Jason Aldean Performs at 2024 CMT Music Awards After His 'Racist' Song Created Controversy: Watch

Is Jason Aldean trying to put the controversy behind him?

The country crooner took the stage at the 2024 CMT Music Awards on Sunday night, April 7, with a performance of his hit song "Let Your Boys Be Country" — nearly one year after he was labeled a "racist" upon release of his controversial song "Try That in a Small Town" in May 2023.

The 47-year-old appeared unbothered by criticism he continues to face, as he sang his heart out at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, where the awards show was hosted, despite "Let Your Boys Be Country" not making it past the first round of voting for Video of the Year when the six finalists were revealed earlier this month.

Still, the crowd seemed happy to see him step onto the stage in a white cowboy hat, a brown button-up shirt and jeans. At one point during the performance, Aldean received a sea of cheers from fans in the audience after yelling, "where my boys at tonight, c’mon!" while strumming along on his guitar — which had an American flag-themed strap.

As OK! previously reported, news Aldean would perform at this year's CMT Music Awards — broadcasted on CBS — came as quite the surprise, considering his "Try That in a Small Town" lyrics deeply disturbed a large majority of social media users, as well as fellow artists like Maren Morris and Sheryl Crow.

“Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light it up / Yeah, ya think you’re tough," the song lyrics stated. "Well, try that in a small town / See how far ya make it down the road / Around here, we take care of our own / You cross that line, it won’t take long / For you to find out, I recommend you don’t."

The song continued: "Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up / Well, that s--- might fly in the city, good luck."

The music video for the track created even more controversy, as it was filmed in front of a Tennessee courthouse where a Black teenager was lynched in 1927 — however, Aldean previously claimed he was unaware of the location's disgraceful history.

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It was clear social media users were still left upset by the questionable lyric and video choices, as one person took to X (formerly named Twitter) after his performance on Sunday evening to declare: "Jason Aldean is racist low-class coward."

"Very shocked Jason Aldean preformed at the CMT Awards," a second individual noted, while another called it "very ironic."