BREAKING: Jason Aldean’s ‘Try That In a Small Town’ video jumps to 16 MILLION views after backlash

The song's on-demand audio and video streaming have grown by 999 percent, from 987,000 to 11.7 million, according to Luminate, a company that measures music sales and streams, in the week following its removal by CMT, according to Hollywood Reporter.

When CMT pulled the music video from its rotation on Tuesday, "Try That in a Small Town" had roughly 350,000 views on YouTube. It now has been viewed more than 16.6 million times.

According to Luminate, song sales have also increased. Before the music video was deemed "controversial" the track sold 1,000 copies. Last week, the track sold 228,000.

Jason Aldean defended himself against accusations that his music video, which takes shots at the infamous riots perpetuated by BLM and Antifa riots, promotes lynching and racism, saying "There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it- and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage." The video was filmed in front of a Tennessee courthouse at which a lynching took place more than 100 years ago.

"In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests. These references are not only meritless, but dangerous. There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it- and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage -and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music- this one goes too far," Aldean tweeted.

"As so many pointed out, I was present at Route 91-where so many lost their lives- and our community recently suffered another heartbreaking tragedy. NO ONE, including me, wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart.

"'Try That In A Small Town,' for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief. Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences. My political views have never been something I’ve hidden from, and I know that a lot of us in this Country don’t agree on how we get back to a sense of normalcy where we go at least a day without a headline that keeps us up at night. But the desire for it to- that’s what this song is about."