Is Billy Ray Cyrus Changing His Name Or Not?

Billy Ray Cyrus is changing his name...or is he?

It was widely reported in April that he was dropping "Billy Ray" from his name, opting instead to use only his surname. The singer even told Rolling Stone Country he was going back to the hospital where he was born to make the change legal. "After August 25th, I will be the artist formerly known as Billy Ray," he told the publication. "I'm just going by my last name Cyrus. I always went by Cyrus, and I begged Mercury Records to call me Cyrus in the beginning because that's what I was comfortable with."

Asked this week about the name change during an appearance on Live With Kelly & Ryan, he seemed to walk back the idea, kind of. "[Cyrus] is the name of the album," he told the hosts. Still, Ryan Seacrest pressed to be sure. "So you're not changing your name?" "No," Billy Ray said. "I was supposed to keep it under wraps until 8/25. That's my birthday. It's the 25-year anniversary [of 'Achy, Breaky Heart']." Huh? Watch below.

In any event – and under any name – his new album comes out August 25th. Watch Billy Ray Cyrus as the lead in CMT's Still The King Tuesdays at 10pm ET.

Teddy McDonald is a fun-lovin' country music fan man living in Nashville, Tennessee.