Jason Aldean, the country music singer who is facing continuing criticism for his track “Try That in a Small Town,” has scored a major win through increased social media popularity.
Aldean, 46, appears to have benefitted from the furor over his controversial song—which compares city life to small-town lifestyles—with a notable boost in followers on Instagram and Twitter in recent days. He has also used his sizable online audience to defend himself from critics, some of whom have accused him of releasing a “pro-lynching” song.
On Saturday, musician Aldean unveiled the music video for his song, which includes the lyrics that if somebody “cross[es] that line,” 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.”
Jason Aldean is pictured on April 28, 2019 in Indio, California. The country music singer has scored a major win on social media, amid a backlash over his controversial new track, “Try That in a Small Town.” Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Stagecoach
Expressing a reluctance to part ways with firearms, he goes on to sing: “Got a gun that my granddad gave me. They say one day they’re gonna round up/ Well, that s*** might fly in the city, good luck.”
The track and its accompanying video have sparked a spirited debate on social media. On Twitter, one detractor branded it “very scary,” while a supporter said that the song depicted how Americans “are sick and tired of the crimes, criminals, violence, repeat offenders, liberal DA, 2A assault, defund the police BS.”
As the discussion continues, it would appear that Aldean is enjoying something of a popularity boost—at least as far as social media is concerned.
Figures provided by Social Blade show that up to July 12, Aldean had been losing up to 500+ Instagram followers per day. Things sharply turned around on July 13, when he gained 309 followers, starting a new positive trend.
On July 19, Aldean gained 11,933 new followers, while the first few hours of July 20 has already seen his biggest boost of all over the past few days, with a 48,646 increase. As of press time, his follower count on the image-sharing platform stood at 4.1 million.
This uptick in popularity has also been reflected on Twitter, where, like Instagram, Aldean had previously been shedding followers—860 accounts unfollowed him on July 14. The turnaround on the platform came on July 17, when 352 accounts followed him, whichstarting a trend that saw him gain instead of lose.
Read more Donald Trump defends Jason Aldean, calls ‘Small Town’ “great new song” Donald Trump defends Jason Aldean, calls ‘Small Town’ “great new song”
Within the first few hours of July 20, Aldean had already gained 61,773 followers, bringing his Twitter tally, as of press time, up to 3.7 million.
Overall, Aldean has gained of 7,790 followers on Twitter over the past 30 days, while his Instagram audience has increased by 21,630 in the same period.
Amid the boost in social media popularity, Aldean—who has won the support of former President Donald Trump, among others—is facing continued complaints. His music video sparked criticism from many for being filmed outside of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where a white mob killed Henry Choate, a Black man, in 1927. The music video also shows riots and protests in different parts of the country.
On Tuesday, Billboard first reported that music channel Country Music Television (CMT) had decided to drop the video from its broadcasts. A spokesperson for the station confirmed to Newsweek that the video is no longer on rotation on the channel, but did not offer any further information as to why the decision was made.
Aldean—who grew up in Macon, Georgia, and Homestead, Florida, with populations of 157,346 and 80,737, respectively—responded to some of the criticism on Tuesday.
He tweeted: “In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM [Black Lives Matter] protests. These references are 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.”
In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests. These references are not only meritless, but dangerous.… — Jason Aldean (@Jason_Aldean) July 18, 2023
Elsewhere in his lengthy tweet, Aldean also wrote about performing in 2017 at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, where nearly 60 people were killed and hundreds more were injured during a mass shooting. At the time, his then-pregnant wife, Brittany Aldean, and about 40 members of his band and crew were present at the festival. Two of the crew’s tour buses were shot at during the incident.
“As so many pointed out, I was present at Route 91—where so many lost their lives—and our community recently suffered another heartbreaking tragedy. NO ONE, including me, wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart.
“‘Try That In A Small Town,’ for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief. Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences.
“My political views have never been something I’ve hidden from, and I know that a lot of us in this country don’t agree on how we get back to a sense of normalcy where we go at least a day without a headline that keeps us up at night. But the desire for it to—that’s what this song is about.”
Months after the Route 91 tragedy, Aldean said in an April 2018 interview he felt an affinity with the victims of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed and 17 others injured.
“Unless anybody has witnessed anything like that or been a part of it, it’s really hard for people to really understand where you’re coming from on that stuff,” the musician told The Associated Press (AP) at the time. “It’s like the kids from the school in Florida, that shooting. I get it, man. I understand how they are feeling.”
During the interview, Aldean cautiously approached the conversation around gun control, a hot-button topic that rises to prominence following each mass shooting in the U.S.
“It’s a no-win situation,” Aldean said of publicly sharing his thoughts on the topic. “I think no matter what you say, whether you’re for gun control or not, I mean, you’re setting yourself up to be crucified in the public eye or in the media.”
Aldean did tell the AP at the time that there were flaws in the system regarding gun ownership that he felt needed addressing.
“It’s too easy to get guns, first and foremost,” he said. “When you can walk in somewhere and you can get one in five minutes, do a background check that takes five minutes, like how in-depth is that background check?
“Those are the issues I have. It’s not necessarily the guns themselves or that I don’t think people should have guns. I have a lot of them.”