Sheryl Crow rips Jason Aldean’s ‘Small Town’ song: ‘It’s just lame’

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No matter how high it climbs on the charts, Sheryl Crow is not going to be listening to Jason Aldean’s contentious new song, Try That in a Small Town, on repeat this summer.

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After Aldean released an incendiary video for the track — which includes violent imagery from the 2020 Black Lives Matter marches and lyrics like, “Cuss out a cop, spit in his face. Stomp on the flag and light it up. Yeah, ya think you’re tough? Try that in a small town” — Crow, 61, weighed in on the single after the country star went viral this week.

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“Jason Aldean, I’m from a small town. Even people in small towns are sick of violence,” Crow tweeted. “There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence. You should know that better than anyone having survived a mass shooting.”

Crow added, “This is not American or small town-like. It’s just lame.”

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The Grammy winner’s post generated over 54,000 likes, but there was a sharp divide in the comments. Former NBA star Rex Chapman agreed with Crow’s sentiment, but others dismissed her criticism telling the All I Wanna Do singer to “focus on rap.”

Aldean’s fiery words — that also include the lines, “Got a gun that my grandad gave me, they say one day they’re gonna round up… well, that s*** might fly in the city, good luck” — and its accompanying video ignited a wave of controversy on social media. Many critics slammed Aldean for promoting violence, with many others criticizing the country singer’s pro-gun message, pointing out how he narrowly escaped death during his performance at the Route 91 massacre in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, 2017.

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Gun control activist Shannon Watts of Moms Demand Action slammed the lyrics, since he was singing during the Vegas mass shooting.

“@Jason_Aldean — who was onstage during the mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert in 2017 that killed 60 people and wounded over 400 more — has recorded a song called Try That In A Small Town about how he and his friends will shoot you if you try to take their guns,” she wrote.

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Brittany Packnett Cunningham chided the Grammy nominee for blowing a “racist dog whistle” and for not understanding the facts when it comes to guns in small towns.

“Most mass shootings occur in *small towns*,” the police reform activist wrote, tagging Aldean. “Your listeners are dying.”

Mississippi Free Press news editor Ashton Pittman noted that Aldean filmed his music video at the same location a Black man was lynched in 1927.

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Just days into the controversy, Billboard reported that CMT had yanked the video — which features news footage of a flag burning, protesters confronting police, and shows a convenience store being robbed — from its rotation.

But on YouTube, where the video racked up more than 897,000 views and 54,000 likes, fans praised Aldean for “speaking the truth.”

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“With the way that this country is going, small towns are the only thing holding it together,” one person wrote, while another commented, “Not a fan of country music but this song is awesome and based in facts.”

On Twitter, Aldean fired back at critics who accused him of trying to further divide Americans, saying that the song “refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief.”

“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,” Aldean wrote. “These references are not only meritless, but dangerous. 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 — and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music — this one goes too far.”

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He also addressed the fact that he was present during the Vegas massacre at the Route 91 Harvest music festival.

“I was present at Route 91 — where so many lost their lives — and our community recently suffered another heartbreaking tragedy. NO ONE, including me, wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart,” he wrote. “My political views have never been something I’ve hidden from, and I know that a lot of us in this Country don’t agree on how we get back to a sense of normalcy where we go at least a day without a headline that keeps us up at night. But the desire for it to — that’s what this song is about.”

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Amid the online firestorm, Aldean’s wife, Brittany, backed her hubby, sharing a smiling photo of the couple with her 2.4 million Instagram followers and captioning it: “Never apologize for speaking the truth.”

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After telling Rolling Stone in 2016 that he stayed away from talking about political matters because “politics is a no-win,” Aldean hasn’t been shy to share his viewpoints in more recent years.

In 2021, the She’s Country singer gave a thumb’s up after his wife posted multiple photos of their children wearing T-shirts critical of President Joe Biden that read “HIDIN’ FROM BIDEN.”

Brittany also wore a T-shirt proudly displaying the slogan, “Anti Biden Social Club.”

When one critic tried to take a swipe at the couple’s support for former President Donald Trump by calling them “delusional,” Aldean reacted angrily.

“Watch [your] mouth lady! We will teach our kids what we think is right and what we think is best for their future. If you think what is happening right now is ‘great’ for the future of our kids and grandkids, u are delusional!” he wrote. “Please tell me one thing that the current administration has done that is positive? Just 1!!!”

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Meanwhile, Brittany said she wouldn’t back down from airing her political beliefs.

“I personally don’t give a damn if people don’t agree with me,” she said in a 2021 Instagram video. “I think it’s important now more than ever to stand for what you believe, even if it goes against the grain. Do your research, and form your own opinion — speak out if you wish. But most importantly, don’t bully people who feel differently than you.”

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Twitter: @markhdaniell

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