Jason Aldean Is Inspired by Route 91 Survivors: ‘I Got Nothing to Be Whining About’
Jason Aldean sat down with Ellen DeGeneres on Monday (April 16) to talk about the Route 91 Festival shooting and the harrowing months that have followed.
“It was tough," Aldean said on Ellen, recalling visits with victims of the shooting in the hospital following the Oct. 1, 2017 tragedy.
"I feel like they were there to see my show and obviously the last thing you want is for anyone to get hurt. It was tough to go back to see people in the hospital and some of them in comas and things like that," the singer continues in the clip above. "(It was) one of the hardest things I ever had to do but it was also to me, seeing them and seeing the strength they had just being happy to be alive and make it through that, it sort of make me look at it in a different light. I got nothing to be whining about."
Aldean is currently smack dab in the middle of a media blitz surrounding the release of his new album Rearview Town, and while on Ellen, he recounted the actual moment in which the shooting began. He was onstage performing and didn't fully understand what was going on.
"When it started, it was just crazy," he remembers. "The ear monitors that we wear, it sounded like a guitar amp or something that was just crapping out and I didn’t know what it was."
Of course, before his Ellen appearance was over, Aldean also talked to DeGeneres about happier things, like the birth of his first son, Memphis, with wife Brittany. Aldean also stuck around to perform his song "You Make It Easy," which he sings with his wife in mind.
Aldean invited Route 91 survivors to attend his 2018 ACM Awards rehearsal in the days before the show. The superstar was a big part of Sunday's event, leading a moment dedicated to the 58 lives lost. He also called out the people of Las Vegas as he accepted his Entertainer of the Year award, saying:
"It's been a rough year and I just want to say thanks to everybody that reached out to us and showed us love and support over the last six months. To my Route 91 people, you guys are in my heart always and we love Las Vegas. Vegas strong, baby — thank you so much."
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