Billy Ray Cyrus Changes His Name

He's dropped the 'Billy Ray'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 1, 2017 1:19 AM CDT
Updated May 1, 2017 2:33 AM CDT
Billy Ray Cyrus Changes His Name
He's now simply "Cyrus."   (Photo by Sanford Myers/Invision/AP)

Billy Ray Cyrus is changing his name, but he's still going to share one with daughter Miley Cyrus. The country star says he will now release music under the name "Cyrus," and he plans to make the change legal. "After August 25th, I will be the artist formerly known as Billy Ray. I'm just going by my last name Cyrus," he tells Rolling Stone. "I always went by Cyrus, and I begged Mercury Records to call me Cyrus in the beginning because that's what I was comfortable with. I'm going to the hospital where I was born in Bellefonte, Kentucky, and legally changing my name."

Cyrus' biggest hit, like Miley, will turn 25 this year. He celebrated the anniversary of "Achy Breaky Heart" by visiting Alabama to record a new version of the hit with songwriter Don Van Tress and members of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, CMT reports. Cyrus, who has a new album out this year, also plans to release a Spanglish version of "Achy Breaky Heart" and an EDM version with Bootsy Collins, according to Rolling Stone. (More Billy Ray Cyrus stories.)

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