Country singer Billy Ray Cyrus has publicly backed his daughter Miley's decision to drop her surname and perform simply as "Miley" ahead of the release of her new album. Sharing his support on Instagram, he said family "means more than ever now" and revealed he had always called her just "Miley" at home, comparing the rebrand to mononymous stars such as Cher, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley and Prince, and calling it a "natural progression for an iconic superstar legend." The reason behind Miley's name change was not disclosed.

Miley's tenth studio album, 'Bass Persuades', was released on 18 September as her first through Atlantic Records, with the singer describing it as capturing "every part of life." To mark the release she played two rare shows at the Hollywood Bowl on 16 and 18 October, supported by Model/Actriz, having previously said she had little desire to tour more widely. Billy Ray also recalled his own brief period performing under just the name "Cyrus" before his 1992 hit "Achy Breaky Heart," while Miley separately paid tribute to her late godmother, Dolly Parton, who died in August aged 80.