Republicans celebrate as ‘Try That in a Small Town’ hit #2 on Billboard Hot 100 this week

Republicans celebrate as ‘Try That in a Small Town’ hit #2 on Billboard Hot 100 this week.

Sales and streams of Jason Aldean‘s single “Try That in a Small Town” have surged, following controversy that erupted this week surrounding the song and its corresponding music video.

“Try That in a Small Town,” which is from Aldean’s next album, came out in May but drew more attention with the recent release of its music video, which has the singer performing in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tenn. (It was from the second story of that courthouse that Henry Chaote, an 18-year-old Black man, was notoriously lynched by a mob in 1927, after being accused of attacking a white girl.)

“‘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.”

Now, as Billboard reports, CMT has pulled the video. The network, which premiered “Try That In A Small Town” Friday and had it in heavy rotation over the weekend, has not given a reason for taking it off the air.

CMT has dropped from its rotation the music video for Jason Aldean’s new single, “Try That in a Small Town,” after just three days of airplay — and in the wake of backlash that arose over the weekend online.

Aldean in turn tweeted that any claims that the song’s lyrics are “pro-lynching” and/or anti-BLM are “not only meritless, but dangerous.”

CMT did not give a reason for the music video’s removal, our sister site Billboard reports.

Jason Aldean has pretty much triggered a large portion of the American population with his very divisive and controversial song lyrics and music video.

The song was accused to be racist, pro-lynching, and subliminal, considering Aldean’s public conservative ideologies. However, the chatter and controversy seemed to be benefitting the country music artist as sales and streams seemed to spike in the past few days. 

The conversation and discourse around Jason Aldean’s “Try That In A Small Town” have grown in the past week but instead of turning public opinion against the song as many netizens have hoped, it seemed like many have grown more curious about the track, leading to more sales and streams.

According to Billboard, when Jason Aldean’s “Try That In A Small Town” music video dropped, the track sold 1,000 copies in three days.

After CMT pulled the video out due to backlash, it earned 12,000 more in sales. Right after it was publicized in the media the sales skyrocketed to 108,000 and another 103,000, bringing the total of the sales to 227,000.