Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” broke into the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 2 on Tuesday. The country song is surging in popularity, reports The Washington Post.
Originally released to little fanfare in May, the song’s lyrics warn would-be carjackers and other criminals not to “try that in a small town,” full of “good ol’ boys” and armed residents. “See how far ya make it down the road,” Aldean sings in the chorus.
The July 14 release of the song’s music video proved explosive. Aldean and his band performed “Try That in a Small Town” in front of the Maury County Courthouse. The video was filled with clips of crime, protests and riots in various cities, including Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Atlanta.
Yet it was the best-selling country song to debut on Billboard’s charts in more than a decade, the company reported. In the week after the video’s release, the three-minute tune was played to a radio airplay audience of 7.3 million, sold 228,000 digital copies and amassed 11.6 million streams — a 1,000 percent increase from the week before.
Billboard compiles its weekly Hot 100 list of popular songs using data from the songs’ sales, radio airplay and streaming. The last time a country music debut similarly soared in sales to “Try That in a Small Town” was Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise,” featuring Nelly, on July 6, 2013. It sold 244,000 copies that week.
The song’s popularity has grown with its backlash after conservative politicians, influencers and other country stars defended Aldean. “There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it — and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage,” the singer wrote on social media last week.
No comments:
Post a Comment