Billy Ray Cyrus Criticized for Monotone Tone and Lifeless Performance at Inauguration
"I've learned through all these years when the producer says, 'You're on,' you go entertain the folks even if the equipment goes to hell.".
Published Jan. 22 2025, 4:46 p.m. ET
The performances at President Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, were marred by a series of technical difficulties.
Not only did American Idol winner Carrie Underwood have to sing "America the Beautiful" a capella, but country music icon Billy Ray Cyrus also had a rough time on stage.
His inauguration appearance raised some eyebrows, as his singing seemed off. So, what happened to Billy Ray Cyrus' voice? Here's everything you need to know.
What happened to Billy Ray Cyrus' voice?
As of now, it seems that nothing's wrong with Billy Ray Cyrus' voice. However, during his performance at the Liberty Ball, Billy Ray chose a more monotone, spoken-word style of delivery.
On Monday, January 20, the country singer took the stage as part of President Trump's inauguration festivities. He performed his and Lil Nas X's 2019 hit song "Old Town Road" alongside a loud playback of the music video on a large screen.
As the video concluded, Billy Ray began repeating his lyrics in a flat, spoken tone. At one point, he invited the audience to sing along while strolling around the stage without a backing track.
"Y'all can put your hands together now. If you encourage me, I'll keep going. They told me to kill as much time as possible," he said, turning his back on the crowd. He then joked, asking if anyone knew the lyrics to "Achy Breaky Heart" while tinkering with his electric guitar, which seemed disconnected from the audio system.
"Check, check. Is my guitar still on? I don't hear my guitar anymore," he said, looking backstage. "Ah, Check. Is anybody awake? I don't hear it. Do y'all hear this? Is anyone back there? Can somebody turn my guitar back on? We're going to sing a bit more."
When no one responded, Billy Ray quipped, "Y'all want me to sing more or you want me to just get the hell off the stage? I don’t give a damn." A technician soon arrived to try to reconnect his guitar, and Billy Ray wondered aloud if he might have unplugged it himself.
After it seemed the guitar couldn't be fixed, Billy Ray shrugged and told the technician, "I guess it's dead." He then encouraged the audience to snap their fingers as he tried an impromptu, half-spoken, half-sung version of "Achy Breaky Heart" a cappella.
Just one day later, Billy Ray addressed the chaos via Instagram, writing, "I wouldn’t have missed the honor of playing this event whether my microphone, guitar and monitors worked or not. I was there because President Donald J. Trump invited me."
"I had a ball at the Liberty Ball last night and I've learned through all these years when the producer says, 'You're on,' you go entertain the folks even if the equipment goes to hell," he added. "I was there for the people and we had a blast. That's called rock n roll!!!"