For as much “trouble” that Jason Aldean’s new single “Try That In A Small Town” has caused, it has also had an equal amount of commercial success for the country singer.
This past week, the controversial song quickly rocketed up the iTunes charts after the music video was pulled from CMT’s rotation.
The attention that the tune has gotten from being in the middle of political crossfire has surely caused a little bit of a headache for Aldean, but it also seems to be helping him as well.
“Try That In A Small Town” isn’t the only project of Aldean’s that’s moved towards the number one spot on charts.
Interestingly enough, the 46-year-old now holds 5 of the top 10 spots on the iTunes country albums chart. It seems that the entire ordeal has caused somewhat of a “reverse boycott” of Aldean’s discography.
Currently at the number one spot on the iTunes Top Albums chart is his 2018 project Rearview Town. The project, which had a lead single of “You Make It Easy,” had great success when it was originally released, and is now benefiting from a “second wind” thanks to the divisiveness of his most recent single.
Coming in at the number four spot is 9 (a little confusing, I know), which Aldean released in 2019. That album actually has a song called “Keeping It Small Town,” which is similarly titled to the one currently making headlines.
The 6th and 7th spots on the iTunes charts are also held by Aldean at the moment. My Kinda Party, which was released in 2020, holds down the sixth spot, while his 2022 album GEORGIA follows right behind it at number seven.
And the other half of the double album to GEORGIA just cracked the Top 10, with MACON sitting right at the 10th spot on the iTunes Chart. The double album was actually viewed as somewhat underwhelming when upon its initial release last year, though it now is getting another chance with country music fans.
If you are wondering, there has not been any “pushing” or “marketing” for all of these Aldean projects taking up half of iTunes Top 10 albums. This seems to be a perfect case of the classic (and controversial itself) public relations theory of “any publicity is good publicity.”
Even though Aldean has been attacked by some of his country music peers like Sheryl Crow, he’s also been backed by the likes of Travis Tritt and other political figures such as Ron Desantis and former President Donald Trump.
There seems to be somewhat of a rally behind Aldean and his new song, and even Jason and his wife Brittany have refused to back down to the backlash. “Try That In A Small Town” is an interesting case without a doubt, because though it’s caused outrage, it’s also helped to boost the country music artist.
Aldean might be proving that sometimes it’s okay to stand up and face the music (pun most certainly intended)…
