A controversial song by country music star Jason Aldean, which has been accused of promoting gun violence and attacking the Black Lives Matter movement, still shot to No. billboard, and his music video has garnered millions of views on YouTube.
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“Insult a police officer, spit in his face. Trample the flag and set it on fire. “Yeah, you think you’re tough,” Aldean sings in “Try That in a Small Town,” before advising those who denounce her to “don’t try that in a small town.”
“We can fend for ourselves here,” he adds, adding that he has a gun that his grandfather gave him.
Jason Aldean has been embroiled in controversy since releasing the song’s music video on July 14, which features images of protests, riots and a burning American flag.
Many personalities condemned the song and Country Music Television (CMT) pulled the clip from radio after three days of airing. For many, the singer glorifies violence and denounces the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I come from a small town. Even people in small towns are tired of the violence. There’s nothing American about encouraging violence,” Sheryl Crow wrote on Twitter.
Social media users also recalled that Aldean was on stage in Las Vegas in 2017 when a gunman opened fire at an outdoor concert, killing 60 spectators.
Rising Popularity
But as the saying goes: talk about it well, talk about it badly, but talk about it.
Since the controversy, Try That in a Small Town’s popularity has skyrocketed: Luminate, which tracks online audio and video listening, reports a 999% increase in demand for the song, from 987,000 to 11.7 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The same applies to sales, which rose from 1,000 to 228,000 units as a result of the scandal.
The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, Aldean’s best performance of his career.
It is obviously the most popular country song in the United States right now.
The music video has 18 million views on YouTube, compared to 350,000 when CMT took it off the air.
“It’s Going Too Far”
Jason Aldean, who is known for being close to Donald Trump and opposing health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, brushed aside criticism that his song was pro-violent and pro-racist.
“These tips are not only unfounded, they are dangerous. […] “This is going too far,” the singer said in a written statement.
During a concert in Cincinnati, he denounced the break-up culture and praised “country music lovers coming together like never before.”