News | Entertainment
14 Feb 2025 12:30
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Billy Ray Cyrus was "cut off" and was hit by a string of technical issues during his performance at the Liberty Ball on Monday (20.01.25)

    The 63-year-old singer took to the stage at the event, which celebrated the inauguration of President Donald Trump, without a band, instead playing guitar along to a video of his and Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' and sang with an apparently hoarse voice


    After the video ended, he strummed more of the song and attempted an a capella version of the track, urging the audience to join in.

    He said: "If you encourage me I'll keep going. They told me to kill as much time as possible."

    But then his guitar cut out and he shouted: "Is my guitar still on? I think they cut me off.

    "Is my guitar on guys? I don't hear my guitar anymore. Is anybody awake? Where's everybody at? Is anyone back there? Can somebody turn my guitar back on?"

    Speaking to tech support, who were off stage, he added: "I don't hear it? Do ya'll hear it? Is anyone back there?

    "Can somebody turn my guitar back on? We're going to sing a bit more."

    But the instrument still didn't work, so Billy asked the crowd if the wanted another song as he "didn't give a damn" either way.

    He said: "Y'all want me to sing more or you just want me to get the hell of the stage? I don't give a damn."

    A crew member eventually came out and fixed the sound before Billy went on to note Carrie Underwood had also experienced technical difficulties at the inauguration ceremony earlier in the day, forcing her to sing 'America the Beautiful' a capaella when the backing track cut out.

    He said: "Wasn't Carrie Underwood fabulous? They had technical difficulties too. And in life, when you have technical difficulties, you just gotta keep going. Or as President Trump would say, 'You gotta fight!'"

    The country star then began singing his 1992 hit 'Achy Breaky Heart' a capella but appeared to have outstayed his welcome as he ended up holding the microphone to his mouth with no sound, wandering in the dark with the stage lights going off around him.

    Despite the difficulties, Billy said he was "honoured" to be part of the inauguration celebrations.

    He posted on Facebook: "Honored to kick off the Liberty Ball at the request of our 47th President and Commander-in-Chief @realdonaldtrump. When you get knocked down, you get back up. You fight and persevere."

    © 2025 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     14 Feb: Mandy Moore has accused Amazon of delivering a package to her in-laws' home which was destroyed by the California wildfires
     14 Feb: Courteney Cox has hailed Jennifer Aniston as a "friend for life" in a birthday post
     14 Feb: Kylie Kelce found out that her brother-in-law Travis Kelce was dating Taylor Swift shortly before they went to a game together
     14 Feb: Sabrina Carpenter's 'Emails I Can't Send' was inspired by her "biggest heartbreak to date"
     14 Feb: One Direction have rejected an offer to reunite at the Brit Awards
     14 Feb: Ariana Grande's therapist has helped the pop star to navigate the potential pitfalls of fame
     14 Feb: Ariana Grande's recent success feels "different"
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Crusaders assistant Brad Mooar insists a tidy up of the rules around the kick-chase will benefit Super Rugby More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Confirmation, Kinleith Mill at Tokoroa will permanently end paper production from June More...



     Today's News

    National:
    Is AI making us stupider? Maybe, according to one of the world’s biggest AI companies 12:17

    Entertainment:
    Mandy Moore has accused Amazon of delivering a package to her in-laws' home which was destroyed by the California wildfires 12:12

    National:
    X has been used to represent love and kisses for centuries. But how did it start? 12:07

    Auckland:
    Traffic in Auckland is still looking heavily backed up - with the crucial Southern Motorway still closed southbound at Greenlane 11:57

    Rugby League:
    Extraordinary scenes to kick-off the UK Super League season between Wigan and Leigh, starting with boxing announcer Michael Buffer introducing the teams to the field.. 11:57

    Entertainment:
    Courteney Cox has hailed Jennifer Aniston as a "friend for life" in a birthday post 11:42

    Rugby:
    Crusaders assistant Brad Mooar insists a tidy up of the rules around the kick-chase will benefit Super Rugby 11:27

    Living & Travel:
    Donald Trump enjoys massive support, but some of his voters are already turning on Elon Musk 11:17

    Entertainment:
    Kylie Kelce found out that her brother-in-law Travis Kelce was dating Taylor Swift shortly before they went to a game together 11:12

    Law and Order:
    A High Court judge is signing an order to force online platform X to remove old news stories relating to a man accused of killing a Nelson police officer 11:07


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd