Jason Aldean’s ‘Try That in a Small Town’ Charts at No. 1

Photo: Monica Murray/Variety via Getty Images

The BTS stans held on for every hour, every minute, every second they could, but it happened — Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” has topped the Billboard Hot 100. The controversial country song debuted at No. 2 on the chart last week, blocked from the top spot only by Jung Kook and Latto’s single “Seven.” It’s now Aldean’s first No. 1 hit.

So how did “Try That in a Small Town” become the talk of the town, months after its initial release in May? Its lyrics have been criticized as violent and pro-lynching. This month, the song drew more attention when CMT decided to stop airing and remove the music video, in which footage is projected onto a Tennessee courthouse that was the site of a 1927 mob lynching and a 1946 race riot. A clip of a protest from the height of BLM movement in 2020 was also edited out of the video, though not because of backlash alleging that the song was racially charged (according to Aldean’s team, it was due to copyright issues). For his part, Aldean has defended his song against pro-lynching allegations and argued that “there is not a single lyric” that “references or points to” race. Now that he has a No. 1 under his belt, we wonder if this country singer still has any complaints about cancel culture in this country…