There’s nothing better than a national controversy to get people noticing your music.  All the screaming about Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” is turning it into a huge hit. We continue to play it on K95.

As of Wednesday evening, it was Number One on the iTunes Top Songs and Music Videos charts, and has racked up over 3.8 million Spotify streams.  It was also the Top Trending Video on YouTube when we checked last night.

Chances are the song would’ve been a hit anyway, but the recent surge is definitely giving it a push.  And that’s an opinion shared by Blanco Brown.  He Tweeted, “Aldean’s streams are gonna go through the roof.”

Blanco’s post condemned the message, but NOT the messenger.  He added, quote, “I hate the words to that song, but I don’t believe he’s a racist.  [He] was one of the first to check on me in my time of need.  Just bad songwriting.”

(Blanco has since removed that Tweet and replaced it with this.  “I don’t feel like Jason is a racist.  I believe the timing and visual don’t align with positivity, so there will always be backlash.  Let’s ask the songwriters for clarity.”)

Wednesday’s “CMA Fest” had Jason’s performance of the song, and the reviews were, you guessed it, mixed.  Some fans called it the “best thing on TV that night” . . . while others said it was a “disgrace” to country music.  (The Boot)

There’s also a spoof making the rounds from Adeem the Artist.  It’s called “Sundown Town”, which is a reference to cities or towns back in the day that practiced a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites.  (Billboard)

One LAST thing about Jason, and this is NOT related to the song.  Bad weather forced him to postpone his show last night in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.  It’s been moved to September 17th.  (Fox 8)