Jason Aldean Addresses Racism Claims About “Try That in a Small Town”

Jason Aldean will sit down for an interview on Wednesday with Jan Crawford on CBS Mornings. In an exclusive clip released ahead of the interview, Aldean addresses claims of racism regarding his song “Try That in a Small Town.” The singer, who was on stage during the 2017 Route 91 festival mass shooting, seemed to double down, telling Crawford the song did not call out one race over another.

“What was your reaction when you saw people say that this had racist, undertones and you know, it was like a call to arms?” the host asked Aldean of people who criticized the song, and especially its video, as being racially charged and promoting acts of violence.

He replied incredulously: “How? There was people of all color doing stuff in the video. That’s what I don’t understand. There was white people in there and there was Black people. This video did not shine a light on one specific group and say that’s the problem. 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 released the controversial track in May, alongside a tweet which read: “It seems like there are bad things happening on a daily basis, and that feels unfamiliar to a lot of us. This song sheds some light on that.”

The song was accused of being a rallying cry for racially motivated violence, as Aldean sings about a town in which “good ol’ boy [were] raised up right.” Its second verse seems to call out people protesting violent policing. “Cuss out a cop, spit in his face, stomp on the flag and light it up, yeah, ya think you’re tough. Well, try that in a small town,” Aldean sings. “See how far ya make it down the road. Around here, we take care of our own. You cross that line, it won’t take long for you to find out. I recommend you don’t.”

Fueled by its controversy, the song spent four weeks at the top of Billboard’s Digital Songs chart and two weeks at number one on the Country Songs chart. It was also Aldean’s first song to place atop Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart since 2014’s “Burnin’ It Down.”

CBS Mornings airs on CBS Television Network, and streams live on Paramount+. The full interview is set to air tomorrow.

TUNE IN: Country music star @Jason_Aldean opens up about his controversial hit, “Try That In A Small Town,” which has prompted both backlash and praise, tomorrow on CBS Mornings. pic.twitter.com/9Jo3SqkfVl

— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) October 31, 2023