When Jason Aldean took the stage at the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Awards, he packed his performance with a medley of a few of his biggest hits. It started with one of the most popular songs of his career, which released more than a decade ago. Aldean kicked off with “Dirt Road Anthem,” the nod to memories of driving down small-town roads and reminiscing on good times. It was one of 15 songs included on Aldean’s My Kinda Party album in 2010.
Now, Aldean is gearing up to release the second half of the massive double album that he named after his hometown. The award-winning country artist is in the midst of rolling out 30 tracks overall, with 10 new songs and five live performances of some of his biggest hits on each album. The first installment, Macon, released in November. The next one, Georgia, is set to release on April 22.
Aldean transitioned into “Trouble With A Heartbreak” during his performance at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, which is one of the songs listed on the Georgia album that Aldean released early. The breakup anthem is one that Aldean previously said will give fans a taste of “all the different influences I grew up on. This song hit me right when I heard it and reminded me of those bitter R&B breakup songs that take me back to riding through the backroads of Georgia.”
The Georgia-born country artist closed his performance with “If I Didn’t Love You,” his hit collaboration with Carrie Underwood that’s included on the Macon album. Aldean and Underwood have teamed up for several live performances of the duet, including with a recent jaw-dropping entrance by Underwood in Las Vegas. Aldean previously explained that he knew he had to include the song on his album as soon as he heard it: “I went ahead and put my vocals down while we asked Carrie in the meantime. Luckily she loved the song and it was kind of like a rocket from there. She did her thing like only Carrie can...and I don’t know how, but she made it sound even better than what we expected. It's a really special song to start this album.”
“If I Didn’t Love You” won the iHeartRadio Music Award for Country Song of the Year, and “Things A Man Oughta Know” artist Lainey Wilson presented Aldean with the award on Tuesday evening (March 22). “Tonight's winning power ballad is so perfect, it kinda makes me wish I just got dumped,” Wilson quipped on stage.
See the rest of the award winners here. Aldean took a moment to give a “huge thanks” to Underwood (who was unable to make it for the iHeartRadio Music Awards performance) and others when he accepted his award. “It's been a huge year, so I appreciate it,” Aldean said. “Thank you.”
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