The song has become the singer's highest-charting single on Billboard's Hot 100 pop chart amid heated debate.
Jason Aldean's new music video appears to have received a subtle reedit. In the wake of controversy surrounding the country star's "Try That in a Small Town" visual, select imagery of Black Lives Matter protests has been removed.
The Washington Post reports that the video is now six seconds shorter than when it was first uploaded to YouTube on July 14, and no longer includes news clips from Fox 5 Atlanta that depicted violence during the 2020 demonstrations. The outlet notes that it is unclear when exactly the video was changed, but that additional edits also appear to have been made.
ET has learned specific footage was edited due to third party clearance issues.
As ET previously reported, Country Music Television pulled the music video from broadcast earlier this month after the imagery was found to be offensive.
A portion of the lyrics in the track includes, "Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they're gonna round up / Well, that s**t might fly in the city, good luck / Try that in a small town / See how far ya make it down the road / You cross that line, it won't take long / For you to find out, I recommend you don't / Try that in a small town."
The music video was filmed in front of the massive American flag displayed on the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee -- the site of the 1927 lynching of Henry Choate. It is interlaced with clips of protestors vandalizing cities in the wake of police brutality and racial unrest during the height of the pandemic -- most of which remains in the video's current version.
Aldean, 46, also sings that "good ol' boys, raised up right," taking matters into their own hands by "taking care of our own." In a statement responding to backlash over the song, Aldean said that the lyrics reference "the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief."
The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that neither Aldean, YouTube, nor the music video production company, TackleBox, responded to question's about the music video's edit, while Fox 5 Atlanta could not be reached for comment on whether it had requested to have its clips removed.
TackleBox previously told ET that the location is a "popular filming location outside of Nashville" and cited several music videos and movies that have been filmed there. The production company says, "Any alternative narrative suggesting the music video’s location decision is false." Tacklebox also noted Aldean did not pick the location.
Meanwhile, the song -- which was released in May -- has debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, bested only by BTS member Jung Kook's debut solo single, "Seven." It's Aldean's highest-charting single ever on the all-genre pop chart, with "Dirt Road Anthem" previously peaking at No. 7 in 2011. His last single, "That's What Tequila Does," peaked at No. 77 earlier this year.
Aldean spoke out on the backlash surrounding his latest single during a live performance on Friday.
Addressing concertgoers during the Cincinnati leg of his Highway Desperado Tour, Aldean maintained that despite the dialogue surrounding the song and the labels affixed to him amid the controversy, he is a proud American.
"It's been a long week and I've seen a lot of stuff suggesting I'm this, suggesting I'm that," The country crooner said in the fan-captured video. "Here's one thing I feel. I feel like everybody's entitled to their opinion. You can think something all you want to, doesn't mean it's true, right?"
He continued, "What I am is a proud American. I'm proud to be from here. I love our country. I want to see it restored to what it once was before all this bullsh*t started happening to us. I love my country. I love my family, and I will do anything to protect that. I can tell you that right now."
Aldean's speech was met with chants of "USA" from the crowd, who appeared to be in support of the singer's message.
"You guys know how it is in this day and age, cancel culture is a thing," Aldean said. "That's something that if people don't like what you say, they try and make sure that they can cancel you, which means try to ruin your life. Ruin everything. One thing I saw this week was a bunch of country music fans that can see through a lot of the bullsh*t. I saw country music fans rally like I've never seen before, and it was pretty bada** to watch, I gotta say. Thank you guys so much."
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