Not country enough, now it’s too country… Billy Ray Cyrus has been struggling with country radio lately.
His collaboration with Lil Nas X was an absolute smash, although it was removed from the country charts for not being country enough. But his new single “Chevys and Fords” was only added by a handful of country radio stations, and according to Billy Ray, it’s because the song is “too country.”
“It was awfully quiet. Nobody wanted to talk. Finally somebody spoke up, and I said, ‘How many adds did we have?’” says Cyrus according to Rolling Stone Country. “The natural response was, ‘What are they saying?’ One of the consultants said they deemed it ‘too country for the format right now.’ Can you imagine? I had to hit myself in the head and go, ‘What the fuck did I just hear?’ ”
Cyrus was shocked.
“I said, ‘Do they realize what they’re saying and who they’re saying it about?’ … Yes, I am Billy Ray Cyrus from Flatwoods, Kentucky, and I love country music and a great country song. ‘Chevys and Fords’ had both elements that I love.”
Sorry Billy… it looks like you need to steer a little bit closer to Kane Brown and Florida Georgia Line to get on the radio. But hey, at least you’re a dude. When it comes to country radio play, that’s half the battle.
