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To describe Miley Cyrus (Tennessee, 1992), journalists and music critics often agree on the same word: chameleonic.
At 30, the actress has also been going through physical, musical, and personal changes so significant which is compared to stars like David Bowie and Madonna.
Like her, the Party in the USA singer has managed to maintain her musical quality over the years, even if not all of her albums have been successful.
He has developed from a child and youth star to a polarizing figure in show business. Lead role in scandals involving criticism of cultural appropriation and hypersexualization.
Aside from pop, he’s explored genres like hip hop and country, and more recently established himself as a rock prodigy with his album Plastic Heart.
In recent weeks, Miley has returned to the music charts with her single Flowers, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart nearly a decade after her critically acclaimed hit Wrecking Ball.
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She sings I can dance with self / I can hold my own hand / Yes, I can love yourself better than you could in this upbeat anthem with echoes of Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive.
“Cyrus and subtlety didn’t always go hand-in-hand (she literally rode a wrecking ball in the chart-topping video for Wrecking Ball in 2013), but they did Flower known for his vocal and musical restraint‘ says BBC culture critic Nick Levine of the single.
In fact, the song is part of a new album called Endless Summer Vacation, which the actress released this Friday.
Within hours, critics were not only praising the production, but calling it a milestone in his career. “It’s another imperial stage for the singer,” says Levine himself.
And in that context, as Miley rises to the forefront of pop culture, let’s briefly recap her transformation.
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Give up To Hannah Montana
Miley, the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, got her start 17 years ago playing a fictional pop star on the Disney series Hannah Montana. Many remember the achievements of this character, who, wearing a fake blond wig, made the audience fall in love with songs like The Climb.
Since then he has released eight albums spanning genres including pop-rock, R&B, folk-pop and even thoughtful country. Some more commented and controversial than others, such as Bangerz, whose publication forever shaped the artist’s image.
With Bangerz, which includes Wrecking Ball, Miley wanted to completely break with the Disney image.
This includes the single We Can’t Stop, in which he sings freedom and apologizes for drugs: Dancing with Molly / Doing what we want / this is our house / this are our rules.
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Subtitle,
Miley Cyrus began her career as a teenager playing Hannah Montana for the Disney Channel.
And the very live rendition she did of that tune at the 2013 MTV Music Awards changed her perception forever.
She appeared on stage in form-fitting dresses, pointing at her privates with a plush finger while dancing alongside her dancers and even twerking with fellow singer Robin Thicke.
The reviews
With the Bangerz post, Cyrus also attracted a multitude of critics.
He was recognized for incorporating aspects of black culture to emphasize his new, bolder image.
Especially for his exuberant use of the twerka dance form that originated in New Orleans in the 1980s among African Americans, and for surrounding himself with black women in his music videos.
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Subtitle,
Miley Cyrus’ career changed forever after her performance of “We Can’t Stop” at the 2013 MTV Music Awards.
“It’s amazing to me that there was even a controversy about having black dancers,” Cyrus told Billboard when asked about the controversy in 2017.
The fight against alcohol and his consolidation as a singer
As has happened to so many other famous young people, Miley struggled with drugs from a young age.
He began using these substances while still on the set of Hannah Montana and has admitted to using cocaine in various interviews. Following the release of Bangerz, the singer publicly defended marijuana use, saying it was less harmful than alcohol.
His drug use was also a hot topic when he split from fellow actor Liam Hemsworth in 2019.
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Subtitle,
Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth split in 2019.
But in June 2020, Miley declared that she had started a life “healthy” and what was “sober” after an operation on her vocal cords.
“It’s been really important to me over the last year to lead a sober lifestyle because I really wanted to brush up on my craft,” he told Variety magazine.
In November of the same year admitted to “relapsing” during the pandemicbut that he had begun to give up the use of alcohol and drugs again.
All of these experiences ultimately matured her as an artist, which is revealed in her new album, described by Rolling Stone magazine as her “spiciest” production, in which she says “goodbye to those messy stories” and “hello to new possibilities.” ” says .
Billboard Magazine confirms that Miley combines Bangerz’s trap beats, Dead Petz album’s psychedelic references and Plastic Hearts’ rugged rock in Endless Summer Vacation.
For Levine, 16 years after his split from Hannah Montana, “There’s no denying that the singer has forged an impressive identity as a true musical chameleon. No matter which route you decide to take from now on, people will pay attention to you.”
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