singer-songwriter is known for her liberal political standpoints, including supporting gun control measures.
Earlier this year, she joined fellow music artist Amy Grant to lead a group of performers to the Tennessee Capitol to lobby the legislature’s GOP super-majority for new gun restrictions.
‘How on earth is this video controversial?’ Donald Trump Jr asked his more than 10 million followers on Twitter as he voiced support for Aldean’s polarizing hit
Crow, 61, shared some of the offending lyrics and said Aldean ‘should know better’ after surviving the 2017 Las Vegas festival shooting which killed 58 people
It followed the March 27 school shooting at a private Christian elementary in Nashville which killed six people, including three nine-year-old children.
Aldean has himself survived a mass shooting – on October 1, 2017, he was performing at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas when a gunman opened fire, killing 58 people.
He cancelled his upcoming shows out of respect for the victims and their families, and opened up about his devastation after a deadly mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, the following year.
Aldean released his latest, controversial song last week just days before he suffered a severe heatstroke on stage in Hartford, Connecticut, and had to cut his set mid-performance.
Taking to Twitter after the music video for it was released Friday, Georgia-born Aldean said the hit was inspired by the ‘unspoken rule’ of small towns of ‘we all have each other’s backs and we look out for each other.’
‘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,’ he added.
‘I hope my new music video helps y’all know that u are not alone in feeling that way.’
Off stage, country singer-songwriter Crow is known for her liberal political standpoints, including supporting gun control measures
The song came out two months ago, but Aldean, 46, released a gun-toting, anti-woke music video for it on Friday, which slams left-wing antagonists for antics that wouldn’t fly in the South
Defending his song on Twitter after the music video for it was released Friday, Aldean said the hit was inspired by the ‘unspoken rule’ of small towns of ‘we all have each other’s backs and we look out for each other’
Aldean addressed his detractors in an Instagram story Tuesday where he denied any anti-black or pro-lynching sentiment and pointed out that people have only discovered it now, two months after it was released.
‘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,’ he wrote. ‘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,’ he added.
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