After years of musical evolution, Miley Cyrus has found her true voice with her new rock and roll persona.
Cyrus’ entertainment career took off with the hit Disney Channel television series “Hannah Montana”, airing from 2006 to 2011. Since then, she’s moved from acting to singing full-time. Some of her most famous albums include ‘Bangerz’ (2013), ‘Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz’ (2015) and ‘Younger Now’ (2017). Selling over 75 million singles, 25 million albums and 100 million records world-wide, Cyrus is one of the best-selling artists of all time.
Although she’s been performing for over a decade, Cyrus’s sound has rarely stayed consistent. She has dabbled in everything from pop and country to hip hop and psychedelic rock. Now, 2020 is a new wave for Cyrus’s music. In an interview with The Zach Sang Show, Cyrus explained this latest music shift.
“I just thought again, you know, I should just kind of keep going with pop and go with what I know, but that’s not who I am, so again, I just went and started making a rock record,” Cyrus said.
That record, “Midnight Sky”, debuted in August alongside a self-directed music video. The female 80s rock inspired song is the first original song off her upcoming album ‘Plastic Hearts’, set to release Nov. 27. The official announcement also included a handwritten note about the album.
“I began this album over 2 years ago. Thought I had it all figured out. Not just the record — its songs/sounds [—] but my whole life,” Cyrus said. “No one checks an ego like life itself. Just when I thought the body of work was finished, it was all erased, including most of the music’s relevance because everything had changed.”
Cyrus went on to explain that losing her home to the 2018 California wildfires was a wakeup call for her music career and the album.
“Nature did what I now see as a favor and destroyed what I couldn’t let go of for myself,” Cyrus said. “I lost my house in a fire[,] but found myself in its ashes.”
‘Plastic Hearts’ will also include her covers of The Cranberries’ “Zombie” and Blondie’s “Heart of Glass”. These are only a few covers Cyrus has released over the past few months, as she has spent the last few months covering famous rock songs to both explore her new sound and raise money for charity.
On Oct. 17, Cyrus did a 13-minute set during the Save Our Stages music festival at the West Hollywood rock club Whisky a Go Go. In addition to her cover of “Zombie”, Cyrus also performed The Cure’s “Boys Don’t Cry”.
She has also covered Hall & Oates’ “Maneater”, Pearl Jam’s “Just Breathe”, Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”, Joan Jett’s “Different”, Led Zeppelin’s “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You”, Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” and Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”.
Each of her covers show a new confidence both with her voice and a fun twist on iconic songs. Even after a vocal surgery in Nov. 2019, Cyrus’ voice remains strong and full of personality, with her rock covers showing off her raspy, powerful vocals.
In a recent interview with Joe Rogan, Cyrus discussed how the surgery taught her how experiences can affect the voice.
“Over the last year I noticed a really big change to my voice, kind of a heaviness to it. And I experienced some heavy things,” Cyrus said. “I feel like it is a reflection. It is a kind of scar in a sense. But also kind of having the surgery was a gift because I was able to understand my instrument.”
