Following his unsatisfactory performance at President Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day Liberty Ball, Billy Ray Cyrushas released a statement.
Technical issues and equipment failures marred Cyrus’ 12-and-a-half minutes onstage.
After a few mediocre a capella numbers and a long talk, he asked someone backstage if they wanted him to “just get offstage” and informed the audience that he had been directed to “kill as much time as possible.”
After turning out the lights and playing a studio version of his song “Could’ve Been Me” over the speakers, the stage staff led him offstage, ending his performance.
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Cyrus emphasized in a statement to People that he felt that celebrating the event was the most crucial aspect of his performance.
“I wouldn’t have missed the honor to play this event whether my microphone, guitars and monitors worked or not,” according to the publication. “I was there because President Donald J. Trump invited me.”
Although he attributed his onstage blunders to technical issues, he expressed satisfaction with the show’s final performance.
“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,” Cyrus explains.
“We had a great time when I was there for the people. It’s known as rock ‘n’ roll.
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Cyrus wasn’t the only musician to experience technical issues during a performance on Inauguration Day.When Carrie Underwood performed “America the Beautiful” during the ceremony, she too had to abruptly change her plans since the Armed Forces Chorus and the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club were unable to join her due to technical issues.
But compared to Cyrus, Underwood’s improvisations were noticeably more composed and decisive.
