Miley Cyrus: what to think of her new album Something Beautiful?

By Camille Bois-Martin, 

and Violaine Schütz.

Miley Cyrus fully embraces her diva image

Since her debut in the industry, Miley Cyrus has unveiled a wide range of personas. From her Disney alter ego Hannah Montana to her country and ultra-pop phase – The Time of Our Lives (2009), Can’t Be Tamed (2010), Younger Now (2017) – including her controversial “hip-hop” era with Bangerz (2013), the American singer has explored a large variety of musical and stylistic avenues, without ever quite finding her true path, except from the brilliant Plastic Hearts (2020) perhaps, where she successfully channeled her powerful voice into pop-rock sounds.

Her most recent album, Endless Summer Vacation (2023), a mix of pop and dance-pop, also stands out as one of the most accomplished works of her career, reaffirming her talents as a songwriter and performer, and establishing a more peaceful public image.

However, the face of Gucci Flora and Dolce & Gabbana glasses makes a bold move with her new album Something Beautiful. Indeed, she advertises the project as a pop-rock opera and a visual album putting an emphasis on numerous, very aesthetic music videos and diva-like looks. Miley Cyrus appears sexy and glamour in many Mugler archive pieces.

Songs about personal topics

Aesthetically-speaking, the singer recognises the influence of director Panos Cosmatos. While Miley Cyrus initially considered adapting the film into a musical, her conversations with Panos Cosmatos ultimately fed the visual universe of Something Beautiful, on which the director collaborated. A film going with the album will be released in June 2025.

The star particularly loved the horror movie Mandy (2019), especially for Nicolas Cage’s portrayal of a heartbroken, vengeance-driven lover. A theme that is familiar to Miley Cyrus, whose hit Flowers, openly addressing her relationship with her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth, quickly became an anthem for all the brokenhearted and a public act of romantic revenge, following in the footsteps of so many other pop stars…

Beauty, death, impermanence, heartbreak, and destruction were announced as key themes of the album. What’s certain is that Miley Cyrus is exploring deeply personal themes on this record. In More to Lose, she sings: “Say I’m leavin’, but I’m only playing liar / ‘Cause when you’re lookin’ like / A movie star in a worn-out coat / Throw away my mind.” In a much more positive mood, she celebrates a new love in Easy Lover: “It’s in your nature / To light me up / I love to hate you / But I can’t stand it when you’re gone / So I call you once every hour.” Her boyfriend, drummer Maxx Morando, also appears on the album Something Beautiful.

Something Beautiful: a mainstream version of Pink Floyd?

But what about the music itself? In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar US, Miley Cyrus explained that she wanted to reconnect with her rock influences and take a more drastic musical turn, drawing heavily from Pink Floyd’s cult album The Wall (1979)…

This experimental rock opera inspired Miley Cyrus in her songwriting and aesthetic for her album. “My idea was to remake The Wall, but with a better wardrobe, more glamour, and full of pop culture,” she shared to the American magazine. Measuring up to one of the most famous albums of the last four decades is an ambitious project that doesn’t seem to daunt the chameleon artist, more confident than ever after the trials and missteps of the past few years.

Musically, however, the album ultimately leans heavily into pop, despite featuring some of the crème de la crème of indie rock. The credits include names like Brittany Howard (Alabama Shakes), Jonathan Rado (Foxygen), Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Danielle Haim (Haim), and Naomi Campbell, and the record is co-produced by Shawn Everett (Alabama Shakes, Kacey Musgraves, The War on Drugs, The Killers, Julian Casablancas).

A new step towards experimentation for Miley Cyrus?

Miley Cyrus had promised to embrace experimentation. But what’s the score? Something Beautiful does feature interludes and even an electro, psychedelic, and symphonic track titled Prelude, along with a very artsy music video.

Hypnotic and experimental, this spoken-word piece veers far from Flowers and mainstream pop, leaning more towards David Bowie’s territory. A pleasant surprise with a sense of boldness. There’s also the surprising, jazzy, rock, and avant-garde song Something Beautiful. Paired with a glamorous music video, the song alternates between a calm melody and a more deconstructed passage, reminiscent of a scene from a David Lynch film.

However, Miley Cyrus doesn’t forget where she comes from – that is Disney Channel. The rest of the album remains largely mainstream and very commercial, with obvious references to the 1980s. Walk of Fame sounds straight out of the repertoire of Lady Gaga, if she had made it forty years ago, or of Duran Duran. End of the World is clearly made for heavy radio rotation. As for Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved, it’s kitschy and enjoyable, like a soundtrack you’d hear at a party during Fashion Week.

Nevertheless, there’s a lot more happening in the moving track Pretend You’re God, where the star lets down her guard, showing her vulnerable and authentic side. Then there’s her voice, still at its peak just like her charisma. On May 21st, Miley Cyrus revealed that she suffers from Reinke’s edema in an Apple Music podcast – a condition that tends to make her voice deeper and raspier. However, on Something Beautiful, her voice has never sounded so beautiful and profound.

Something Beautiful by Miley Cyrus, available now.