Miley Cyrus says she and country star dad Billy Ray Cyrus have “wildly different” relationships with fame and success.
In her multi-part TikTok series inspired by her new single “Used to be Young,” the “Hannah Montana” alum opened up in one video about how she and her father viewed their celebrity status.
“When I was born, my dad had the No. 1 country song,” Miley Cyrus said, referencing her father’s 1992 breakout single, “Achy Breaky Heart,” which came out when he was well into adulthood. “When I see the numbers, I just see the humans behind it enjoying the music, and I just see people in numbers.”
Miley Cyrus then stressed that fame meant more to her dad, considering his upbringing.
“My dad grew up the opposite of me,” she said. “So I think that’s where me and my dad’s relationship to fame and success is wildly different. Him feeling loved by a big audience impacted him emotionally more than it ever could me. When he feels special or important, it’s like healing a childhood wound. And I’ve always been made to feel like a star.”
“It makes me emotional,” Miley Cyrus said before tearing up. “I think that’s the difference.”
Billy Ray Cyrus opened up about his childhood in a 2011 GQ profile. His father, who was in a gospel band, died of mesothelioma after working in a steel mill. The country crooner also said he experienced a lot of shame growing up because he was a child of divorce in Kentucky in the 1960s and felt stigmatized in school when it came out that he had half- and step-siblings.
“There was always that misfit-ness,” he told the magazine.
He had dreamed of becoming a catcher for the Cincinnati Reds, but had a spiritual awakening during a Neil Diamond concert and said God told him to buy a guitar. He struggled for a decade in Nashville and almost gave up music entirely before “Achy Breaky Heart” became a success.
Miley Cyrus expressed admiration for her dad’s talents in her TikTok series while watching an old video in which he’s playing the guitar and singing to her when she was a child.
“I will say that I feel, vocally, my dad was underappreciated,” Miley Cyrus said, crediting her father for teaching her how to use her pipes.
“I do have a lot of great memories singing music with my dad,” she added. “And learning, and absorbing, and I think I can see my wheels turning and watching his voice and the way he’s using the instrument.”