Billy Ray Cyrus was a country music star in the ’90s, but today, he’s achieved a level of success unlike at any other point in his career thanks to his appearance on Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road.” Cyrus stopped by The Late Late Show last night, and he told James Corden about how he ended up featuring on the remix of the song.
Cyrus said he was happy to help Lil Nas X after hearing about how “Old Town Road” was taken off the Billboard country charts:
“On March the 15th, I heard this song by Lil Nas X, and it was called ‘Old Town Road,’ and his record company and management had asked if I would be interested in joining him on the song. And I said, ‘Well, what would I do?’ ‘Cause it’s already perfect. I loved the song from the second I heard it. I just loved it and I thought, ‘Man, this guy’s so cool and the song is so cool,’ […] and one thing led to another and I read about his story, and I felt a little bit of injustice was done to him. He had not been treated right, and I believe in the law of what is right. I looked at it and said, ‘If he thinks I can help him in any way, I’m in his corner.'”
Cyrus also talked about getting a Maserati from Lil Nas X, and he admitted that the video Lil Nas X posted was staged, saying, “You know ,it’s one of those things… I don’t even know what to say. It’s a crazy moment in time with art imitating life imitating art, and the insanity of the fact that, ‘Lil Nas wants to do this thing where he’s going to bring you over a Maserati. He wants you to act like…,’ right off the bat, I’m not an actor. I’m a singer-songwriter. Just tell him to come on and I’ll just follow whatever he does, I’ll follow his lead. He knocked on the door and he’s got the car, and next thing I know, the story was out that he bought me this car. I’ll be honest with you: I was just acting.”
Watch the conversation above, and watch Cyrus perform “I’ll Be Around” on The Late Late Show below.
