Jason Aldean’s ‘Try That In A Small Town’ Was Actually So Close To Going No. 1 On The ‘Billboard’ Hot 100 After Its Controversy

Jason Aldean has been dealing with the controversy surrounding “Try That In A Small Town” for a little while now, and he said about it in part at a recent concert, “One thing I saw this week was a bunch of country music fans that can see through a lot of the bullsh*t, alright? I saw country music fans rally like I’ve never seen before, and it was pretty badass to watch, I gotta say, thank you guys so much.”

Regardless of how you feel about Aldean or his song, it’s hard to argue with the singer’s point about his fans rallying: On the new Billboard Hot 100 chart dated July 29, “Try That In A Small Town” ranks at No. 2. The only song ahead is Jung Kook and Latto’s “Seven,” which is the first No. 1 song for Latto. It’s also the first chart-topper for Jung Kook as a solo artist, but he’s already experienced multiple No. 1’s as part of BTS.

This is actually the debut week on the chart for “Try That In A Small Town,” despite its initial release coming back in May. The song had the biggest digital sales week for a country song in over a decade, since Florida Georgia Line and Nelly’s “Cruise” in 2013. It also debuted at No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart, Aldean’s first leader on those ranks.

It’s Aldean’s second top-10 song on the Hot 100, after “Dirt Road Anthem” (which had a Ludacris-featuring remix) peaked at No. 7 in 2011. Also worth noting is that three of the top four songs are country songs, with Aldean at No. 2, Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” at No. 3, and Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” at No. 4.