Last week, Jason Aldean’s song “Try That in a Small Town,” which depicts neighborly values but has faced criticism for promoting racist vigilante behavior, debuted at No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. However, the song has now climbed to the top spot, marking Aldean’s first No. 1 single on Billboard’s all-genre singles chart in his nearly two-decade-long career as a top Nashville artist.
Interestingly, just a couple of weeks ago, before the controversy erupted, the song was not performing significantly. However, in its most recent week, it garnered impressive numbers, with 31 million streams, 175,000 copies sold, and a radio audience of nine million listeners in the United States, according to data from the tracking service Luminate.
As the song ignited debate, adjustments were made to its music video. Originally removed from Country Music Television without explanation, the video can still be found on YouTube. Recently, a new version of the video surfaced, which is six seconds shorter than the original and excludes news clips showing Black Lives Matter protests from 2020.
Aldean has vehemently denied that “Try That” supports lynching or holds any racial connotations in its lyrics. Taking to social media, he wrote, “These accusations are baseless and potentially harmful.”
Shifting the focus to the album chart, the K-pop group NewJeans narrowly surpassed the “Barbie” soundtrack to claim the top position.
“Get Up,” a six-track EP by NewJeans, part of the latest wave of popular K-pop acts, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. It accumulated the equivalent of 126,500 sales in the United States, as reported by Luminate. Meanwhile, “Barbie: The Album,” featuring renowned artists like Lizzo, Dua Lipa, Sam Smith, and Billie Eilish, secured 126,000 sales. (Please note that these figures are rounded, as made public by the tracking service.)
The release of the chart rankings was delayed by several days due to a “processing issue” encountered while compiling the data, according to Billboard.
The breakdown of the two albums’ “equivalent” figures provides insight into the diverse consumption habits in today’s music landscape and how different formats impact the charts.
“Get Up,” much like other K-pop releases, offered various collectible CD packages. Out of the 126,500 sales, 101,000 complete albums were bought, with a staggering 99 percent of those being CDs, according to Billboard. Furthermore, the songs from the EP were streamed 34 million times.
Conversely, “Barbie: The Album” sold 53,000 complete packages, including 33,000 vinyl copies, and amassed 94 million streams.
The ascent of NewJeans and “Barbie” pushed last week’s top album, Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” to the fourth spot. Additionally, Morgan Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time” fell to No. 3, marking its first time outside the second spot in a span of 21 weeks. Making a remarkable entry at No. 5 this week is “Génesis” by the Mexican songwriter Peso Pluma.
In conclusion, Aldean’s controversial song has surged to the top of the Billboard charts, while NewJeans surpassed the “Barbie” soundtrack to claim the No. 1 position on the album chart. The industry continues to witness the evolving dynamics of music consumption, with diverse formats influencing chart rankings.
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