Billy Ray Cyrus Clears the Air on ‘The View’

Billy Ray Cyrus made a guest appearance on 'The View' Friday morning (March 18), looking healthy, happy and at ease. Besides sharing the news of calling off his divorce from wife Tish, Billy Ray tackled several of the rumors that have been circulating for the past couple of months since GQ magazine ran an interview with the singer-actor, which he now says was conducted at a terrible time.

"I did that interview in December," Billy Ray explained. "My life was out of control. It was a dark mess ... a storm like you've never seen in your life. Going into Christmas, I'm alone in Tennessee, looking at lawyers and divorce papers and my family falling apart. Here's GQ knocking on the door with a film crew ... the first mistake I made was doing the interview. I did learn this: doing an interview when you're mad and scared is almost like going to the grocery store when you're hungry. It's not a good idea!"

In the GQ interview, Billy Ray was quoted saying 'Hannah Montana,' the hit Disney show in which he co-starred with daughter, Miley Cyrus, had destroyed his family.

"I would love to set the record straight," Billy Ray told viewers Friday. "I love 'Hannah Montana.' I love Disney. I love our fans that's been with us throughout this whole show. This has been an incredible journey. Sometimes when you get on this ride, you may end up feeling like you're strapped to a rocket and you're going through the universe a zillion miles an hour. You're barely hanging on to survive. I've been through that twice in my life: once with 'Achy Breaky Heart' and my album 'Some Gave All,' and fortunately I hung in there long enough to get to ride that ride again.

"When your life becomes more of an interview or something out of a page than what you're really living, those lines can get blurred," he continued. "['Hannah Montana'] didn't tear my family apart. Now, fame? Fame is a different animal. You've got to be careful with that thing."

Billy Ray said he and his family are "the best they've ever been" thanks to open dialogue.

"Communication is one of the biggest problems most human beings have in this whole world," he said. "For the first time, me and my entire family are really communicating with each other."

With regard to his relationship with Miley since the GQ interview, Billy Ray noted, "I feel like I kind of got my Miley back in a way. I feel like that we're the daddy and daughter that we were before 'Hannah Montana' happened. We've laughed a lot in the last couple of days."

While on 'The View,' Billy Ray also revealed that he has new music currently slated for a summer release.

"The album is called 'I'm American,' and the whole album is a tribute to our men and women in uniform," Billy Ray announced. "Last night, I was sitting rehearsing in my [hotel] room ... thinking about these soldiers and these men and these women and the sacrifice the entire family has to make for our country. That's really something."

The first single from 'I'm American' will be the beautiful 'Runway Lights,' which he performed during his 'View' appearance. Billy Ray is slated to sing the national anthem this Sunday (March 20) during the NASCAR race airing on FOX.