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Like Carrie Underwood, Billy Ray Cyrus, whose recent appearance has netizens worried, experienced technical difficulties during his performance at Donald Trump's inauguration.
During President Donald Trump's inauguration, country music icon Billy Ray Cyrus performed the popular song “Old Town Road” — the track he features on with fellow A-list artist Lil Nas X — at the Liberty Ball. Online viewers were not fussed about how Cyrus sounded, but instead, they expressed grave concern over his appearance, which they say looks remarkably different.
Cyrus' performance was an unusual sight from the beginning, blending his signature country flair with a set fraught with technical mishaps. Introduced by a voiceover highlighting his illustrious career, the show seemed poised to celebrate his legacy.
However, from the moment the first note of “Old Town Road” rang out through the venue, it was clear something was amiss.
Cyrus, who donned a long black jacket adorned with an American flag-patterned scarf and a cowboy hat on top of his long loose hair, emerged on stage strumming along to the official music video of the song that was projected on a screen behind him.
The audio system, however, failed to capture most of his guitar chords, leaving an eerie silence where his strums should have been.
Even while attempting to sing into the microphone, the technical troubles persisted — his vocals came through faintly, delayed, and with a rasp that clashed with the track's melody.
For much of the show, his guitar was either inaudible or silent altogether, forcing him to compensate with crowd interaction. At one point, he encouraged the audience to sing along to fill in the gaps left by the malfunctioning equipment.
The performance took another odd turn when the music video behind him abruptly cut to a dialogue scene, prompting Cyrus to momentarily pause and turn to watch the screen. When the video resumed the song, he tried strumming again but faced the same sound issues.
Eventually, he shifted gears entirely, ending the set with a semi-acapella rendition of “Old Town Road” alongside audience participation. He even attempted to perform his classic “Achy Breaky Heart” but couldn't overcome the persistent technical flaws, which led him to address the sound team multiple times.
Despite two technicians coming on stage to try and help, the issues persisted, and they could not get the audio quality of Cyrus' guitar right.
As the performance came to a close, he urged the crowd to snap along as he talk-sang to compensate for his faulty equipment.
With a raspy farewell, Cyrus waved to the crowd while his song, “Could've Been Me,” played in the background, and stagehands helped get him off the stage.
Netizens quickly took to social media to share their reactions after watching Cyrus' performance, with many focusing on his appearance and demeanor. They expressed concern and disbelief over the singer's current state.
“Shocking mostly about his look😮,” wrote one stunned observer, while another expressed, “It's so sad something is definitely wrong with him. He doesn't act right [sic] he can't sing anymore. He never should've been there.”
Another echoed these sentiments, lamenting, “He is sadly unrecognizable now. Looks ill to me.” Several viewers also described their experience of watching the performance as uncomfortable. “That was painful to watch..” admitted a user on Facebook.
Someone else elaborated, “It was so sad and worrisome. He seemed out of it, dirty, and should not have been on stage. Watching the staff trying to get him to leave was awful. He needs help.”
Adding to this, one concerned viewer simply questioned, “What happened to him [sic],” while another reflected, “Watching Billy Ray Cyrus tonight was heartbreaking.”
“Wow. If I didn't know who this is, I WOULDN'T know who this is! Billy Ray lookin' rough! 😆🤦♀️,” added a netizen who accompanied their message with a screenshot of Cyrus on stage, while a technician attempted to fix his guitar. Meanwhile, another user wondered, “What happened to Billy Ray Cyrus?”
After the Liberty Ball, Cyrus addressed the situation in a statement shared exclusively with People magazine. He expressed no regrets about taking the stage despite the challenges, explaining his commitment to the event and his audience.
“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,” shared Cyrus.
Reflecting on the night, he added, “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 also shared the same statement with his followers on Instagram, accompanying it with a photo of himself performing during the Liberty Ball.
Interestingly, Billy Ray Cyrus was not the only performer who experienced technical difficulties during the inauguration events.
At one point toward the end of the “Some Gave All” musician's act, he gave a shoutout to fellow country music star Carrie Underwood, who also battled similar audio problems during her performance, and received critique from social media users.
The “Somethin' Bad” singer wore a sleeveless dove gray draped midi dress for the ceremony, paired with ivory leather pumps and a diamond leaf ring. She was joined by the Armed Forces Chorus and the United States Naval Academy Glee Club for her performance.
Standing before former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris, she faced a technical issue that led her to perform “America the Beautiful” acapella. Despite the challenge of no musical accompaniment, Underwood encouraged the audience to join in, “You know the words, help me out here,” before delivering a few verses.
Many in the crowd sang along, and after her performance, Underwood exchanged handshakes with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Talks of the hiccups Underwood faced during her performance quickly spread online. While some social media users pointed out that she missed a few notes, others praised her for sounding splendid.
One viewer expressed, “She sounds off-key. She will do better next time.” Another listener added, “She didn't find the note; she was off-key!”
A harsher critique came from a netizen who stated, “I didn't expect Carrie Underwood to be great acapella, but I expected her to at least be able to carry a tune. I'm stunned how [sic] off-key she is. Years of relying on auto-tune.”
Someone else noted, “Not her sounding flat and out of breath 😬.” Another critique hinted at doubts about her live performance, “The mic was NOT on.”
However, not all feedback was negative. A more measured review came from a spectator who said, “Not bad. I could tell when the engineers started making it sound better…but overall good performance from what you shared here.”
One fan praised, “She was stellar!!” while another couldn't hold back their admiration, gushing, “She was great! Voice of an angel! 😇”
Another admirer swooned, “Her voice is angelic.” “Carrie performed great! It was obvious that she was nervous because she told the crowd to sing along if they knew the words. She didn't crack under the pressure…she sounded awesome!” commended a fellow fan.
Underwood stepped into the limelight when she took part in the TV talent show “American Idol” in 2005 and won. When it was announced that she would perform on inauguration day, she affirmed her love for the US, noting that it would be an honor to be part of the historic event.
“I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future,” highlighted the singer. A source close to her also said she wasn't afraid of the backlash she may face for performing at Trump's inauguration.
Some fans supported her choice to go ahead with the performance while others bashed her for it. “She understands the backlash, but she also doesn't care,” divulged the source. The insider also shared that Underwood would perform not because of Trump but for the American people.
“She is a former ‘American Idol' and America made her dreams come true, this is her giving back to the country she loves and which has supported her forever,” explained the source.
Aside from her recent inaugural performance, Underwood is gearing up for a major career milestone this year. In late 2024, it was revealed that she would return to “American Idol” as a judge. The new season of the talent show is set to premiere on March 9, 2025, airing on NBC and available for streaming on Hulu.
Her comeback is eagerly awaited on set. According to a source, “They are excited that she is going to be their new judge and are looking forward to America falling in love with her all over again.”
