Has Miley Cyrus Finally Found Her True Sound?
photo from UltimateClassicRock.com
When you think of Miley Cyrus, what genre of music do you automatically think of? That probably isn’t as easy of a question to answer as it would be for many other artists. Miley is an artist who has dabbled in so many different genres and has experimented with her personal sound in so many different ways. For someone who has tried so many different sounds, there are bound to be areas that stand out more than the other and I would like to break it down for you where exactly I think Miley thrives the most.
Being the daughter of the man with the achy breaky heart himself, Billy Ray Cyrus, and having country music royalty, Dolly Parton, as her Godmother, Miley has lived a life surrounded and influenced by music. Miley first came into the public eye with the debut of her Disney show, Hannah Montana, where she was able to showcase her singing talent. With Hannah Montana being such a success for Disney, Miley went on tour performing only as Hannah Montana and then followed it up with her second release of Hannah Montana songs with the album Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus. On the Hannah Montana 2 album, she had a whole second disc of her performing songs as just Miley. That album then spiked a huge tour where she performed the first half as Hannah Montana and the second half as Miley. Fun fact, I actually skipped a middle school track meet to attend a Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus concert with my cousin and at the time, that was the most iconic concert a middle school girl could be seen at. Once she debuted her Miley Cyrus songs and started performing as herself, that is where she really seemed to try and separate herself from the Hannah Montana persona.
photo from Disneyplus.com
After being seen as a wholesome teen idol during her years as Hannah Montana, it is natural for her to want to break out of that box and really try and see where her talent fits best. All of that to consider, it really makes the title of her first album of just Miley Cyrus songs very appropriate, Breakout. After releasing Breakout, that started a whole new era of Miley. She would have quite the fair share of media controversy as she entered into her teen years and was met with a lot of backlash for many things because it seemed that people still viewed her as that wholesome teen role model. Controversy after controversy, Miley did not tone it down nor hold back. Instead, she chose to take it up a few notches to really prove to the world that she was no longer just Hannah Montana.
Breakout was then followed by her first EP, The Time of Our Lives, in 2009 and then the album Can’t Be Tamed, which was released in 2010. Following that, she blessed us with Bangerz in 2013. These two full albums really solidified the newer and edgier Miley. Can’t Be Tamed and Bangerz were both predominantly pop music and gave us a fair share of really great singles such as We Can’t Stop. In between these two albums, she also recorded a cover of Dolly Parton’s Jolene, which is widely praised even to this day by lovers of all genres of music. And I have to say, I listen to that cover multiples times a year despite its’ release in 2012.
Following the success of Bangerz, she collaborated with many different artists such as Robin Thicke (yes, we all know about the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards performance), Madonna, and The Flaming Lips. She even went on to collaborate with Wiz Khalifa and Juicy J on a rap song titled 23.
In 2015 Miley released her album titled Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz, which is best described as experimental and psychedelic. This album is considered to be her most “out there” and unusual release to date and was considered "a masterwork of whack genius" by John Mayer. This release was then followed by a three-year break of Miley releasing any music. After receiving mixed reviews from both ends of the spectrum, her next album would seem to reel her back into her roots.
Photo from Entertainment Weekly
In 2017, she released the album Younger Now. She started out with the single, Malibu, which gave fans a teaser of what seemed like a more normal looking Miley. The sound of the album is considered to be a mix between country pop and pop rock. The whole album seemed to really be a way to show a separation from her provocative reputation. Unfortunately, the album didn’t receive as much praise as you would think for Miley to garner after releasing a more rooted album like that, but instead left eager fans feeling a bit “meh.” After putting forth Younger Now and not getting as great of a response as she had hoped, she followed up with another pop release, an EP titled She Is Coming.
After over a decade of releasing and experimenting with different genres and sounds, her most recent release was Midnight Sky as a single for her upcoming album that seems to have more of a rock sound. However, she has since recorded a cover of Blondie’s Heart of Glass for the iHeart Radio Music Festival and that cover has practically taken over. She has received praise after praise on that cover which has fans begging for more of a rock and roll Miley sound.
As someone who has pretty much grown up with Miley, being that she is only a year older than myself and I have listened to her since her Hannah Montana days, I actually have an issue with her seeming to not take as much advantage of her talents. Allow me to elaborate:
Since following Miley from day one, I have found myself either being extremely impressed with her or feeling like we aren’t getting enough of her talent. My biggest issue with Miley is that when she releases new stuff, it all seems to still point toward more of a pop sound even after her covers of other genres continually receiving more praise. And while I do understand the appeal of trying to go into the pop scene to get that quick recognition, it really seems like she ends up hurting herself by not showcasing her real and raw talents. Take Younger Now for example, this album was suppose to try and pull herself away from her provocative reputation, however, the music simply came off a bit generic and her real fans know she is better than that. I mean, after falling in love with her Jolene cover that everyone can agree really shows off her voice, it seems that this other stuff isn’t living up to that. However, once I heard her most recent cover of Heart of Glass, I was finally impressed with Miley again after losing interest from her previous generic releases. My first listen of Heart of Glass made me so giddy and truly think to myself, “Thank you Miley, thank you for giving us that raw and real version of you!”
So now that we have been over her decade long career, it really begs the question: What genre do Miley’s talents really thrive in? For someone as young as her, she really has gone the extra mile to experiment and try new things with her talent and whether you are a fan or not, you have to respect that. She has given us country, pop, R&B, psychedelic, rap, hip-hop, and now rock.
To sum it up and actually answer the question, I truly think that Miley and her talents thrive best in either a folk country vibe or rock and roll. The country portion is a bit of a given knowing who her father is, but it is understandable that she would want to do something a little different. That’s where the rock and roll part comes in. Since getting a better glimpse of her rock and roll voice, I can really see how it takes advantage of her more rugged country sound but then adds the extra edge that she has been so eager to prove she has, all the while really showing off those pipes she’s had this whole time. After that little teaser with Heart of Glass, it seems that not only myself, but majority of her fans, are practically begging for a rock album from her. I am confident that if she attempted a rock album with her whole soul, she would finally find her perfect place in music that she has so desperately been trying to find.
All in all, I will always think that Miley is an extremely talented woman but I have been sometimes disappointed in her direction knowing she is capable of so much more. We can now only hope that she feels as confident in rock and roll to really purse it because I just know that is where she will shine.
Let me know your thoughts on Miley’s musical journey and evolution in the comments below.
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