Billy Ray Cyrus: Nashville Star Beats Bars

Posted by amyclark on 08/25/2008
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6/11/2008 Mac McKinnon Billy-Ray-Cyrus Nashville Star Billy Ray Cyrus has lived the life of a country music superstar for some time now, and the Nashville Star host is more than happy to pass some of that valuable knowledge to this season’s contestants. Clearly he is more comfortable in the hosting role than in the judge’s seat. "Certainly, if they ask me advice, I'll try to give them, to the best of my knowledge, what I can say to help them," he says. "But thank goodness I'm not a judge. I could not judge these kids. I couldn't break their little hearts and say mean things to them. I just couldn't do that." Cyrus rose through the country music ranks the hard way, playing late night sets at hole-in-the-wall bars to make ends meet. Indeed, there are more opportunities available to prospective stars these days—something Cyrus is quite appreciative of. “I'm glad that it exists,” he says. “I'm glad that NBC and Nashville Star are giving these kids a chance to make it happen now. And it still comes down to the bottom line -- it's about talent and it's about a dream and combining the two. They're standing on the cusp of making that dream a reality.” Although he’s been around for quite some time now, Cyrus says little has changed from his humble beginnings. “It's still about a dream for me,” he says. “It's still about a song. It's still about the music. It's still about if you get knocked down, get back up. It's still all about that for me. Nothing's changed.”