Jason Aldean’s controversial song “Try That in a Small Town” has reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. What’s more, for the first time in Billboard history, the top three entires on the chart are all held by country artists.
“Try That in a Small Town,” which has been criticized by artists like Sheryl Crow and Jason Isbell for stoking violence, is up from its No. 2 spot on the charts last week. The song enjoyed one of the biggest sales week for a country release in over 10 years, receiving 30.7 million streams and 8.8 million radio listens, as well as selling 175,000 copies.
Right behind Aldean are Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” at No. 2 and Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” at No. 3 — further proof that country music has a unique ability to galvanize fans into industry success.
For the most part, Aldean has defended “Try That in a Small Town,” insisting that the song is about a prideful community, not a threatening one. That’s despite the fact that the song’s music video was shot the site of a lynching, and its lyric video references an attack on an anti-segregationist reporter.
Most recently, Aldean likened the song’s lyrics to the response of vigilantes who came together after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, noting that they would have “beat the shit” out of the bombing suspects in the same way rural folks might fight crime in their homes.
The country artist has wavered on one aspect of the song, however. After many pointed out its racist undertones, Aldean edited the music video to no longer include footage of a Black Lives Matter protest.
