Jason Aldean on ‘Small Town’ controversy: ‘Didn’t expect things to blow up like they did’
FOX News' Ainsley Earhardt sits down with country music artist Jason Aldean to discuss his upcoming album and the controversy surrounding his song, 'Try That In A Small Town,' on 'FOX & Friends.'
Jason Aldean and his wife of eight years, Brittany Aldean, make for one strong couple.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Aldean explained they both get "fired up" when the country music star has dealt with backlash, but Brittany seems to jump in first.
"I think she probably gets fired up a little bit because it kind of trickles down because she obviously is on social media and those things a lot more than I am," he began. "So, a lot of times it'll be, you know, she may see something and go, ‘Hey, have you heard about such and such?’
Jason Aldean told Fox News Digital his wife Brittany gets "fired up" when defending him. (Getty Images)
"Then I go kind of down the rabbit hole looking at stuff, and then I kind of get fired up about it, you know? So, I think we both kind of get fired up about things, but she's usually the first one with the breaking news."
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Aldean is on his "Highway Desperado" tour. His 11th album by that name released Friday.
Jason shared with Fox News Digital that his family is on the road with him, which Aldean loves because he doesn't "have to spend a whole lot of time away from them."
Jason Aldean and Brittany Aldean got married in 2015. (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)
"We kind of make it a family affair these days. The young kids are old enough to be able to stay up long enough to go out and watch shows, which has just happened in the last year or so, where they can kind of come out, stay awake long enough to see the show," Aldean said.
"So, they get excited about that. We were just out in California for three weeks or so, and we had some off days. So, we took them to Disney. We'll get them off the bus and go do some fun stuff for them like that. We're just trying to make it a family affair and try to spend as much time together as possible."
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Jason and Brittany tied the knot in 2015 and have two children — son Memphis, 7, and daughter Navy, 4.
Brittany and Jason Aldean have two children. (John Shearer/Getty Images for CMA)
Aldean also has two daughters with ex-wife Jessica Ussery — Keeley and Kendyl. The former couple was married for 12 years before splitting in 2013.
Jason was under fire this summer after he released "Try That In A Small Town." After seeing the backlash online, Aldean took to social media to defend himself and the song he created.
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Two months after he released the song, Aldean released the song's music video and faced backlash again. At the time, Aldean addressed his critics and defended his lyrics, denying the song has racial undertones.
Jason Aldean faced backlash after releasing "Try That In A Small Town" this summer. (Connie Chornuk via Getty Images)
"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 shared with his nearly 8 million fans across social media. "These references are not only meritless, but dangerous.
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"'Try That In A Small Town,' for me, 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. 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."
Jason Aldean has defended himself and his song on social media. (Christopher Polk)
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Aldean said, "People are kind of scared to say something a lot of times out of fear or losing a job or losing friends. ... Maybe they're not going to get work again or whatever it is. People tend to hop on the side that's just politically correct, and it may be politically correct, but it's not right. Like, it's just not, you know what I'm saying?"
When Aldean took to social media defending "Small Town," Brittany took to Instagram and shared a selfie of the couple.
"Never apologize for speaking the truth," she captioned the picture she uploaded July 18.
That same day, Brittany shared a picture of the blue sky and a palm tree, writing, "Media.. it's the same song and dance. Twist everything you can to fit your repulsive narrative.
Brittany Aldean shared a quiet moment with husband Jason Aldean as his latest music video faced controversy. (Instagram/Brittany Aldean)
"How about instead of creating stories, we focus on the real ones such as child trafficking? Food for thought."
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Several days later, Brittany uploaded another image of herself in a yellow, two-piece outfit and thanked fans for their support of her husband and his song.
"Man do we love y’all. Free thinkers, lions not sheep… thankful for the support, always!" she wrote on Instagram in July.
Brittany Aldean shared a screenshot of the iTunes top song chart in July. (Brittany Aldean/Instagram)
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She also took to her social media to post a screenshot showing Jason's song and music video ranking No. 1 on the charts. Brittany added a fire emoji to the Instagram story.
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