Country superstar Billy Ray Cyrus surmises his ups and downs with Dan Rather on tonight’s The Big Interview for AXS TV.
He says failure, specifically experiencing it during his lifetime, is analogous to playing baseball. He tells Rather that if you never try and “take a swing”, you will never know the upside and what can be in life.
It was what made Cyrus appreciative and even more successful than he ever imagined, he says.
The multi-platinum country superstar and actor tells Rather all about his “highs and lows”, from a marriage that has seen its fair share of stressors to his wildly popular daughter, actor and singer Miley Cyrus.
Reflecting on his road to success as both a musician and a respected actor, Cyrus offers some wisdom of his own for anyone with goals of stardom, saying: “All the things that I went through, all the adjustments I had to make…I failed, and failed, and failed. You have to accept that sometimes that’s the way you do it.”
He continues: “You have to try. And it’s just like baseball — baseball’s the best analogy of all for life. You ain’t never gonna get a hit if you don’t get up to the plate and swing. You gotta get up and swing.”
The interview comes after rock band Godsmack stunt cast Cyrus in their latest music video. Along with metal rocker Sebastian Bach, Billy Ray Cyrus is seen pitching the band on how to direct a killer video — urging them to get their hair cut up top, and “let the back grow as f****** long as you want”.
The music video for “Bulletproof” is directed by Troy Smith and shows Godsmack’s manager Paul Geary parade a rogue’s gallery of video directors, including a very funny Cyrus, in front of the band.
The Big Interview airs Tuesdays at 9pE/6pP on AXS TV.