LOS ANGELES — Jason Aldean has the hottest song in the country.
Aldean's "Try That in a Small Town" has topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the publication announced Monday.
The top three slots in the Billboard Hot 100 are all occupied by country songs for the first time in the chart's history, with Morgan Wallen’s "Last Night" at No. 2 and Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s "Fast Car" at No. 3.
"Try That in a Small Town," which was first released in May, made its chart debut at No. 2 last week behind BTS's Jung Kook solo single "Seven," featuring Latto.
"Try That In A Small Town" is also Aldean's first No.1 on the Hot 100. "Try That in a Small Town" is the 1,152nd No. 1 in the Hot 100’s history.
"Well, yesterday was a monumental day for @jasonaldean," Brittany Aldean, Jason's wife, posted to Instagram. "#1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart!! …A career first That sure did backfire, didn’t it?? The best fans EVERRR."
"Try That In A Small Town" has experienced exponential growth following controversy over its music video.
The music video for the song lasted just one weekend on Country Music Television before the network pulled it in response to an outcry over its setting and lyrics.
When the network removed the video from its rotation, it had 350,000 views on YouTube. Now that number is now over 24 million, and it is the No. 1 trending video under the "music" category.
In the visual, Aldean — who has been awarded country music artist of the decade by the Academy of Country Music — performs in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee. It is the site of the 1946 Columbia race riot and the 1927 mob lynching of an 18-year-old Black teenager named Henry Choate.
Aldean's video received fervent criticism online, with some claiming the visual is a "dog whistle" and others labeling it "pro-lynching."
"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," Aldean wrote in a tweet posted Tuesday.
"Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light it up / Yeah, ya think you're tough," Aldean sings on the track, written by Neil Thrasher, Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, and Kelley Lovelace. "Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they're gonna round up / Well, that (expletive) might fly in the city, good luck / Try that in a small town."
On Friday, July 21, while performing at Cincinnati's Riverbend Music Center, Aldean addressed the audience with "Cancel culture is a thing... which means try and ruin your life, ruin everything. One thing I saw this week was a bunch of country music fans that could see through a lot of the bulls---, all right?", according to "The Columbus Dispatch."
For those wondering if he would play the song live, he said, "The answer is simple. The people have spoken and you guys spoke very, very loudly," he said, before launching into the song.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
> Top stories curated daily just for you! Sign up for the 9NEWSLETTER to get can’t-miss stories, Next and Broncos content, weather and more delivered right to your inbox.
MORE WAYS TO GET 9NEWS
Subscribe to our daily 9NEWSLETTER
Download the 9NEWS APP
iTunes: http://on9news.tv/itunes
Google Play: http://on9news.tv/1lWnC5n
HOW TO ADD THE 9NEWS APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KUSA.
For both Apple TV and Fire TV, search for "9news" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.