'People Are So Sensitive'

Jason Aldean returns from controversy (and blasts “bro country”) ahead of his aptly titled new album, They Don’t Know: “Media tends to make a big deal out of things”

- Richard L. Eldredge

TAKING OFF HIS COWBOY HAT AND RUNNING a hand through his hair, Jason Aldean is agitated. The country superstar sits on a vintage velvet couch in a suite at a Nashville bed-and-breakfast, bristling at the notion that he’s “bro country.” “It’s a f—ing ridiculous term,” says Aldean of the hard-partying, cliché-ridden designation. His new album, They Don’t Know, may be full of heartbreak, 18- wheelers and suds-guzzling escapades, but he considers his music far beyond the label. “It’s incredibly insulting to me. It’s meant to describe guys whose songs are all about pickup trucks, drinking beer and girls. It’s meant to talk down to us — me, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, all of us. They haven’t bothered to listen to the body of work I’ve recorded over the years. At least take time to do your homework.”

Gearing up to hit the road this fall on his Six String Circus arena tour to introduce fans to his seventh studio album, Aldean is learning the hard way that life at the top of the charts comes with its own set of obstacles. He’s now at a point in his career where he can easily send a single to No. 1 (“Lights Come On,” the first offering from They Don’t Know, became his 15th chart-topper on Billboard’s Country Airplay tally in July), but fame’s increased visibility has come with drawbacks.