Billy Ray Cyrus Reveals He ‘Almost Died’ In 2024

Billy Ray Cyrus is opening up about one of the darkest chapters of his life in a new interview.

During a recent in-depth interview with PEOPLE, the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer shared that he was going through a serious battle with sepsis in 2024 that nearly claimed his life.

“I got really sick and almost died,” Cyrus admitted to the outlet.

While making frequent trips in and out of the hospital, Cyrus said he turned to prayer for strength. He would spend hours at home kneeling beside his dog, Tommy Jack, at what he calls his “prayer rock,” asking God for a miracle. According to Cyrus, he spent so much time there that the constant pressure left a permanent white mark on his knee.

“I started getting on that rock every morning, every day, every sunset, every night…I was like, ‘God, please, I need a miracle. I need a miracle.’ Tommy Jack would be sitting there with me going, ‘He needs a miracle. He needs a miracle. Please, he needs a miracle.’”

It turned out that his prayers were answered because just before he prepared to go in for one more surgery, his doctors told him, “Mr. Cyrus, it’s gone. It healed.”

Throughout that difficult journey of multiple hospital visits, a loss of his voice, and an uncertain future, Cyrus said Noah’s recording of “Don’t Put It All On Me,” a track written by his son, Braison Cyrus, became his source of comfort and hope.

“She’s got that one song honestly that saved my life. It’s called ‘Don’t Put It All On Me’. Braison wrote that and that was I think one of the only songs on her album that was not written by her. Braison wrote it and she cut it,” he explained.

Cyrus admits he listened to the song so often he became “addicted”

“It was the only thing that somehow gave me a little bit of peace in that moment…I just loved it so much and to me, that’s what it felt like. And I do credit that particular song was saving me. It’s part of it, for sure.”

The health issues left him struggling to sing or even speak, but after experiencing that first miracle, Cyrus discovered a newfound source of strength to get back up and start dreaming again. This led him to record his duet with Noah titled, “On Our Way Along,” which arrived back in April.

“The oddest part about it is that was the beginning of Braison saying, ‘Dad, I don’t know what’s going on with your voice, but this is the most I’ve ever loved your singing.’ And him and Noah started comparing it to some of Larry Cohen, Johnny Cash. They started comparing it to some really great sounds that Kris Kristofferson, one of them had mentioned.”

Cyrus went on to challenge himself not only through the new album he’s building out, but also his time on The Masked Singer in February 2026 as the “Owl” in Season 14. Eventually, his voice came back to him, something he credits to “God’s timing.”

@maskedsingerfox No need to wonder "who" any longer — #OwlMask's just been revealed as @Billy Ray Cyrus!🦉🎶 Watch his major unmasking and performances on #TheMaskedSinger, streaming on @hulu ♬ original sound – The Masked Singer

Now Billy Ray Cyrus has not just one new collection of songs in the works that he feels very strongly about, but several. This upcoming set of music is expected to be a look back on the emotions he endured through divorce, finding a new love with actress Elizabeth Hurley, repairing his relationship with his family and coming back to music.

“I love this music and I feel really, really like a full plate of what this music is. And even I’ve written so many new songs with new stuff. I’ve got two or three albums in the can…I’m up to speed on the music and I love it right now and going out on tour and playing, taking it to the people, that’s a fun part. But I also got some creative things that I want to do and acting in particular right now.”

Billy Ray’s forthcoming album, The Hill, is set to arrive on June 16. This will mark his first new record in 14 years. He also has several performances on the books throughout June and July.