Billy Ray Cyrus

William Ray Cyrus is an American singer, songwriter, and actor who is a multi-platinum selling country music artist. He is widely recognized for his 1992 hit single "Achy Breaky Heart" and his featured role on the record-breaking 2019 remix of Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road." Over his career, he has released 16 studio albums and scored eight top-ten singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Alongside his music career, Cyrus has achieved prominence as a television actor.

Cyrus was born on August 25, 1961, in Flatwoods, Kentucky, to Ron Cyrus, a steelworker turned politician, and Ruth Ann Casto. Raised in a musical family surrounded by bluegrass and gospel music, he began singing at age four. Cyrus attended Georgetown College on a baseball scholarship before deciding to pursue music after attending a Neil Diamond concert. In the 1980s, he performed in a band called Sly Dog before eventually relocating and securing a recording deal with PolyGram/Mercury in 1990.

Cyrus achieved breakthrough success with his 1992 debut album, Some Gave All. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums and Billboard 200 charts, spending 17 consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 200. It became the best-selling debut album of all time for a solo male artist, selling over 20 million copies worldwide. Its lead single, "Achy Breaky Heart," reached number one on the Hot Country Songs chart, number four on the Billboard Hot 100, and achieved international success, helping popularize line dancing globally.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Cyrus released several additional albums with Mercury, Monument, and other labels. His 1993 follow-up, It Won't Be the Last, reached platinum status and featured the top-five country single "In the Heart of a Woman." He later released albums across different genres, including the 2003 Christian projects Time Flies and The Other Side, as well as country releases such as Wanna Be Your Joe, Home at Last, and Back to Tennessee. In 2009, he briefly formed the alternative rock group Brother Clyde.

In 2019, Cyrus featured on a remix of Lil Nas X's song "Old Town Road," which spent a record-breaking 19 consecutive weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. The track earned Cyrus his first two Grammy Awards, winning Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video.

In addition to music, Cyrus established an acting career. He played the lead role of a country doctor in the television series Doc from 2001 to 2004. From 2006 to 2011, he starred as Robby Ray Stewart alongside his real-life daughter Miley Cyrus in the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana. He later starred as Vernon Brownmule on the CMT sitcom Still the King from 2016 to 2017.