2023 ACM Awards: Jason Aldean Debuts Soaring Song ‘Tough Crowd’

Jason Aldean stepped onstage at the 2023 ACM Awards on Thursday night (May 11) with brand new material to share. He gave the live debut of "Tough Crowd," a song he released earlier this week.

The country singer gave a commanding performance as if he had been performing the song for years. He strummed his guitar and delivered the lyrics with heartfelt authority as the stage lights danced around him. At one point the lights were directed out on the audience as if to put a spotlight on the fans, which is fitting for the song.

"Talk about a tough crowd / Make you wanna turn it up loud / Raise the roof tonight and make the red, white and blue proud / Yeah, here's to country strong / I wish y'all could see y'all now / Talk about a tough crowd," he sings in the chorus.

Aldean's anthemic new song came out last week. It's a soaring tribute to the diverse batch of dedicated concertgoers he calls fans, with shoutouts to the "girls with tattoos," "good ol' boys" and more who he sees every night when he hops onstage.

"Tough Crowd" is the first taste of new music from a forthcoming studio album that Aldean's been teasing in the past few months. When it arrives, that project will be the follow-up to the singer's Macon, Georgia double album, an homage to his hometown that he released over the course of late 2021 and early 2022.

Fans will hear more of "Tough Crowd," and the rest of Aldean's next album, when he launches his 2023 Highway Desperado Tour in July.

Aldean was only nominated in one category at this year's ACM Awards, but it was a big one: Entertainer of the Year, which went to Chris Stapleton.

The 2023 ACM Awards took place at Frisco, Texas' Ford Center and streamed on Amazon Prime Video. Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks were co-hosting the show, marking the first time that Brooks has ever hosted a major country music awards show of any kind.