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When pop singer Miley dropped the Cyrus from her name on her social media accounts earlier this week, tongues started wagging.
Was this the act of a distraught singer, mourning the loss of her honorary godmother, Dolly Parton?
Had she fallen out with her famous father, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus?
Or did it have something to do with the release of her upcoming album?
Billy Ray Cyrus is clearing up the confusion today with a post on social media.
“I always called my little girl Miley. Just … Miley,” he wrote on Instagram, alongside a picture of him with his children when they were young.
Miley was named Destiny Hope Cyrus at birth, but as a baby she smiled so much, her father told Ellen DeGeneres, he started calling her Smiley — then Miley, and the name stuck.
Around this time, Billy Ray Cyrus also introduced his young daughter to country music icon Dolly Parton, whom he befriended while performing as her opening act on tour. He asked Parton to play the role of godmother to Miley.
Both Cyruses have publicly expressed how keenly they are feeling the loss of Parton, who died last week.
Billy Ray Cyrus, who turned 65 on the day of Parton’s death, says family is more important to him right now than ever before, and he doesn’t begrudge his daughter performing under a single name.
“I told @miley yesterday I felt good about her going with her first name. I mentioned Dolly and Cher. Thinkin’ about it more and more … Elvis … Prince … and so on. It’s a natural progression for an iconic superstar legend.“
This does not appear to be an official name change for Miley, merely a rebrand.
Her tenth studio album, Bass Persuades, is due to be released on Sept. 18, and she has also announced two concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in October.
“I’ve sat in those seats many times, but I’ve never taken the stage. L.A. is my heart and I’m bringing it home,” she wrote this week on Instagram.
