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Billy Ray Cyrus has issued a statement regarding his “epic disaster” of a performance at Donald Trump’s Liberty Ball.
On Monday (January 20) evening, the 63-year-old country star took the stage to perform his hit tune “Achy Breaky Heart” and his Lil Nax X collaboration “Old Town Road.”
At one point during his performance, Cyrus stopped being able to hear his guitar playing. “Is my guitar still on?” he asked the stage crew. “I think they cut me off. I don’t hear my guitar anymore.”
Continuing to hold the guitar in the air, he asked the workers backstage: “Is anyone awake?
“I don’t hear it? Do ya’ll hear it?” he questioned. “Is anyone back there? Can somebody turn my guitar back on? We’re going to sing a bit more.”
A crew member finally came out and fixed the singer’s guitar, before he continued his performance.
“When you have technical difficulties you got to just keep going,” he told the audience. “Or as President Trump would say, you got to fight!”
While fans on social media quickly mocked Cyrus for his “cringeworthy” and “concerning” performance, the singer said he still had a “blast” despite the technical difficulties.
“I wouldn’t have missed the honor of playing this event whether my microphone, guitar and monitors worked or not. I was there because President Donald J. Trump invited me,” Cyrus told People in a statement.
“I had a ball at the Liberty Ball last night and I’ve learned through all these years when the producer says, ‘You’re on,’ you go entertain the folks even if the equipment goes to hell. I was there for the people and we had a blast. That’s called rock n roll!!!”
Cyrus’s performance wasn’t the only one plagued by technical difficulties that day.
Earlier that afternoon, at President Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony, Carrie Underwood was forced to sing “America the Beautiful” a capella when the sound system failed to work.
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After taking the stage in front of Kamala Harris, Underwood stood in preparation for the band to start playing. However, seconds after it began, the audio cut out.
Following a few awkward moments of silence, Underwood decided to sing the song a cappella. “If you know the words, help me out here,” she told the audience.
The American Idol winner was applauded by social media users for delivering a “perfectly executed” performance.
In addition to Cyrus and Underwood, some of the performers at Trump’s inauguration events included Kid Rock, the Village People, Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Parker McCollum, Gavin DeGraw, the Liberty University’s Praise Choir and classical-crossover vocalist Christopher Macchio.
