Jason Aldean Set To Perform At CMT Music Awards Despite Controversy Over ‘Try That In A Small Town,’ Which Critics Called ‘Racist’

Country artist Jason Aldean, who garnered significant criticism for his song “Try That in a Small Town,” is scheduled to perform his latest song, “Let Your Boys Be Country,” at the upcoming CMT Music Awards. 

“Let Your Boys Be Country” has been nominated for the Video of the Year award. This will mark Aldean’s ninth appearance at the event.

Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town,” released as a single in May 2023, was met with immediate backlash for its lyrics, such as “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 / Try that in a small town.” 

However, the controversy didn’t blow up until the song’s accompanying video was released in July.

The music video, presented as a condemnation of the Black Lives Matter movement, shows Aldean singing in front of Maury County Courthouse in Tennesee, the infamous site of the 1927 lynching of Henry Choate, a black man. Interspersed throughout the song is footage from protests. The song was dubbed a “modern lynching song.” While CMT initially aired the video, it was later removed from rotation after the online fury.

Aldean vehemently denied any racial undertones in his song and video and claimed the song represented an “unspoken rule” for those raised in small towns. “We all have each other’s backs, and we look out for each other,” he observed. 

Aldean criticized what he referred to as “cancel culture” at one of his concerts, denouncing it as a means to silence individuals and ruin their lives when their opinions do not align with popular sentiment.

At one point, protesters burned an American flag outside of one of Aldean’s concerts.

Critics said “Try That In A Small Town” embodied carefully crafted right-wing nostalgia and preoccupation with the belief that cities are breeding grounds for criminal activities. 

Statistically, large cities are safer than their smaller counterparts. A comprehensive study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania in 2013 revealed that the risk of mortality as a result of injuries was more than 20% higher in rural small towns compared to metropolitan areas. A researcher said, “Cars, guns and drugs are the unholy trinity causing the majority of injury deaths in the U.S.”