Country Singer Jason Aldean Continues Defending His Controversial Music Video For “Try That In A Small Town,” Claims It “Did Not Shine Light On One Specific Group”

By Radhamely De Leon
Published Nov. 1, 2023, 1:14 p.m. ET

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Country singer Jason Aldean is still defending his controversial hit song “Try That in a Small Town” months after facing backlash for its lyrics and music video.

In a new interview with CBS Mornings, the singer denied that the song targeted “one specific group” and claimed critics “weren’t looking hard enough” at the music video.

CBS Mornings correspondent Jan Crawford explained to Aldean that some critics felt the song — which warns anyone who wants to “Cuss out a cop, spit in his face” or “Stomp on the flag and light it up” to “Try that in a small town” — appeared to call out Black people, in particular.

Describing the video as “like a call to arms and small towns,” Crawford added, “It was a threatening kind of video for Black people, I mean, people were putting this on like, TikTok.”

Aldean made it clear that he disagreed, maintaining the stance he’s taken since the very beginning.

“There was people of all color doing stuff in the video. That’s what I don’t understand. You know, there was white people in there. There was Black people,” he told CBS. “I mean, this video did not shine light on one specific group and say, that’s the problem.”

He continued, “So, and anybody that saw that in the video, then you weren’t looking hard enough in the video is all I can tell you.”

Aldean was accused of making a “pro-lynching song” after the song and music video were released in July. The music video was reportedly filmed in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where a Black teenager was once lynched in 1927. It also included footage of a Black Lives Matter rally, which was later removed.

The song’s lyrics — which are paired in the video with clips of protestors clashing with the police — mention arming for the day “shit may fly in the city,” as Aldean sings, “Good luck trying that in a small town.”

In a July 18 post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Aldean claimed that the allegations of his song being “pro-lynching” were “not only meritless, but dangerous.”

“There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it- and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage -and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music- this one goes too far,” he wrote at the time.

He also claimed the song was an ode to the “community that [he] had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief.”

The video was removed from Country Music Television just days after it released, though the network did not offer explanation as to why.

Despite the backlash, the song still hit the No. 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.