Miley Cyrus won in so many ways last night
With her exuberant "Flowers" performance, Cyrus captured two Grammys and re-claimed her own story
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Last night, Miley Cyrus proved once and for all that she really does know how to love herself better than anyone can. The former Hannah Montana star’s Grammy performance was nothing short of triumphant. She took home not only her first but also her second-ever award for “Flowers” (Best Pop Solo Performance and Record Of The Year respectively). Those statues were handed to her by Meryl Streep and Mariah Carey, whose presence sent the singer into a bit of a meltdown after the fact. She wore four different dresses and looked great in all of them—an objective fact she acknowledged in her Record Of The Year acceptance speech by thanking “my main gays because look how good I look!” She brought the house down with her first televised performance of her winning single, complete with the same ebullient choreography from the music video and a joyful Tina Turner nod at the end. She looked strong, she looked powerful, and most importantly, she looked like she was having the time of her life.
She deserves it. A decade ago, the phrase “Miley Cyrus Grammy Winner” would have sounded like nothing but a low-hanging troll. While the industry expecting sexuality from young female artists and then immediately punishing them for it is nothing new, the level of criticism leveled at Cyrus for doing pretty much anything in her “We Can’t Stop” era—and even before—was a different beast entirely. “I carried some guilt and shame around myself for years because of how much controversy and upset I really caused,” the singer said (via The Independent) of a controversial Vanity Fair cover she shot when she was 15, for example. “Now that I’m an adult, I realize how harshly I was judged.”
That astounding level of hard-won self-reverence was on full display last night. No one was as confident on that stage or in their own skin as Cyrus. During her awards speeches, she danced with Billie Eilish and quipped that she may have forgotten her underwear. There isn’t a full video of her “Flowers” performance online yet (what gives, CBS?), but it sent a message. You hated me for being too visible for years, she seemed to be saying. Now, I’m not going to let you look away. “Why are you acting like you don’t know this song?” she chastised the audience in the first verse. Later, she let herself celebrate: “Started to cry but remembered… I just won my first Grammy!”
One thing really shone through in that moment: she sounded like adult Miley Cyrus, sure, but she also sounded like her teenage alter-ego, Miley Stewart. This writer picked up on it immediately and she wasn’t the only one. This was a win for both of them. Cyrus has had to climb a lot of mountains in her career, but last night she finally reached the summit.
23 Comments
“Cyrus has had to climb a lot of mountains in her career” as a legacy artist
Not as hard to scale Mt Everest when you’re born at South Col
Yes, having a father as influential, respected and loved in all facets of the entertainment industry, with countless hit singles to his credit, as Billy Ray Cyrus is clearly an ironclad guarantee of enduring fame and endless success, regardless of talent. Just ask Noah Cyrus.
FFS, understanding privilege isn’t hard… and yet so many dumfucks just can’t seem to wrap their head around it.
This is every fucking pop star these days:“Born into a musical family [her dad owns a stake in every radio station west of Colorado and her mother is a noted recording industry lawyer], she’s a talented [fuckable] young star whose creativity [the industry’s biggest songwriters owe her dad a bunch of favours] is limitless [Black American Express]. Growing up on the streets of LA [Beverley Hills has streets and is part of LA], she’s become a huge force in music [thanks to millions of dollars worth of PR and radio stations not wanting to piss off her mum], she’s both pushes her own eclectic blend of sensuality and relatability [she’s hot, but occasionally she lets the paparazzi photograph her wearing baggy clothes, including that famous shot of her wearing a hoodie that we all raved on about being just like the rest of us, save for the fact it was $3000 Balenciaga hoodie].”
Even borrowed her Dad’s hairstyle for the Grammy’s
I feel so mean, but she looks like a Charlie’s Angel reject.
Congrats to Miley, Endless Summer Vacation is a great piece of work.
Yeah. Well. No. Just, no.
Unpopular opinion. She literally has the worst voice I’ve ever heard and I avoid Peloton workouts if she has a song in the set list.Worst. Voice. Ever.
When did she go Face/Off with Jane Fonda, though?
I like Miley’s newer stuff, but man, her voice is headed straight for Marianne Faithfull territory.
I’m sure James’d be down for a duo.
That’s a good thing.
IIRC she went well beyond whatever sexualization of young women the world “demands.” She was the poster child for a young star showing her ass in an attempt to show everyone how grown up she is, doing a naked music video, grinding on Robin Thicke to Blurred Lines, shaving her head and getting a bunch of terrible tattoos. I’m glad she pulled it together and good for her with this win because it didn’t look good there for a while.
The low point for me was her mocking Sinead O’Connor’s mental health issues after O’Connor offered her some clearly well-meaning advice. Hopefully she’s grown up a lot since then.
Actually I’ve just seen what she has said since O’Connor died, and she still doesn’t get it. She now just expresses sympathy for O’Connor’s mental health rather than acknowledging she actually had a point and was trying to help.
Who the fuck let my dad comment here? Someone get him back to his girlfriend before he hurts himself.
Strangely, it’s extremely hard to find full videos online of any of the Grammy performances. CBS has totally dropped the ball in understanding how people consume content.
Love Miley, but don’t love the new hair.
Getting some real Tina Turner “We Don’t Need Another Hero”-esque vibes from that.
Now that she’s an adult, is she going to stop sticking her tongue out for photographers?
If she fucking wants to