Country music veteran Billy Ray Cyrus — father of Miley Cyrus and the man behind triple Platinum earworms like "Achy Breaky Heart" — has just covered Lil Nas X's controversial hit, "Old Country Road." Listen below.
"Old Town Road" went viral last month thanks to the #YeeHawChallenge on TikTok. Due to its popularity and cross-genre sound (blending hip-hop vocals with banjo and bass) it was added to a number of Billboard Top 100 charts, including the Hot Country Songs, only to later be removed for not being country enough.
Earlier this week Lil Nas X addressed the removal, which had sparked a debate over the visibility of people of color in the country music genre. “I believe whenever you’re trying something new, it’s always going to get some kind of bad reception," he told Time.
This is evidently a mindset shared by Cyrus. After singing about diamond rings and Fendi sports bras on his cover of "Old Town Road," he sent Nas X a tweet saying to take Billboard's decision as a compliment — it "means you're doing something great! Only Outlaws are outlaws. Welcome to the club!"
Considering Cyrus has had a total of eight top-ten singles in the Billboard Country Songs chart, he probably knows what he's talking about.
