‘THEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT’
SINGER BILLY RAY CYRUS IS JUST LIKE THE REST OF US WITH ACHY BREAKY HEARTS
Billy Ray Cyrus of Achy Breaky Heart fame was all set to ride a second wave of success after his involvement in a 2019 remix of Atlanta rapper Lil Nas X’s country- rap song, Old Town Road, that took off. The song spent a record- breaking 19- straight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won Cyrus his first two Grammys ( best pop/duo group performance and best music video) earlier this year. But then COVID-19 hit. “The last thing I remember when life was normal, they handed me two Grammys — seriously, that was it,” said Cyrus, 59, in a Canadian newspaper exclusive with Postmedia News.
“And then basically a week later, the world shut down. I would love to paint just the prettiest, rosiest picture of how life has been, but quite frankly, life has been for me just like it’s been for everybody else — normal ain’t normal anymore. The year was going to be somewhat of a celebration. Well, then the lights went out.”
Now Cyrus, who also rescheduled all his touring dates for next summer, is back with a new, made- in-vancouver single, Country Twisted, and a seriously sexy video starring Playboy model- actress- singer Jillisa Lynn gyrating in a midriff-baring top and denim short shorts.
We caught up with Cyrus down the line from his home just outside Nashville to discuss that and whole lot more. Q You tweeted out your support of Black Lives Matter with a Desmond Tutu quote on June 4: “If you are neutral in situations of social injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor,” adding your own “RIP #GeorgeFloyd, #Breonnataylor, #Ahmaudarbery and countless others. My heart is broken. I stand with you. #BlacklivesMatter #JusticeforgeorgeFloyd #Enoughisenough.” Would you ever tackle this sentiment in song?
A I think everyone should have the freedom to stand up for what they believe in and have the courage to stand up for what they believe. And I do believe that we all are created equal. Certainly, there’s a lot of room for social justice and change and being kind to our fellow man. What I write about a lot these days is love. And it’s not just the love of a man and a woman or a personal relationship. What I write about is, what I feel is — to answer your question — a more deeper purpose. Love over hate. Light over darkness. Good over evil.
Q In a way, you expressed your BLM ally-ship last year given you re-recorded Old Town Road with an openly gay Black man so that the tune could have a shot on the country music charts. (It was previously removed before Cyrus’s involvement because the song lacked elements of “today’s country music.”)
A At that time I was looking at a young man out of Atlanta that I felt like was being treated unfairly and in some ways discriminated against. And I asked myself, ‘What would Johnny Cash do?’ And I said, ‘Johnny Cash would step up to the plate and stand up for this guy.’
Q There’s a Johnny Cash poster on the wall behind Jillisa dancing in the Country Twisted video, so he clearly remains important to you.
A There was a point where Johnny Cash said, ‘I’m going to have a television show and I’m not just going to have country artists. I’m going to have Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin.’ You know Johnny was always crossing bridges that had never been crossed.
Q You also pay tribute to Kobe Bryant in the new video. A Sadly, that night of the Grammys (the day Bryant died in a helicopter crash), it didn’t feel like I won two Grammys. I just left (the Staples Center where Bryant used to play for the L.A. Lakers) so sad. When you look at the guitar that I’m playing in this video, you’ll see on there, with a silver Sharpie I’ve written the number 24 for Kobe.
Q And what led to the casting of Jillisa?
A I think she’s got a Marilyn Monroe quality to her that’s just fire. It’s just absolute fire. She brings that in a very countrified way, that electricity, that fire, to this dance and this song.
Q Are you itching to getting back on the road?
A That was my job. And I did it for 40 years. Well, all of a sudden, that doesn’t exist anymore. I mean, I like to think it’ll come back and I like to think that there’s still some variation of it but I’m not exactly for sure it will ever be the way that it used to be.