Country star Jason Aldean’s single “Try That in a Small Town” has become a No. 2 hit, after controversy over the music video last week.
Mr. Aldean’s song sported lyrics that criticized the 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) riots.
The singer said that small towns would never put up with such riots and lawlessness.
The single initially received little attention after its release in May, landing at No. 35 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.
All of that changed on July 14, when the premier of the music video version triggered accusations of racism at Mr. Aldean.
Some criticized the video as a thinly veiled attack on the BLM movement.
Country Music Television (CMT) pulled his video from the air without explanation, after it had already aired for three days.
The controversy caused a backlash among music fans, who then rushed to hear Mr. Aldean’s song, as streams and downloads of his hit exploded last week.
Country Music Fans Rally to Defense
Audio and video streams from Mr. Aldean’s song have since risen from 987,000 to 11.7 million, a 999 percent increase, a week after the music video was released, Luminate told FOX Business.
Before Mr. Aldean released the music video, the song had sold only 1,000 downloads, but it has since sold 228,000, according to Luminate.
By July 24, “Try That in a Small Town” came in second on Billboard’s Hot 100 list, becoming the country music singer’s first number two spot on the chart, after “Dirt Road Anthem” reached the seventh spot in July 2011.
The video opens with Mr. Aldean performing before an old courthouse with an American flag, followed by real footage of violent riots, robberies, and attacks on police officers in riot gear, from the BLM riots in 2020.
The scenes are then contrasted with images of American flags, children playing, and images from a TV news segment about local farmers helping out a neighbor.
One lyric says, “Sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk/Carjack an old lady at a red light,” followed by, “You think you’re tough.”
“Well, try that in a small town,” sings Mr. Aldean.
By Bryan Jung
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