Miley embraces country roots
I do not know how she feels about it but mention the name Miley Cyrus and only one image comes into the minds of many, the naked girl astride a wrecking ball. That one is not very pretty but it sold a lot of records and bred millions of memes on the web. She probably regrets having done it and knows that she will never be able to live that down.
Thankfully, despite that wrecking ball and other similar episodes, Miley is in truth, smart and talented. So as long as she is able to put these qualities to good use, talks about her child star precocity and later notoriety will be tempered with the acceptance that beautiful, sensitive Miley does make great music. I wouldn’t call her new album great but it is certainly a pleasure to listen to.
Titled Younger, this is her sixth solo effort and is her follow-up to the hip-hoppy Bangers and the spaced-out concoction called Miley and Her Dead Petz. There was a time when it felt both intriguing and scary wondering what Miley will do next. Time now to set all those feelings aside. Younger is a nice, pleasant collection of Miley’s own compositions. It is also to the shock of many a country music album.
I see no problem with the country part. Miley is the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, a country music legend because of the song Achy Breaky Heart. It is only natural that at some point in her career, Miley will do a country album. And the time has come. The problem is that Miley is known for being daring and unconventional and Younger is none of those things. I see the album though as reflective of her quiet, blissful life nowadays.
This is what we should wish of everybody, and I am glad that it has finally happened to Miley. Besides, I honestly like Younger with its 11 Miley stories told with her always remarkable singing voice. This reminds me of how she was when she broke through with The Climb and I like how she goes allout country from that striking cover pic with an Elvis-inspired jacket down to the use of the fiddle in the cut Inspired which she dedicates to Hillary Clinton
down to having her godmother, the country legend Dolly Parton guest in the dreamy song Rainbowland. Best cuts are the love ballads Miss You Much, I Would Die For You and the perky Younger Now. She sings “No one stays the same in
the latter.” And it is true. Miley will still undergo changes in the future but I am glad she is now in a lovely contented, very country phase. Miley’s Younger
Now is among the Top 20 titles in the Top 200 Albums listing of Billboard: Now by the comebacking country diva Shania Twain;
Greatest Hits by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers; Tell Me You Love Me by Demi Lovato; The Bigger Artist by A Boogie Wit da Hoodie; Younger Now by Miley; Stoney by Post Malone; Luv is Rage 2 by Lil Uzi Vert; Evolve by Imagine Dragons; DAMN by Kendrick Lamar; Divide by Ed Sheeran. American Teen by Khalid; 17 by XXXTentacuib; Ctrl by SZA; Bluebird Of Happiness by Tamar Braxton; Project Baby Two by Kodak Black; Life Changes by Thomas Rhett; Everybody by Logic; More Life by Drake; Gemini by Macklemore; and Issa Album by 21 Savage. The Top 20 singles of the Hot 100 are: Bodak Yellow (Money Moves) by Cardi B; Rockstar by Post Malone feat. 21 Savage; Mi Gente by J. Balvin & Willy William feat. Beyoncé; 1-800273-8255 by Logic feat. Alessia Cara & Khalid; Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift; Feel It Still by Portugal: The Man; Thunder by Imagine Dragons; Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato; Despacito by Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber; Unforgettable by French Montana feat. Swae Lee. Believer by Imagine Dragons; Rake It Up by Yo Gotti feat. Nicki Minaj; Too Good At Goodbyes by Sam Smith; Strip That Down by Liam Payne feat. Quavo; Attention by Charlie Puth; Bank Account by 21 Savage; There’s Nothing Holding Me Back by Shawn Mendes; Slow Hands by Niall Horan; What Lovers Do by Maroon 5 feat. SZA; and Shape of You by Ed Sheeran.