Miley Cyrus has gone through a lot of stages, in both her personal life and her career, for somebody who is only 24 years old. When the singer left Hannah Montana, her image and sound went to the extreme opposite of her wholesome Disney Channel image — she became provocative, experimental, and overtly sexual. And now in 2017, the pendulum is swinging yet again: Miley Cyrus is headed in a very new direction, as she reveals in her new Billboard cover story.
Next week, Cyrus is releasing the first single, "Malibu," from her new album out later this year. It's a pop-rock love song about falling back in love with Liam Hemsworth last year following their 2013 split. "I needed to change so much. And changing with someone else not changing like that is too hard," she said of their time apart. "Suddenly you’re like, 'I don’t recognize you anymore.' We had to refall for each other." (Hopeful rumors that the pair tied the knot in March turned out to be false.)
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Cyrus actually penned the track in her Uber on the way to the set of The Voice in late 2016, on which she was a coach for season 11. "I drive myself everywhere, but that day I decided to Uber, and I was trying not to sing out loud because someone else was in the car." Cyrus surprised even herself with "Malibu," saying, "I never would’ve believed you if three years ago you told me I’d be here writing this song." And, in standard Cyrus fashion, she has an IDGAF attitude about what people think. "[People are] going to talk about me if I come out of a restaurant with Liam," she reasoned. "So why not put the power back in my relationship and say, 'This is how I feel'?"
We are very much here for this stage of Miley. Stay tuned for when "Malibu" drops May 11.
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