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After receiving loads of criticism, Jason Aldean’s current single, “Try That In A Small Town,” has come out on top.

The song, which originally released in May of this year took extreme heat that only intensified with the accompanying music video that showed clips of highly sensitive current events. Jason recently joined Audacy’s Coop to discuss his experience with all the controversy and clear the air for good.

“We put the song out in, I think it was May or something — and the biggest issue, I think, people had when we released the song was that it mentioned ‘having a gun that my grandfather gave me,’” Jason explained. “I mentioned a gun, that’s a no, no right now and I just remember thinking, ‘Man, you guys haven’t even seen the video yet.’”

Despite the initial response, Jason moved forward with releasing the music video as planned. While he anticipated some pushback knowing the video highlighted sensitive topics, he never anticipated it would cause him to be labeled “racist.”

“Between mainstream media and social media, things kind of take on a life of their own,” he shared. “They start making the song and the video into something that it’s not. It’s fine, we just live in a world that does that right now and I’m not gonna go out and explain myself every time somebody gives their own opinion of what my song or video means.”

He continued, “If you’ve got common sense, you can look at the video and see, I’m not sayin’ anything that’s not true. In the video, I’m showin’ you what happened — I didn’t do it, I didn’t create it — it just happened and I saw it, and I’m not cool with it.”

As criticism and opinions continued to fly, Aldean released a statement to clear up any miscommunications and then continued to stand firm with the song and its message. “Country music is blue collar music, it’s for every man out there and that was always my thing — it’s like, I feel like this,” he said. “I got eyes, I can see what’s goin’ on. I feel like I’ve got common sense and I can see that right is right and what’s wrong is wrong.”

“I don’t care which side of the political fence you want to stand on, but to me what I was seeing was wrong and nobody would say anything, especially in the music industry or entertainment industry. It’s very uncommon for someone to say something for fear of losing a job or losing some money… losing friends or whatever. It just kind of reaches a breaking point to where you’re like ‘somebody needs to say something, and if nobody’s gonna do it, then I’ll be the guy.’”

Jason wasn’t left to stand alone. His Aldean Army fanbase made clear they supported his blue collar message by skyrocketing streaming numbers and ultimately taking the song to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart — a first for Aldean.

Parmalee isn’t done with the magic brought from their studio album, For You. The group is taking the project to new heights with the release of For You 2, a collection featuring 5 new tracks in addition to the 13 original, available now.

“We wanted to do a global song and when you talk about all things global — love is the language,” Thomas told Audacy’s Coop. “No matter what language you’re singing in, you can sing that line, ‘I’m gonna love you.’”

“We were just toy-ing around with me singing versus in a higher range, which really fits my voice well,” Thomas continued, explain the creative process behind the track.

“We got to talkin’ about how this is the one person that’s your ride-or-die, that you’d do anything for unconditionally, so we went down that lane. We worked on it a few times until we finally got it right.”

Hear the “Gonna Love You” masterpiece for yourself, plus three other brand new songs, “Girl in Mine,” and all the For You originals by checking out Parmalee’s new project, For You 2, available now. Plus, hear more about the creative process, stories behind the songs and their current and upcoming tours by tuning in to Coop’s full conversation with the guys above.

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Coop

Dylan Schneider may be considered an “up and comer” in the Country world today, but his earliest fans are quick to inform that he’s been around for a while.

As Schneider is currently gaining more traction in his career with his new single, “Ain’t Missin’ You,” he says his fans are always there to remind him of his earlier music. “To think about how long my music has been out already and how some of these songs are still alive [is crazy]," Dylan told Audacy’s Coop.

“People come up to be at the end of a show and they’re like ‘Aw, you didn’t play ‘Rockstar,’ or ‘You didn’t play ‘Fireworks,’ [I’m] like, ‘I haven’t played that song in three years!’”

As Dylan’s earliest releases seem to be standing the test of time, he’s excited to see where his new music takes him as he inches closer to 10 years in Nashville — which is famously known as a “10 year town.”

“I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately,” Schneider said to Coop of not being at the 10 year mark yet. “They say, ’10 year town, you’re still in a great seat and making it happen.’”

“The longer you’re here, I’m like, ‘Damn this is taking forever,’ but in reality, it hasn’t been that long,” he admits.

Hear about where Dylan hopes to be by year 10, his lates music video and more by checking out his entire interview with Coop above.

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Coop

Frank Ray has brought a ray of sunshine and some Latin flair to Country music with his 2022 EP, Getcha Some, and now he’s ready to show more sides of his personality and music with his forthcoming debut album.

The self-titled project, arriving July 7, will feature 15 tracks, 13 of which were written by Ray, and according to him, it’s a full-introduction to who he is as a person and musician. “It’s the best representation of who I am,” Ray told Coop during a conversation on Coop’s Rockin' Country Saturday Night. “If anybody wanted to ever really get to know me, this is the album.”

Ray has become well known in the community for his bright songs and authentic Latin flare, but spending a large portion of his childhood in Texas, the 36-year-old admits he’s a sucker for a good, sad, Country song.

“Everybody does know me as this loud, vibrant kind of personality,” Ray said. “But, the reason I fell in love with Country music in the first place was because of the imagery of a sad bachelor sittin’ at the stool drowning himself in whiskey because he messed up and lost the love of his life. I really wanted to capture that element of who I am as well. I love a sad Country song. I mean, what is Country music without a sad Country song?”

While he’s excited to get his sad-boy Country on, Ray says it’s not all the project is about. He promises a healthy dose of upbeat, fun songs as well, saying there’s definitely something for everyone. “If you can’t find a song you like on this album, you are dead inside,” Ray stated. “If you’re looking for traditional Country music, it’s there. If you’re looking for the Latin Flare and my contribution to Country music, it’s there. Looking for the Pop solo hooks like, ‘Country’d Look Good On You’ it’s there. If you’re looking for the sad bachelor songs, it’s there. The family stuff, the party anthems — everything is there.”

Hear more about specific songs on the album and the stories behind them by checking out Coop and Frank’s full conversation from Coop’s Rockin’ Country Saturday Night above.

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Coop

Cody Johnson joins Coop's Rockin' Saturday Night to talk new music