In this edition of our "Meet the NBC All Stars," we are featuring Country superstar Billy Ray Cyrus who joined the NBC family this summer as host of the new hit show "Nashville Star. Spanning the last 15 years, Cyrus has had a phenomenal career, not only in the music world, but in film and television as well. Last summer, Cyrus released his tenth album, "Home At Last," on Walt Disney Records. The first single from the album, "Ready, Set, Don't Go," is a heartfelt ballad he wrote for his daughter, Miley, as she prepared to leave for Los Angeles from Tennessee to start production on "Hannah Montana." The duet (featuring Miley Cyrus) and album both topped the Country charts.
Billy Ray recently recorded the Sheryl Crow-penned track "Real Gone" for the forthcoming "Country Sings Disney" CD, slated for release in July. The song will also be included on his next studio album which is currently being recorded in Nashville and produced by Grammy-winning producer Mark Bright (Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood). Cyrus' eleventh album, "Back to Tennessee" is set for release on October 21.
The multi-platinum singer/songwriter's musical roots go back to his childhood in Kentucky when the young Cyrus was singing with his father's gospel quartet before he started grade school. Discovered in 1990 while opening for Reba McEntire, Cyrus holds the record by a debut artist for his album "Some Gave All" which was #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Album chart for 17 weeks. "Some Gave All" certified multi-platinum, selling 14 million copies worldwide, while his other albums, "It Won't Be the Last" and "Storm in the Heart" certified platinum and gold respectively. He won Favorite New Artist - Country and Favorite Single - Country for "Achy Breaky Heart" at the American Music Awards. His hit single "Achy Breaky Heart" also earned him Single of the Year by the Country Music Association and the BMI Robert J. Burton Award in 1993.
Cyrus currently stars as Robby Stewart, father and "personal and professional" manager to his 15-year-old daughter, played by real-life daughter Miley, who has a secret identity as a pop star in the Emmy-nominated Disney Channel series, "Hannah Montana." Billy Ray and Miley are currently filming "The Hannah Montana Movie" for Walt Disney Pictures in Tennessee, which is slated for release next summer. Once production wraps on the feature film, father and daughter will return to Los Angeles to shoot the third season of the hit TV series.
In 2007, Cyrus gained an even larger fan base with his good-natured and entertaining performance on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars," making it to the eighth week of competition as one of the final five. Most recently, Cyrus hosted the CMT Music Awards with Miley and starred in his own CMT reality series "Home at Last." He has also completed production on two films which will be released later this year: "Bait Shop" with Bill Engvall and "Flyin' By" with Heather Locklear.
Cyrus starred in the PAX series "Doc" for which he also composed the theme song. That series is now seen in over 50 countries. His film credits include "Elvis Has Left the Building," "Mulholland Drive," "Radical Jack" and "Wish You Were Dead." On the stage, he starred as Frank Butler in the stage production of "Annie Get Your Gun" in Toronto.
Cyrus resides on his 500-acre farm near Nashville when not working in Los Angeles.