Covered Up: Many of his songs, surprisingly, were recorded by others first. "Why", "Amarillo Sky", and "Johnny Cash" were previously recorded by Shannon Brown (another Big & Rich protégé), McBride & the Ride, and Tracy Byrd, respectively. Also, "The Truth" was originally recorded by Trent Willmon, "My Kinda Party" by Brantley Gilbert, and "Dirt Road Anthem" by Colt Ford (with Gilbert also co-writing the latter and singing on it).
Heartwarming Moments: His SNL tribute to Tom Petty and those killed in the Las Vegas concert shooting, a cover of Petty's "I Won't Back Down"
It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: Said of "Gonna Know We Were Here", which many people find to be a watered-down rewrite of "Tattoos on This Town". Likewise, "They Don't Know" is seen as a rehash of "Fly Over States", and "We Back" a rehash of the already derided "Lights Come On".
No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: The massive backlash towards "Try That in a Small Town" over accusations of it having a racist message and supporting lynchings after the release of its music video coincided with the single reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100, a first for Aldean's career.
Sophomore Slump: Relentless is his lowest-selling album, and the only one not to produce a top 5 hit. But he rebounded with the third album and hasn't looked back.
"Laughed Until We Cried", particularly the verse about his grandpa and then the next verse about their newborn baby that they tried so long to have.
On October 1, 2017 his performance at a country concert in Las Vegas was interrupted by the deadliest mass shooting in American history, with at least 58 dead and 500 injured. Aldean understandably couldn't think of anything to say afterwards beyond assuring everyone that he and his entire crew were safe.
Win Back the Crowd: After the bland and sameyOld Boots, New Dirt and They Don't Know, Rearview Town seems to have done this with stronger and more inspired material, most notably the first two singles "You Make It Easy" and "Drowns the Whiskey".
