Jason Aldeanis opening up about hiscontroversial “Try That in a Small Town” song and music video.
In anew interview withCBS Mornings, the country star addressed critics who claimed the chart-topping song featured racist and violent undertones as well as backlash for shooting its music video at the site of a 1927 lynching in his town of Columbia, Tennessee.
Aldean, 46, wondered “how” viewers came to find racism in the music video, which includes visuals of vandalism and riots that appear to take place during the 2020 racial injustice protests (but, as some on TikTok pointed out, some clips are taken from stock footage or from protests in other countries).
“There was people of all color doing stuff in the video. That’s what I don’t understand,” said the country artist. “There was white people in there. There was Black people. I mean, this video did not shine 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.”
As for the video’s filming location — in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where the 1927 lynching of 18-year-old Black man Henry Choate took place — Aldean said he wasn’t aware of the event beforehand.
“But I also don’t go back a hundred years and check on the history of a place before we go shoot it either,” he said. “It’s also the place that I go get my car tags every year. It’s my county that I live in.”
Jan Crawford and Jason Aldean on CBS Mornings.CBS News
CBS News
The courthouse is a popular filming location outside of Nashville, per Tacklebox, the music video’s production company. They also cited several music videos and films that have been filmed there, including the Lifetime Original movieSteppin’ into the HolidaywithMario LopezandJana Kramer, Runaway June’s “We Were Rich” music video, a Paramount holiday filmA Nashville Country ChristmaswithTanya Tucker— as well theHannah Montanafilm.
Now aware of the location’s history, Aldean toldCBS Morningshe would “probably not” film there again. “But also, I don’t think, again, I’m not gonna go back 100 years and check on the history of this building,” he said. “If you’re in the south, you could probably go to any small-town courthouse — you’re going to be hard-pressed to find one that hasn’t had some sort of racial issue over the years at some point. I mean, that’s just a fact.”
Before releasing “Try That in a Small Town,” Aldean said he expected “the biggest issue with the song” to be its lyrics about guns: “Got a gun that my grandad gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up.”
“So, I didn’t expect it to get the kind of heat that it got,” he told the program. “And I think that was more probably because of the video, more so than the actual song.”
Jason Aldean performs in Nashville in June 2023.Amiee Stubbs/imageSPACE/Sipa/AP
Amiee Stubbs/imageSPACE/Sipa/AP
source: people.com
