Billy Ray Cyrus Calls 2019 CMA Awards Nomination the ‘Twilight Zone of My Life’
Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus continue to revel in the success of their collaboration on "Old Town Road," which is now a CMA Award-nominated song.
When the 2019 CMA Awards nominations were announced on Wednesday (Aug. 28), the pair learned that the history-making smash was included in the category of Musical Event of the Year.
This marks the first time in nearly 30 years that Cyrus has received a nod at the awards show. He was nominated twice at the 1992 ceremony, with his career-defining hit, "Achy Breaky Heart" scoring a nod for Music Video of the Year and a win for Single of the Year. The groundbreaking pair learned of the CMA nomination just two days after "Old Town Road" was named Song of the Year at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, leaving Cyrus stunned.
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"It's crazy. It's like the twilight zone of my life," the country star reflects in a press release. "I flew home from New York, put my Moonmen on the shelf and laid down for a solid eight hours. I wake up and learn I'm nominated in the Country Music Association's Musical Event of the Year on a song eliminated by Billboard critics for not 'embracing enough elements of today’s country music.'"
"Old Town Road" broke records when it became the longest-running No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100, spending 19 weeks in the top spot, surpassing Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's 17-week No. 1, "One Sweet Day," from 1995.
Lil Nas X and Cyrus are nominated alongside Maren Morris and Brothers Osborne's collaboration "All My Favorite People," Garth Brooks and Blake Shelton's "Dive Bar," Brantley Gilbert and Lindsay Ell's duet "What Happens in a Small Town" and Brooks & Dunn's rendition of their hit "Brand New Man" with Luke Combs. Fans will find out who wins when the 2019 CMA Awards air live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Nov. 13.
*Remember: The best way to watch the CMA Awards is on ABC with TOC on your phone.
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