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Jason Aldean is paying tribute to Charlie Kirk in a special way.
The country singer performed a show in Detroit, Michigan on Sept. 11, the day after Kirk was assassinated during a speaking engagement in Orem, Utah. At one point during the concert, he took a moment to speak about Kirk and the impact he had on his life and career.
“An amazing person by the name of Charlie Kirk was murdered yesterday in Utah,” he told fans, as seen in video captured by an audience member.
Cheers erupted at the mention of Kirk’s name, and Aldean continued to explain that he knew Kirk personally and had the opportunity to meet with him multiple times over the past few years.
“One of the best people ever,” he said of the late Turning Point USA founder. “This is not the guy you go after, is what I’m trying to say.”
He continued, “And it’s a weird country that we live in when you start taking people out because you disagree with their opinions. That’s not what we’re about here.”
Aldean went on to talk about his 2023 single, “Try That in a Small Town.” At the time of its release, the song and its accompanying music video earned a bit of backlash, enough that the video was pulled out of the Country Music Television (CMT) network’s rotation.
“I remember when we put this song out, people like Charlie Kirk were some of the first people to come up and go, ‘That’s what it’s about. This country coming together, calling out the bulls— when we see it, trying to get everything back on track,’” Aldean said Thursday.
“This guy wanted nothing more than what was best for all of us, and for our kids moving forward,” he continued.
“Charlie is a guy that’s going to be very, very much missed, and this is something that his legacy is going to live on forever with Turning Point [USA] and what he’s done with only 31 years on this planet, it’s amazing.”
He went on to play “Try That in a Small Town” in honor of Kirk.
Following Kirk’s death Wednesday, Aldean also paid tribute to him with an Instagram post. He shared a photo of himself and wife Brittany Aldean with Kirk, and in his caption he wrote, “It’s been a hard day not only in our family, but all over the country.”
He continued, “Charlie Kirk was one of the kindest, smartest and bravest people I’ve ever met. I’m honored to have met and spoke with him on a few occasions. He was a man of peace and wanted nothing but the best for our country and its youth. We might have lost Charlie today but what he has done will live on forever. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, kids and the entire Kirk family.”
In 2023, Aldean told Fox News Digital that his controversial song resonated with many people, apparently including Kirk, because they were “tired” of living in a country that, in his opinion, has turned into the “Wild West.”
“I just think there’s a lot of people out there that just want to go to work and come home, raise their kids, feel comfortable about sending their kids to school and knowing that they’re going to come home,” Aldean said. “Or let their kids go to a movie on a weekend and not worry about something crazy happening to them in the parking lot or inside a movie theater.”
He continued, “It’s just we’re kind of living in the Wild West right now, and I think people are just kind of tired of it. There’s just constant chaos and something going on. Somebody is always pissed off about something, and it’s just one of those songs where there’s a lot of people that could relate to that because they’re just sick of it.”
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