Billy Ray Cyrus‘ son Trace Cyrus is walking back some harsh criticism of Jason Aldean‘s “Try That in a Small Town.”
Over the weekend, Trace went off on the song in a since-expired Instagram Stories rant, calling it “that stupid ‘car-jacking on a sidewalk’ song” and implying that it was only a radio hit because it was “paid for.”
“I’m not trying to like completely destroy Jason Aldean’s soul right now, but no one wants to hear that on the radio,” Trace said (quote via PennLive.) “That is obviously paid for to be on the radio or something.”
“Try That in a Small Town” is a polarizing song. When Aldean released it in 2023, many listeners criticized its lyrics as racist dog-whistling and a glorification of “sundown towns,” a term for towns or neighborhoods that practice racial discrimination via discriminatory laws or outright intimidation and violence.
Read More: Jason Aldean Issues Statement on “Try That in a Small Town” Backlash
But none of that seemed to be Trace’s issue with the song.
“Everyone knows, I’m as patriotic as it gets,” he said when he issued his first comments. “I love Trump and America and all that … but listen to how stupid this is.”
On Tuesday night (June 24), two days after his first criticism of “Try That in a Small Town,” Trace had more to say. He said that some Aldean fans were “furious” over his take on the song, and he walked back his comments a little bit, saying that he was “trying to be a better person.”
“Do I hate the song? Yes. Did it need to be said to the world? Probably not. But I knew that it was gonna make people mad,” the younger Cyrus said, admitting that he made his initial comments in part “on purpose to p–s people off.”
Trace Cyrus Jason Aldean
He also pointed out that Aldean isn’t one of the writers who penned “Try That in a Small Town” — Kelley Lovelace, Neil Thrasher, Tully Kennedy and Kurt Allison did — and said that therefore, it wasn’t Aldean he was criticizing at all.
“So all of the Jason Aldean fans, I expect an apology, because I didn’t insult his vocals or anything like that. I was talking about the song, and he had no part of writing that song,” he added.
Trace also said that he was “speaking my truth” when he talked about “Try That in a Small Town,” and said that he thinks he could “genuinely help Jason Aldean write much, much, much better songs.”
Read More: The 30 Most Controversial Songs in Country Music History
A couple of hours later — in a video timestamped 5:04AM — Trace was feeling a little more repentant. “I am kinda sorry about what I said about Jason and all the songwriters involved,” he allowed. “I really just look at music as a competition.”
“I genuinely have no hate in my heart towards Jason Aldean or anybody,” he concluded. “If I ever saw the guy, I’d buy him a beer. Even though I’m sober, I’d buy him a beer. It’s all love. It’s all part of the game.”
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