Country music singer Jason Aldean’s latest video has been pulled by CMT and no explanation has been given. The video for the song “Try That In a Small Town” may end up making CMT the Bud Light of television channels.
The song was released on Friday. The song is a commentary on the societal contrast between small town life and that of what happens in bigger cities. The video plays a montage of protests, street violence, looting, burning American flags, as well as flashes of farmers, rural America, and the American flag waving. You get the picture. The point of the song is to point out that what is accepted in some places would not be accepted in small towns.
When it was released, Aldean promoted it as usual to his 4.1 million followers on Instagram.
“When u grow up in a small town, it’s that unspoken rule of ‘we all have each other’s backs and we look out for each other.’ It feels like somewhere along the way, that sense of community and respect has gotten lost. Deep down we are all ready to get back to that. I hope my new music video helps y’all know that u are not alone in feeling that way. Go check it out!”
It’s a little too truthful for some, though, and critics are trying to make it a racial issue and a gun control controversy. That is what happens in America now. Critics paint people or a country music video, in this case, as “incendiary” if the message is one they want censored.
The visual, which his label Broken Bow Records/BMG, released on Friday (July 14), was in rotation on CMT through Sunday (July 16), playing in the morning music video hours. It is unclear how many times CMT played the video before pulling it on Monday. Other than confirming the outlet had yanked the video, CMT declined to comment on the decision to cease playing the clip.
The video, which has received more than 346,000 views on YouTube since its release, features Aldean performing in front of courthouse with an American flag hanging from the entrance. The performance is interspersed with footage of a flag burning, protesters screaming and attacking police in various scenarios, and robbing a convenience store. It’s unclear where the footage was taken from, but at one point, a Fox News chyron appears with the words “state of emergency declared in Georgia.” Aldean is from Macon, Ga.
You can see for yourself how ridiculous this controversy is. All of the footage looks like real video coverage of current events. Aldean said as much in a tweet. It’s all real news footage.
Just as Senator Tommy Tuberville is being labeled as a white supremacist in order to bully him into backing down with his hold on military nominations in the Senate, Aldean is being accused of releasing a “pro-lynching” song. That escalated quickly. It’s absurd but this tracks with how cancellation works these days.
In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests. These references are not only meritless, but dangerous.…
— Jason Aldean (@Jason_Aldean) July 18, 2023
It’s a lengthy statement, but read the whole post. He points out that none of the lyrics mention race at all. The gun grabbing reference is pulled from real life, too. Saying that there are people in this country that think gun confiscation from law abiding gun owners is the way to go is accurate. Remember during the 2020 presidential election and Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke said he was in favor of going door-to-door for gun confiscation? No law-abiding American gun owner is going to answer his or her front door and willingly hand over guns that were legally purchased.
Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones, a member of the Tennessee Three, brought in the gun issue, because, of course he did. He wants Aldean’s song condemned. He’ll probably be raising money on that in no time. Jones is a good example of the thought that the ones who cry out loudest against something are usually the ones with that behavior themselves.
As Tennessee lawmakers, we have an obligation to condemn Jason Aldean’s heinous song calling for racist violence. What a shameful vision of gun extremism and vigilantism. We will continue to call for common sense gun laws, that protect ALL our children and communities.
— Rep. Justin Jones (@brotherjones_) July 19, 2023
Vigilantism? I must have missed that part of the video where Aldean calls for vigilantism. Whatever happened to creative expression? Freedom of expression? Artistic freedom? The left used to be champions of musical performers and how they used their songs to deliver messages. That is exactly what Aldean is doing. He is expressing what many Americans are thinking – we’ve lost our way as a culture. The destruction of cities in the name of protest and using violence against others is no way to live.
“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
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
Try that in a small town.”
Are those the lyrics of a “modern lynching song?” I don’t think so. It’s a nod to small town values.
Will CMT feel the pain of rejection as other companies have who have bowed to leftists instead of standing up for all customers? It seems to me that more of CMT’s viewers are conservative in how they look at the world, rather than BLM-supporting anti-cop flag burning looters. The anti-social behavior CMT is choosing in this kerfuffle is that of the leftists who embrace Marxism (BLM) and destruction through violence. There is nothing socially redeeming in their behavior. I don’t think CMT knows its viewers any better than Bud Light knew its customers. CMT didn’t even have enough respect for its viewers to explain why the video was yanked. At least they haven’t done that yet.
As Vivek points out, Aldean is standing up for traditional American values and the left cannot accept that.
Jason Aldean writes a song defending the values that ALL Americans used to share – faith, family, hard work, patriotism – only to be immediately sacrificed at the altar of censorship & cancellation. These are the same people who cheer songs like “Cop Killer” & the glorification… pic.twitter.com/WJ5s3MOI4p
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) July 19, 2023
It’s a little bit personal for South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. One of her friends wrote the song Aldean is singing. She first acknowledged the song when it came out in May.
After Country Music TV pulled the music video of @Jason_Aldean's song "Try That In A Small Town," South Dakota Governor @KristiNoem has invited him to perform the song at the Governor's residence!
"We'll do it proudly!"
🔥🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/1ykh8kZWUa
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 19, 2023
Good for Aldean for not backing down and issuing some kind of lame apology, the kind that goes, “Sorry if I offended anyone…” People have to stop apologizing for speaking their minds.
As Aldean mentioned, this song has been out for over two months. The single will be featured on his upcoming album. The song debuted on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart eight weeks ago. Aldean has been touring this summer. He suffered a heat stroke during a concert on July 15. He returns to touring tomorrow.
