Though the name Miley Cyrus might elicit thoughts of wrecking balls and twerking with Robin Thicke, back in 2006 she was the breakout pop star Hannah Montana. Seemingly a triple threat, Cyrus could dance, sing, and even act. Like most young celebrities, the question was whether her music career would withstand the transition to adulthood or if she would fade slowly into obscurity.
It all started off with the Hannah Montana Soundtrack, with its iconic song The Best of Both Worlds. Children across America (And to be honest, probably also their parents) watched her show intently as she struggled to maintain her secret glamorous pop star life while living as an ordinary teenage girl, Miley Stewart. This song put Miley on the map and set her on track to be a teenage icon.
As Cyrus moved away from her Disney stardom, though her show didn’t end until 2011, she released an album in 2008 appropriately entitled Breakout. This gave audiences a chance to see her trying to find her voice, independent of her Hannah Montana persona. The lyrics are full of teenage angst and the album lacks strong songs, with many just sounding the same. Though this doesn’t quite achieve a true “Breakout” from Disney, 7 Things had everyone wishing that they were dating a Jonas.
Now, the Miley that I think of and remember fondly comes with her next big album, the Time of Our Lives, which also came around the release of her first major acting stint, The Last Song. As a whole, the album demonstrated her growth as an artist. Also, it gave listeners the gift of the feel good song and summer hit, Party in the U.S.A. This indicated that Cyrus would grow out of Disney seamlessly, and not meet the doomed fate of other failed child pop stars. She had seemed to find her niche as this wholesome pop star.
Nothing could have shaken up Miley’s perception quite like the release of Can’t Be Tamed and its accompanying music video, which sent that exact message to audiences. This was a completely new sound and vibe for Cyrus which rejected the status quo and her Disney persona. Even as a weaker album for Cyrus in terms of sales, the lyrics and message left listeners hooked onto the Miley attitude, wanting to see what would come next.
After a few years of waiting, in 2013 came the release of Bangerz and Cyrus’s latest evolution–featuring her new short blonde hair and tongue out in most pictures. The album came in with a bang, and by bang I mean Cyrus swinging on a wrecking ball while literally banging down a wall in her music video for her hit song Wrecking Ball. A controversy surrounded the album specifically with accusations of Cyrus’s appropriation of black culture as a means to gain attention (which she then recently turned away from to go “back to her roots”– a pattern of many white pop stars). Ultimately, the album received large amounts of attention with pump up song We Can’t Stop and the more heartfelt tune Adore You.
Never ceasing to shock her listeners, in 2015 Miley released a surprise album, Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz. The surprise really came when it flopped. Even as a Miley fan, I could barely make it through her live performance at the MTV Music Video awards of Dooo It! before I had to avert my eyes and ears and immediately play Nobody’s Perfect to try to forget. As a true Miley believer though, I did eventually find the free album on Soundcloud to give it a second chance, but to be honest, the heartfelt song Pablo the Blowfish just did not stand up to her iconic ballad, The Climb. Though musically experimental, this album was ultimately a frightening disappointment.
Even with her last album letting down many fans, the release of her new song Malibu gave hope of a comeback à la Britney–Spears–post–meltdown. Though not lyrically groundbreaking (“I’m like a bird chasing the wind”), this new release does seem to indicate that the Miley we know and love, is back... we hope. Malibu is at its core a love song and an ode to her on again/off again partner Liam Hemsworth (Hemsworth shot the music video which accompanies the song). The true indication of Cyrus’s next chosen identity will come with the rest of the album, set to be released with this track. Hopefully the album contains more heartfelt songs with the typical Cyrus vocals in addition to some more complex lyrics than in this track.
Miley Cyrus’s music has grown with her and her fans. We’ve been with her through the highs and the lows, and hopefully this new album was worth the wait. If it is strong, then there is hope that Miley will not fall into the pattern of typical teen pop stars turned adult and find her way as a strong artist. Cyrus is locked into 3 more albums including Malibu which means we can expect to be hearing a lot more Miley in coming years.
While you wait for her new album to be completely released, I recommend taking a walk down the past 10 years we’ve had with Miley starting with her days as the beloved Hannah Montana. But maybe skip Miley & Her Dead Petz, for your own sake.
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