Billy Ray Cyrus has said that Miley Cyrus choosing to remove her well known family name represents a "natural progression" for a "superstar".

The Flowers singer revealed on Tuesday that her tenth studio record, Bass Persuades, will arrive on 18 September.

Miley also suggested that she plans to use only her first name professionally after deleting "Cyrus" from her Instagram username and other social media profiles.

After the announcement, Billy, the father of the former Hannah Montana actress, shared his thoughts on Instagram and compared the 33 year old performer to legendary entertainers including Dolly Parton, Cher, Elvis Presley and Prince.

"I told @miley yesterday I felt good about her going with her first name," he wrote alongside an old photograph featuring himself, Miley and his son Braison Cyrus as young children. "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. And the legend continues! Looking forward to the new album (sic)."

Billy also remembered how he and his former wife Tish Cyrus gave their daughter the nickname Miley when she was an infant. The Wrecking Ball artist was originally named Destiny Hope Cyrus before officially changing her name to Miley Ray Cyrus in 2008.

Later in the message, Billy explained that he had thought about performing under the single name "Cyrus" when beginning his musical career before achieving success with Achy Breaky Heart in 1992.

"Bet you didn't know... I was just CYRUS before Achy Breaky Heart came out in '92. All of my swag and T shirts only read," the 65 year old continued. "Now... if only (record labels) Mercury / Polygram would have just not insisted on the 'Billy Ray' part and just let me be CYRUS... I could have done something!!! Ha ha !!! All good."