Jason Aldean has a lot to be proud of, including sold-out tours, hit singles, platinum-selling albums and more. But the 46-year-old says that all of that pales in comparison to the thing he is most proud of in his career: that he is still here.
“I think longevity, really,” Aldean says on FOX & Friends, when asked what he is most proud of achieving.. “The fact that my first single came out in 2005, and we didn’t have social media. We didn’t have all these ways to get your career up and running like these guys do now. It’s like we had to go out and do it grassroots style. We had to play every little bar, every little festival, every little everything to build it to this, and we were able to do that, and and been able to sustain it for this long and still coming out this many years later selling out tours.
“That’s been a pretty cool thing to watch,” he adds. “And every year we’re like, ‘Is this it? Is this the end of it? Maybe.’ And then every year we have another tour that blows out and people come and check it out. So it’s been great.”
Aldean just celebrated his 28th No. 1 single, with “Try That in a Small Town.” The video for the song was pulled from CMT, after some said it had racial undertones — a decision that Aldean ultimately said made the song so successful.
“That’s kind of their prerogative to do that,” Aldean says of their decision to stop playing the video. “I thought it was odd that they had to make an announcement … Just don’t play it if you want to play it. I didn’t understand the announcement that had to be made about it, and that was really kind of what stoked us all, stoked the video and got people interested to see, ‘What’s going on? Why would they do that? And then the video kind of took off.”
Aldean’s eleventh studio album, Highway Desperado, is out now. The title of the 14-track record, which includes three songs co-written by Aldean, was also the name of his latest tour, summing up what life has been like for him for the past almost 20 years.
“I just think for all of my adult life, pretty much and really since I’ve been 18 years old, I’ve been traveling around the country and the world now playing music,” the Georgia native reflects. “And that’s kind of what it feels like. It’s like always on the run, living on the road. I will say it’s one of the coolest things we’ve done. Top to bottom song-wise. I think it’s one of the best albums we’ve done.”
By his own admission, Aldean never imagined early in his career that he would be where he is now, still one of the biggest reigning hitmakers in country music.
“When I was 28, 29 years old we were cuttings songs like ‘Hicktown,'” Aldean recalls. “now you’ve lived a little life. You’ve seen things. You’re a little more mature.”
See a track list for Highway Desperado below. Find all of Aldean’s music and upcoming shows at JasonAldean.com.
Highway Desperado Track Listing:
1. Tough Crowd – Kurt Allison, Marv Green, Tully Kennedy, Kelley Lovelace, Neil Thrasher
2. Let Your Boys Be Country – Jaron Boyer, Allison Veltz Cruz, Micah Wilshire
3. Knew You’d Come Around – Kurt Allison, Ben Hayslip, Tully Kennedy, John Morgan
4. Hungover In A Hotel – Jason Aldean, Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, David Lee Murphy, Neil Thrasher
5. Try That In A Small Town – Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, Kelley Lovelace, Neil Thrasher
6. Whiskey Drink – Kurt Allison, Jonathan Edwards, Tully Kennedy, John Morgan
7. Whose Rearview – Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, John Morgan, Lydia Vaughn
8. I’m Over You – Josh Phillips, Michael Tyler, Micah Wilshire
9. Rather Watch You – Jessi Alexander, Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, Kelley Lovelace, Neil Thrasher
10. Breakup Breakdown – Jason Aldean, Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, John Morgan, Lydia Vaughan
11. Get Away From You – Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, John Morgan, Lydia Vaughn
12. Changing Bars – Kurt Allison, Jonathan Edwards, Tully Kennedy, John Morgan
13. From This Beer On – Kurt Allison, Jonathan Edwards, Tully Kennedy, John Morgan
14. Highway Desperado – Jason Aldean, Kurt Allison, Jonathan Edwards, Tully Kennedy, John Morgan