Billy Ray Cyrus can’t seem to stay out of the headlines this week — and this time, it’s not even about him. His son, Trace Cyrus, is making waves of his own after publicly slamming country star Jason Aldean.
And let’s just say, he didn’t hold back. Trace, 36, has followed in his father’s musical footsteps, though his sound leans more pop punk than country.
He’s never been shy about sharing his opinions — and on Sunday, June 22, he took to Instagram to take aim at Aldean’s 2023 controversial track, “Try That in a Small Town.”
“Guys, I was just sitting in my kitchen and this stupid song came on the radio,” Trace said in a video, according to Penn Live.
“Remember this went viral? And everyone knows, like I’m as patriotic as it gets. I love Trump and American and all that but listen to how stupid this is,” he continued, “Like, this is what’s on the radio, and the bad song that I been talking about all night, like no one is really listening to.”
He then played Aldean’s song for the camera, mocking the lyrics. “OK, bro, great job. You wrote a song, brother. Wow. Congratulations. Claps for you.”
Trace went on to suggest that instead of Aldean, radio stations should play his own track, “On the Run.”
“Like 95.5, like replace that song right now with ‘On the Run,’ because that song is trash for real,” he explained.
Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic
Despite his strong words, Trace insisted he wasn’t trying to tear Aldean down.
“I’m not trying to like completely destroy Jason Aldean’s soul right now but no one wants to hear that on the radio,” he said. “They are still putting this on country radio and nobody wants to hear it.”
He also took the moment to criticize Aldean’s music video, pointing out that the country singer shut down Columbia’s town square to shoot it — while Trace shot his own video using an iPhone.
“I literally had my girl shoot my video on my iPhone and then I edited it myself and my video is cooler than his stupid video.”
Aldean’s song and video caused backlash after its release for featuring protest clips and being filmed at a site linked to a 1927 lynching, which some say gives it threatening and racially charged undertones.
Following the criticism, Aldean pushed back against accusations that his song was “pro-lynching.”
On X, he wrote, “There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it. “Try That In A Small Town,” for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief.”
Although Aldean previously defended the song, he has not responded to Trace’s recent comments.
