Blanco Brown Defends Jason Aldean Amid 'Try That In a Small ...

Jason Aldean is taking heat following the release of the music video for his song “Try That in a Small Town,” and now, his BBR Music Group labelmate Blanco Brown is coming to his defense.

“Aldeans Stream [sic] Are Gonna Go Through The Roof…I hate the words to that song but I don’t believe he’s a racist,one of the first to check on me in my time of need!” Brown tweeted on Thursday (July 20), referring to how the embattled country singer reached out to him after “The Git Up” singer was involved in a near-fatal motorcycle accident in 2020. “Just bad song writing.”

Though Aldean recorded “Try That in a Small Town,” he’s not a writer on the song. The track was penned by Neil Thrasher, Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy and Kelley Lovelace.

The video for “Try That in a Small Town” features footage of carjackings, cars burning and protesters taunting military personnel, but Aldean’s performance footage was filmed in front of the Columbia, Tenn., courthouse that was the site of a lynching in 1927. The video’s imagery, in addition to the song’s lyrics — which some have interpreted as promoting violence and racism — sparked backlash from music listeners, music critics and artists including Sheryl Crow and Margo Price.

On July 18, Billboard broke the news that the video for “Try That in a Small Town” had been pulled from CMT’s music video rotation.

Chaz Molder, the mayor of Columbia, Tenn., previously spoke out about the usage of the courthouse for the video, telling Fox 17 News, “I respect the artist’s freedom of his own lyrics and the fans who support him, but I’m hopeful that the next music video that uses our historic downtown as a backdrop will seek a more positive message. Maybe Eric or Luke or Carrie or Dolly will be next to record a video on our small town — and they can highlight peace, love and all the things that are great about Columbia, Tenn.”

Brown’s prediction that Aldean’s streams will skyrocket could prove prescient. Since the controversy erupted, “Try That in a Small Town” has risen to No. 1 on iTunes’ U.S. Songs chart.

See Brown’s tweet below: