Country music star's "racist" song divides audience
A popular country music star has been forced to defend his new song and accompanying music video, after many condemned the track for being racist.
Jason Aldean's song, titled Try That in a Small Town, soared to number one on the country music charts in the US, before been pulled by Country Music Television after claims it promoted gun violence, vigilantism and lynching: a form of execution frequently committed against African-Americans.
The singer, who is known for his conservative views, defended the song, saying it was about, “the feeling of community that I had growing up in where we took care of our neighbours, regardless of difference of background or beliefs”.
He also slammed the furore against the song, saying saying the accusations against the track that it is “pro lynching” are “not only meritless but dangerous”.
Singer Sheryl Crow called out Aldean posting on Twitter, “There’s nothing small town or American about promoting violence,” and called the song “lame” for its controversial themes.
.@Jason_Aldean I’m from a small town. Even people in small towns are sick of violence.There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence. You should know that better than anyone having survived a mass shooting.
This is not American or small town-like. It’s just lame https://t.co/cuOtUO9xjr
— Sheryl Crow (@SherylCrow) July 19, 2023
The music video for the song prompted a new wave of backlash, as it was filmed outside the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, which is a site that African American man was lynched.
A writer for entertainment industry magazine Variety said it was “the most contemptible country song of the decade” which traded on the “implicit moral superiority of having a limited number of neighbours”.
“For Aldean, it’s about how tiny burgs are under the imminent threat of attack from lawless urban marauders who will have to be kept at bay by any means necessary – meaning, pretty explicitly, vigilantism,” wrote its music critic Chris William.
He went on to say the video was “dangerous” because it “conflates the act of protesting with violent crime”.
In the wake of the criticism, Aldean hit back on his social media accounts, saying people had gone "too far" with their interpretation of the song.
He wrote on Twitter, “There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it – and there isn’t a single clip that isn’t real news footage – and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music – this one goes too far.”
“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 the song is about.”
Image credits: Getty Images