Hannah Montana to rock goddess: Miley Cyrus is queen of genres
As of late, Miley Cyrus has been dropping rock covers, such as “Heart of Glass” by Blondie and “Zombie” by The Cranberries. For Cyrus, this is nothing new. She's been doing covers for many years now, considering her versatility in the music industry.
Cyrus’s music career propelled since her debut in "Hannah Montana" on Disney Channel, but there’s more depth to her origins. She grew up in a musical environment right outside of Nashville, Tennessee, known for its diverse music scene.
Her family life offered an even more musical upbringing for Cyrus — her dad is Billy Ray Cyrus, a well-known country artist most known for his song “Achy Breaky Heart.” To add to her extensive music background, Cyrus's godmother is Dolly Parton, another very well-known country star, with bops like “9 to 5” and “Jolene.”
It’s safe to say that Cyrus comes from an extremely talented family, so it’s not hard to believe that she can so easily switch up her genres. She started off with pop music on "Hannah Montana" and after breaking away from Disney Channel, she pursued a career as a pop artist.
It was her breakaway from Disney Channel that her fans started to see her true colors — yearning to be free of her innocent childhood image. Her innocent and cute reputation quickly changed in her "Bangerz" era, where she was considered to be fairly controversial in her music and public actions. It was her wild and cathartic stage, where Cyrus was becoming more bold and carefree.
In 2015, Cyrus released an album called "Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz," which she released for people to stream for free on SoundCloud and Spotify. This album took a more anti-pop approach, with her straying from mainstream pop to express herself differently.
Not many fans were as keen on her new and different music in comparison to her previous successful songs. Fortunately for Cyrus's fans, she bounced back in 2017 with her album "Younger Now," where she returned to her southern country roots, with a feature by Parton on her song “Rainbowland”
Fans and long-time listeners of her music were elated to see and hear her return to her roots, which was refreshing. In 2018, she released a song with Mark Ronson, “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart,” and continued to drop music in 2019.
Her extended play (EP) "SHE IS COMING" is also pop-esque, with her debut on the Netflix show "Black Mirror" as the wildly successful popstar Ashley O also reflecting on her previous popstar life. Her character is portrayed as popular, but with a secret and harsh life behind closed doors away from the flashing lights and cameras.
Cyrus's rock covers have been blowing up all over the internet, with fans remarking on how versatile she is and how amazing she sounds no matter what genre she decides to sing.
More specifically, her rock covers have become largely popularized from the use of her audio on TikTok. Many users are utilizing Cyrus's cover of “Heart of Glass” to empower themselves and feel confident for being who they are. After all, Cyrus is the type of person who promotes being carefree and embracing one’s self. It can be seen through the way she dresses and presents herself.
Cyrus is now promoting her upcoming and highly anticipated album, one that she had started two years ago. She had to make changes to the album according to the changes occurring in her own life, and finally, she is ready to release her music to the world.
She gave us a new taste of her new studio record, "Plastic Hearts," with the song “Midnight Sky.” Although her pop phase is iconic, Cyrus is simply the queen of switching up genres because she has the musical ability and personality to excel in any genre she so chooses.
For this reason, people are counting down the days until her release of "Plastic Hearts," which will be out on Nov. 27.
