Billy Ray Cyrus Was Reaching for ‘Light in the Darkness’ on ‘The Hill’ [Exclusive]

Billy Ray Cyrus isn't trying to recreate the past anymore.

After more than a decade without a new album of original material, the country star has returned with The Hill, a project that finds him reflecting on mistakes, searching for hope, and embracing a version of himself that feels more honest than ever before.

In a conversation with Taste of Country, Cyrus acknowledged that listeners may hear themes of redemption woven throughout the album's 15 tracks. And he doesn't disagree.

Billy Ray Cyrus Was Reaching for Something

Asked whether songs like "Better Me" and "I'll Change" reflected a search for redemption, Cyrus said he was ultimately reaching for something bigger.

Music is always open to the listener's interpretation, but in my heart and the soul from which I sang it, I was certainly reaching out for that. I mean, it's probably pretty evident that I'm reaching. I'm reaching for something, some light in the darkness, some hope that this all means something more?

The result is an album that often feels like a snapshot of a man trying to make sense of a complicated chapter in his life.

Read More: 15 Country Songs Have Reached One Billion Spotify Streams: No. 1 May Shock You

Produced by his son Braison Cyrus, The Hill arrives after a period of significant change in the singer's personal life, making the album feel especially reflective.

“The album as a whole could be listened to as a moment of a man's life in a journey where he had lived some pretty strange s---,” Cyrus says with a laugh. “I couldn't have predicted how this would come to this moment, but I'm very aware and grateful.”

He's Not Chasing 'Achy Breaky Heart'

At one point in the conversation, Taste of Country suggested that the album sounds like a man who has stopped chasing the success of "Achy Breaky Heart."

Cyrus immediately agreed. “Oh, sure. Of course it does,” he says. “The past is in the rearview mirror.”

While he still appreciates everything that came before, Cyrus says he's far more interested in being present than reliving old glory days.

“You got the present,” he tells Taste of Country. “I think that's why they call it the present. The gift, the present, the gift is the present.”

Read More: Billy Ray Cyrus Reveals He Nearly Died After a 2024 Sepsis Battle

For Cyrus, that perspective has become one of the biggest lessons of his journey. “Everybody just be in the present. Be as happy as you can,” he adds.

A Full-Circle Moment

That outlook was on display at CMA Fest, where Cyrus reflected on the generations of fans who have followed him throughout his career.

One lighthearted moment came when Taste of Country writer and PopCrush Nights host Donny Meacham passed along a message from his mother, who insisted Cyrus is "still the sexiest man alive."

Cyrus laughed and jokingly demanded that the compliment be included in the story. “Oh, man. I'm so glad you told me that,” he says lovingly. “Thank you.”

Then he reflected on what it means to still be connecting with audiences more than 30 years after "Achy Breaky Heart."

“There are people now, I just witnessed it at CMA Fest last week,” Cyrus says. “I see generations who were with me in 1992. I see their kids, and then I see their little kids.”

Read More: Lights, Camera, Action: See Which Country Singers Have Attempted Acting

Some of those younger fans, he noted, are discovering Hannah Montana for the first time through the show's recent anniversary celebration.

It's this beautiful circle of life. It's truly a real honor that there are those who have persevered and persisted through this journey.

For a man who spent much of The Hill looking forward instead of backward, it's a reminder that some parts of the past are worth carrying with you.