The Resurrection of Billy Ray Cyrus

Nashville (AP) – Billy Ray Cyrus is a country music star who has always found a way to embedded himself in some of history’s biggest pop-culture moments. From his role on and off screen as the father of one the biggest pop star, Hannah Montana, to his feature on the biggest pop record of 2019 “Old Town Road”. With a career spanning over three decades Cyrus has managed to stay relevant.

            This past Sunday Cyrus brought home two Grammys for his feature on the hit single “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X. Despite the success of the single “Old Town Road” among the pop charts it was not received as kindly by the country music community. Country music fans argued that the song was “too pop” to be on the country music charts.

            Cyrus made a bold move by going against the music community that had given him his fame and supported his career by deciding to feature on the song with Lil Nas X. Receiving such harsh criticism from the country music community only seemed to motivate Cyrus more.

            The catchy tune broke records as one of the first pop songs to spend 19 weeks on Billboards hot 100s. “Old Town Road” is not just a song, but it signifies a breaking of barrier between music genres. This single has allowed Billy Ray Cyrus the opportunity to perform at musical festivals like a Rolling Loud and the BET Awards which in recent years would’ve never seemed possible.

            “To me it was a celebration of persistence a celebration of not giving up,” Cyrus states days after winning his Grammy for Best Music Video and Best Pop Duo. 

            For Cyrus, 2019 was a year for reinventing his career, and “Old Town Road” helped him do just that. Going from a mullet wearing, country singing, cowboy boot wearing country music star, to a musical barrier breaker is exactly the shift that Cyrus needed to revamp his career.

Cyrus states. “I’ve learned don’t look back. The past does not equal the future. I’ve just found a great deal of excitement in where I’m at right now.”

            Billy Ray Cyrus marks the beginning of the new decade by releasing a three song EP titled, The Singin’ Hills Sessions.

Source:

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