Jason Aldean, the country music singer criticized for his song “Try That in a Small Town,” has hit back at his critics with a new video shared on Twitter.
Amid continued criticism of his song’s lyrical touch, as well as visuals from its accompanying music video, Aldean, 46, released a 90-second video showing the song’s popularity among fans attending his recent concerts.
The controversial topic includes lyrics that if someone “believes[es] that line,” to “sew a cop, spit in his face,” or “pipe the flag and light it up,” to “try it in a small town.” Aldean also sings, “I got a gun that my grandpa gave me. They say one day they’ll go up / Well, that shit might fly to town, good luck.”
Aldean’s track has sparked an ongoing debate on social media. A detractor on the move Twitter called it “very scary,” while one supporter wrote that the song showed how Americans “are sick and tired of crime, criminals, violence, repeat offenders, liberal DAs.” [district attorneys]2nd [second-degree] assault, defund the police BS [b*******].”
Aldean, who has won the support of former President Donald Trump, among others, has also received criticism for its music video. The clip was filmed outside the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where a white mob killed Henry Choate, a black man, in 1927. The video also shows riots and protests in different parts of the country.
As the criticism continues, Aldean took to Twitter on Monday sharing images of himself on the road by its current Desperate Road turns The clip shows stops in various locations in the US, including Cincinnati, Ohio; Twin Lakes, Wisconsin; Hartford, Connecticut; and Bethel and Saratoga Springs in New York.
With “Try That in a Small Town” as the soundtrack, Aldean is seen performing to a crowd of screaming fans in the video. He is shown traveling between each show with his crew and family.
In the final seconds of the clip, Aldean stands on stage as he tells the concertgoers, “So when somebody asked me, ‘Hey man, do you think you’re going to play this song tonight? the answer was simple. The people have spoken, and you have spoken very, very loudly this week.”
The clip, which ends with Aldean holding an American flag, was accompanied by the caption: “Thanks guys. Ready to see you again this weekend!” Aldean’s next show is scheduled to take place in Columbia, Maryland on July 27.
During his concert in Cincinnati on Friday, musician Aldean railed against “cancelling the culture” as he reflected on his “long week” of controversy.
“It’s been a long week and I’ve seen a lot,” he told the crowd, per Weekly entertainment. “I’ve seen a lot of things that suggest that I’m this, that suggest that I’m that. Here’s the thing, here’s one thing I feel: I feel like everyone’s entitled to their opinion. You can think something all you want, it doesn’t mean it’s true, right?”
“What I am is a proud American,” he continued. “I’m proud to be from here. I love our country, I want to see it restored to the way it was before all this bulls*** started happening to us. I love our country, I love my family and I’ll do anything to protect it. I can tell you that right now.”
Although Aldean’s track has received mixed reviews, it is currently number one billboardHot Country Songs list dated July 29.
Earlier this month, Aldean released the music video for his song, which the music channel Country Music Television (CMT) decided to pull from its broadcasts last Tuesday. A spokesman for the station said Newsweek that the music clip is no longer in rotation on the channel, but offered no further information on why the decision was made.
There have been some too Scrutiny of a teaser clip he released for the song activated Tik Tok come back in may The video included featured lyrics as well as newspaper clippings. One of the latter has drawn further criticism of Aldean, as it concerns attacks on the owner of an anti-segregationist newspaper in Jim Crow-era Mississippi.
Nashville, Tennessee-based Aldean, who grew up in Macon, Georgia, and Homestead, Florida,responded to some of the criticism last week.
He tweeted: “In the last 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 happy with BLM nationally. [Black Lives Matter] you protest These references are not only useless, but also dangerous.”
“There’s not a single lyric in the song that references or points to race, and there’s not a video clip that isn’t actual news footage, and while I can try to respect others for having their own interpretation of a song with music, this one goes too far,” Aldean continued.
“‘Try That In A Small Town,’ to me, is about the sense of community I had growing up, where we looked out for our neighbors, regardless of differences in background or beliefs,” he said. “Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any difference.”
“My political views have never been something I’ve hidden, and I know a lot of us in this country don’t agree on how to get back to a sense of normalcy where we go at least one day without a headline to keep us up at night. But whatever the wish, that’s what this song is about,” Aldean added.