So, have you noticed that Miley Cyrus is back? After her cover interview for one of the major American magazines, she quickly got criticized for turning a cold shoulder to the hip hop genre that made her bigger as ever. It was not the fact that she chose a different genre for her comeback, but the way that she had put this decision into words in the interview. Something she corrected quickly on social media.
You could’ve seen it coming though. Miley wouldn’t and couldn’t continue on the path she was on. After several crazy years of attention craving and acting out, she kind of backed herself into a corner. I mean, how many levels of acceptable madness are there? She couldn’t go any further than she’d already gone. So, the only way was to tone it down again. And of course, her love life settling down is also really helpful for the decision making process.
What has surprised me though, is that she’s chosen a bit of bohemian country look and a country folk sound for her music. Following her dad’s footsteps, a little. I thought that was one of the things she was trying to get away from, besides the Hannah Montana legacy.
“Malibu” is her new single. It’s a stripped down, authentic but really catchy love song, which in short is telling a little bit more of her romance with actor Liam Hemsworth.
In the middle of her craziness from the last three years, no one really argued her musical talent. She’s a really good singer, who is able to pull off various style and I think “Malibu” is proof of that. Her voice sounds full and warm, and is able to be incredibly powerful when singing low notes, while she’s also able to convey an authentic emotion. It works really well on this sound.
I’m all for artists who have themes in their albums and who carry that through to a consistent visual look in the artwork, photoshoots, performances and videos. It just makes life easier to refer to later. For example, every fan knows what you mean when you refer to Madonna’s “Ray of Light” era (spiritual look) or Lady Gaga’s “Fame” era (meat dress, lightning on face). Miley is one of those artists but for some reason I end up being a little suspicious of her changes after three, long, crazy years.
