Jason Aldean’s controversial song Try That In A Small Town has sparked fiery controversy – with fellow country star Sheryl Crow dismissing it as ‘lame’ for ‘promoting violence’ while Donald Trump Jr has come to her defense after it was pulled from CMT.
The tune topped the iTunes charts on Wednesday despite the country music channel pulling it from the airwaves earlier in the day due to widespread outrage over Alden’s bloodthirsty lyrics, which many believe idealize gun-toting criminals.
Aldean’s hit was originally released two months ago, but the 46-year-old released a dramatic anti-Uke music video for it on Friday, slamming left-wing opponents for claiming it can’t fly south.
Both the lyrics and the video, which interlaces clips of BLM protesters upholding traditional values and vandalizing cities with the line ‘to take care of ourselves’ – implying that he would do so with a gun if necessary – sparked online backlash.
Critics pointed out that much of the video was filmed in front of a historic courthouse notorious for being the site of the killing of a black man by a white mob.
Sheryl Crow is the latest star to hit out at Jason Aldean’s bloodthirsty lyrics to controversial Try That In A Small Town, calling it ‘lame’ in a provocative Twitter post
Donald Trump Jr. questions removal of Aldean’s hit from Airways amid widespread controversy over music video online
On the flip side, Aldean argued that ‘the song does not have a lyric that refers to race or refers to it’ and that fans appreciate its traditional values.
The polarizing hit rose four places on the iTunes chart on Wednesday, knocking out Jungkook and Latour’s Seven from the top spot.
As interest in the song grew, Trump Jr. — the eventual president’s eldest son — weighed in on CMT’s ban while praising Aldean for ‘having the guts to tell the truth.’
‘How 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 speak the truth… Watch it, download it and push back against the BS.’
Trump Jr. is known for his Republican views, supported his father’s campaign, and participated in rallies leading up to the January 2022 storming of the Capitol.
Aldean is also a family friend of the Trumps.
Meanwhile, gun control advocates criticized the Missouri-born Crow Song, who described himself as a small-town resident after growing up in Kennett, Dunklin County.
‘I’m from a small town,’ said the 61-year-old. ‘Even people in small towns are sick of violence. There is nothing small-town or American about promoting violence.
‘You should know that surviving a mass shooting is better than anyone. It’s not American or small town. It’s just lame.’
Crow retweeted a photo that featured some of the offending lyrics, including the lines: ‘Got a gun that my grandpa gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up / Well, that — can fly to town, good luck / Try it in a small town’.
‘How is this video controversial?’ Donald Trump Jr. asked his more than 10 million followers on Twitter as he expressed support for Alden’s polarizing injury.
Crowe, 61, shared some offensive lyrics and said Aldean ‘should know better’ after the 2017 Las Vegas festival shooting that killed 58 people.
Offstage, country singer-songwriter Crowe is known for his liberal political stances, including supporting gun control measures.
The country singer-songwriter is known for her liberal political views, including support for gun control measures.
Earlier this year, he joined fellow music artist Amy Grant to lead a group of performers at the Tennessee Capitol to lobby the legislature’s GOP supermajority for new gun restrictions.
It follows a March 27 shooting at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville that killed six people, including three nine-year-old children.
Aldean 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 canceled 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 suffering massive heatstroke on stage in Hartford, Connecticut, and having to cut the performance short mid-set.
Taking to Twitter after the release of its music video on Friday, Georgia-born Aldean said the hit was inspired by the ‘unspoken rule’ of small towns ‘we all have each other’s backs and we look out for each other.’
‘It seems that somewhere along the way, the sense of community and respect was lost. Deep down we are all ready to get back to it,’ he added.
‘I hope my new music video helps you all know you are not alone.’
The song was released two months ago, but Aldean, 46, released a gun-toting, anti-Uke music video for it on Friday, slamming left-wing opponents for hatred that won’t fly in the South.
Defending his song on Twitter following the release of its music video on Friday, Aldean said the hit was inspired by the ‘unspoken rule’ of small towns ‘we all have each other’s backs and we look out for each other’.
Aldean addressed his detractors in an Instagram story on Tuesday in which he denied any anti-black or pro-lynching sentiments and noted that people only discovered it two months after its release.
“In the last 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and compared it to the (direct quote) nationwide BLM protests that I was not too pleased with,” she wrote.
‘These references are not only meritless, but dangerous.’
‘The song doesn’t have a lyric that refers to race or refers to it – and there isn’t a video clip that isn’t actual news footage,’ he added.
‘While I can try and respect others with their own interpretations of music, it goes too far’.
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