Miley Cyrus’ 10 Best Songs
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Miley Cyrus has been in the public eye throughout nearly every era of her life. The daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus (and goddaughter of Dolly Parton) was cast in the role of Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel when she was just eleven years old, and her time in the House of Mouse launched her to a strata of stardom that quickly eclipsed that of her immediate family members. She’s remained as a fixture of pop culture ever since.
Following her Disney days, it took Miley a minute to lock in her sound — she couldn’t be tamed; she stepped into an ill-advised hip-hop era; she fell in and out of love, and then stripped everything back down to its bare bones. It’s difficult to deny, though, that Miley’s true gift is her voice, and in recent years she’s made room for that lead the way most of all. She’s found a bit of a niche in rock covers and ’70s-inspired sounds, letting her trademark rasp and vibrant stage presence act as a north star.
Something wonderful about this current era of her career is her unabashed love for the journey. She doesn’t shy away from the stories and songs that got her here, frequently gracing crowds in 2022 with reimagined versions of tracks from her Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana days.
Ahead of Miley’s first live album, titled ATTENTION: MILEY LIVE (out this Friday, April 1st), we’re looking back at her career so far. Check out the full list of Miley’s best songs below, and scroll to the end for a playlist of all 10 tracks.
— Mary Siroky
10. “Plastic Hearts”
The title track of Miley’s 2020 seventh studio album is a scorcher. “Plastic Hearts” was the second single shared from her 2020 offering and acted as part of the introduction to her full rocker era. The intro is intentionally evocative of The Rolling Stones’ classic “Sympathy For The Devil,” and her gritty, powerhouse vocals have so much space to shine. If there was anyone who doubted that Miley, who had already dabbled in so many other genres and spaces, could pull off an ’80s rockstar era, this song is the perfect three and half minute way to shut that idea down. — M.S.
09. “Slide Away”
An abrupt interruption within the raucous, raunchy SHE IS COMING EP, “Slide Away” is Miley picking up the pieces of her divorce from Liam Hemsworth. Her spunky, playful facade is peeled back in this vulnerable, self-reflective track, as Miley comes to terms with the end of her decade-long on-and-off (and very public) relationship with Hemsworth — one that started all the way in 2009 on the set of The Last Song. Accompanied by a poignant visual that alludes to that of 2013’s “We Can’t Stop,” Miley confronts her heartbreak while accepting the jarring change: “Move on, we’re not 17/ I’m not who I used to be/ You say that everything changed/ You’re right, we’re grown now.” — Rachael Crouch
08. “Mother’s Daughter”
“Mother’s Daughter” served as our introduction to SHE IS COMING, the first of three planned EPs to comprise Miley’s album SHE IS MILEY CYRUS (a project that was later scrapped.) A flamboyant, glass ceiling-shattering bop, “Mother’s Daughter” lets Miley’s freak flag fly proudly with no compromise. The track’s rickety, trap-infused instrumentation evokes a sense of unabashed fearlessness that we hadn’t seen in Miley since 2013’s Bangerz. — R.C.
07. “Midnight Sky”
After the devastating heartbreak of “Slide Away,” “Midnight Sky” is a sublime, exuberant celebration of personal evolution. The lead single off of Miley’s excellent 2020 album Plastic Hearts is Miley rising like a phoenix from the ashes decked out in disco/glam-rock splendor. Its queercoded lyrics show Miley’s excellence in wordplay, while alluding to breakups with not only Hemsworth and Cody Simpson, but a public affair with Kaitlyn Carter. In its brilliantly directed visual, she is more than ready to reclaim her past as she rides a giant disco ball that looks quite like a certain infamous wrecking ball. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this good on my own,” Miley sings with genuine grit — and what a joy it is to see. — R.C.
06. “The Climb”
Look, it’s just an all-timer — and Miley herself seems to agree, keeping the beloved track in rotation in her set lists to this day. The country-pop track perfectly suits the Tennessee native’s natural delivery, and the nuance in her vocal performance brings the track co-written by country songwriting heavy hitter Jessi Alexander and Jon Mabe fully to life. Give us strings! Give us a power belt! She was just sixteen years old when she went into the studio and laid down this iconic “follow your dreams” hit, and it deserves its flowers then, now, and forever. — M.S.
05. “We Can’t Stop”
After taking a short hiatus to explore a career in film in 2012, Miley Cyrus burst back onto the music scene with a lead single from her first studio album Bangerz (2013) called “We Can’t Stop.” An electropop, house-party anthem, “We Can’t Stop” is a celebration of being young, with robotic backing vocals repeatedly chanting, “It’s our party, we can do what we want.” The song marked Cyrus’s metamorphosis into a more serious, adult musician after her long stint with Disney. The music video, littered with glitzy, gory imagery and twerking galore, puts a cheeky face to that transformation. — Aurora Amidon
04. “Malibu”
“Malibu” was a bittersweet listen upon release in 2017, and rings even more painfully beautiful now. The track chronicles Miley’s journey of healing and self re-discovery, hinging on a reconnection with Liam Hemsworth. The cut off her sixth album, Younger Now, is a bit more restrained than people might have expected from the artist, in every sense — the Americana vibe keeps her vocals in a mid-range throughout the song, and the stripped-down sound offered a pivot from the more pop-leaning, electronic sound to which fans were accustomed at the time.
Even so, “Malibu” has a way of sticking with the listener, weeding its way in and sinking in its hooks. It’s light and breezy, thoughtful and unfussy. Even if the circumstances that inspired her to write the song may have changed, the track itself endures. “Sometimes it feels like I’m drowning, and you’re there to save me/ And I want to thank you with all of my heart,” she says. — M.S.
03. “See You Again”
Miley channels some kind of secret agent alter ego throughout the verses of “See You Again,” letting the song’s minor chords create a moody suspense while singing, “I’ve got my sights set on you/ and I’m ready to aim.” But when the chorus arrives and those moody chords give way to a pop rock explosion, Miley drops the facade and frantically shares the fears and nerves brought on by her crush. Perhaps one of the best lines in the song is, “My best friend Leslie says/ ‘Oh she’s just bein’ Miley,’” which is both endearing and a little comical. But adding earnestness to such a stylized and electric song is Miley just bein’ Miley — as usual, we get the best of both worlds. — Paolo Ragusa
02. “Party in the U.S.A.”
The year was 2009 when Miley changed Los Angeles International Airport forever — pretty sure it’s now legally required for people to hop off their planes with A) dreams, and B) cardigans. This song has (rightfully!) remained on playlists for over a decade now, and not just because it’s absurdly fun to yell about any event definitely not being a Nashville party. It’s one of those timeless pop songs (despite the time-stamped references to Britney and Jay-Z) that instantly lifts the mood. Sometimes, it really is a party in the U.S.A. So true, Miley. — M.S.
01. “Wrecking Ball”
Debuting off of her fourth studio album, Bangerz (2013), “Wrecking Ball” is one of Miley Cyrus’s most popular — and most heartbreaking — songs. Securing the coveted number-one slot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it is a sonorous, melancholy ballad about completely giving yourself over to a person and subsequently being hurt by them. When Cyrus belts out in the chorus, “I never hit so hard in love,” you can feel the trembling pain and longing in her voice.
“Wrecking Ball” is only bolstered by its controversial video, directed by photographer Terry Richardson. The video cuts between close-ups of Cyrus’s face as she sings with tears streaming down her cheeks, and shots of her swinging nude on a wrecking ball. Some critics argued that Cyrus’s nude appearance took her attempt to distance herself from her Disney image too far, while others applauded the raw, vulnerable imagery of the video.
Either way, it’s impossible to ignore how much work “Wrecking Ball” did to confirm Cyrus as one of the greatest, boldest artists of her generation. — A.A.
Miley’s 10 Best Songs Playlist:
Miley Cyrus’ 10 Best Songs
Consequence Staff
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