Behind Jason Aldean’s Much-Debated Hit, “Try That In A Small Town”

In May 2023, Jason Aldean brought out to the country music world one of the most controversial and massively criticized songs to date. “Try That in a Small Town” was released as the lead single off Aldean’s forthcoming eleventh studio album.

Amazingly, the track experienced a surge in popularity despite the flak. The country-rock song instead climbed all the way to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, making it Aldean’s first No. 1 on the said chart. 

It also ranked No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart while peaking at No. 2 on Billboard’s Global 200. In Canada, it reached No. 9 on the Canadian Hot 100.

In late July, “Try That in a Small Town” made history for having the biggest sales week for a country song in over a decade.

The Meaning Behind The Song

Songwriters Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, Neil Thrasher, and Kelley Lovelace joined forces to write “Try That in a Small Town,” whose lyrics instantly connected with Jason Aldean the first time he listened to it. Aldean said the song perfectly captured the concerns and worries he and many others all over the world experience on a day-to-day basis.

However, the song’s music video – wherein the band performed “Try That in a Small Town” in front of Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, combined with news footage showing different scenes of protests and crimes- caused much controversy.

Aldean strongly defended the controversial track and its accompanying video, saying that while he was trying to “respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music – this one goes too far.”

Tune in below to listen to one of the biggest songs by Jason Aldean to date. Here’s the music video for “Try That in a Small Town.”