Billy Ray Cyrus on Friday announced a new album in the wake of his lackluster performance at the post-inauguration Liberty Ball and amid family drama heightened by new input from his latest ex-wife.
Two days after Cyrus I stumbled through his opening two-song set In Washington, D.C., his Trace’s son Cyrus raised the alarm About the musician. Then on Thursday, Virus, the “Achy Break Heart” singer’s ex-wife, backed up Trace’s statements in public comments of her own.
Just like he did With his Liberty Ball appearanceBilly Ray Cyrus appeared to allay those concerns on Friday when he announced that his next album would be produced by his son, Bryson. Earlier this week, Billy Ray’s representatives declined to comment on the family’s concerns.
“This is art imitating life, art imitating,” the two-time Grammy winner said Friday in a message. statement. “It begins and ends with art. Bryson is very talented and… [2025] It is his year. I’m glad to be a part of it. This record will be special. “I’m getting ready for what will be the trip of a lifetime.”
Firerose’s final thoughts came in response to Trace Cyrus. open letter, He posted on social media Wednesday, where he said his family — which also includes Tracey’s younger sisters, pop stars Miley Cyrus and Noah Cyrus, and older sister Brandi Cyrus — was… ‘Real concern’ About the “Achie Breaky Heart” singer. Trice said he “can barely recognize” his father as the man he once idolized, and that he and his sisters had worried for years. He claimed that the patriarch “pushed us all away.”
“You are not healthy dad and everyone is noticing,” he wrote, adding: “I hope you realize that this message only comes from a place of love, and you are also afraid that the world will lose you too soon.”
On Thursday, Virus, Billy Ray Cyrus’ ex-wife, echoed some of those sentiments, saying Page six And that “what is seen in public now reflects a lot” of what she experienced in private during their relationship, which ended suddenly amid allegations of exploitation and fraud.
“It’s very sad to see these same struggles continuing for him, but I’m glad the truth is coming out — for his potential good because healing is only possible when you face the truth and accept that there is a problem,” she told the outlet. .
Cyrus and Fairouz, who met in the early 2000s while working on Disney Channel’s “Hannah Montana” and struck up a relationship years later, have announced their split. correlation In November 2022, they married in October 2023. They revealed their divorce less than a year later, and The chaotic dissolution has been settled Last August after more than a month of tension. Cyrus has since called the marriage a “crazy scam.”
But Bryson Cyrus said in a statement Friday about the upcoming recording that he’s spent the past year getting to know his father better, hearing stories, jokes and songs that others haven’t heard.
“It’s an opportunity to tell my father’s story through music, and I’m lucky to be able to take advantage of it,” he said. “Music, stories and family are the most important things to my father, so combining the two is an all-encompassing endeavor.”
Then in Instagram storyBryson revealed that his father spent a week in the hospital in the fall, writing: “I’m grateful that my dad is happy, healthy and ready to make this record.” “It’s a rare opportunity to present something special like this and tell my father’s story through music. I can’t wait to finally share it.”
The as-yet-untitled record is set to be released this summer via Roam Man Productions and will be distributed by independent label Empire. It will contain songs co-written by father and son. Although Billy Ray Cyrus has released several singles in recent years – including “Old Town Road” remix with Lil Nas And some songs with Firerose – the upcoming album will be his first since the release of “The SnakeDoctor Circus” in 2019.
Cyrus shares five children with his ex-wife Tish Cyrus Purcellto whom he was married from 1993 to 2022: Trace and Brandi, whom he adopted after Tish had them with her first husband, Baxter Neil Hilson; Plus Miley, Bryson and Noah, the children they had together. He is also the father of Christopher Cody, whom he welcomed with ex-girlfriend Christine Luckey in 1992.
Times staff writer Alexandra del Rosario contributed to this report.
