Review: ‘Younger Now,’ a New Direction for Miley Cyrus
Are you ready to feel “Younger Now”? Don’t you wish you could go back to that precious moment from childhood? Miley Cyrus certainly wants to in “Younger Now,” released on September 29th.
In the album, Cyrus takes a different approach than she has in the past and according to her social media accounts, it’s about “who she is.” Since the album has a different style, she has insisted that she’s not “running away from who she used to be.” Rather, Cyrus doesn’t regret who she was in the past, but she’s evolved — she’s now in her happiest form, and you can hear it.
As said in the title song, “No one stays the same/ change is a thing you can count on.” Cyrus wants people to know that change is okay, that everyone grows through life experience. But with images of the twerking-Miley that we’ve come to know, it does seem that this change was dramatic.
This new album took a 360-degree turn from Cyrus’ 2013 album “Bangerz,” which created the illusion that she didn’t care about anything or anyone. With tight onesies and her tongue out, Miley Cyrus sang a lot about drugs and sex.
Some fans may not appreciate the new version of her, but if you look back, Cyrus has always been dynamic. Miley started her entertainment career as “Hannah Montana” on Disney Channel. That image stuck with fans for years and was seen as a young and innocent pop star. Then with “Can’t Be Tamed” in 2010, which was a little more pop-influenced.
“Bangerz” in 2013 shocked society with the music video for “Wrecking Ball,” which features Cyrus swinging nude on a giant metal ball. In 2015, she released “Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz” which resembles “Bangerz” but with a more raw and vulnerable feel. Now we have “Younger Now,” influenced heavily from the hippy-era, both in style and sound.
Cyrus was able to incorporate ideas of peace, love, and equality into the new album, ideas she’s taken to heart. In 2014 she founded the Happy Hippie Foundation, an organization made to fight for the homeless, the LGBTQ+ communities and more. Specifically, peace and love are identified through her song, “Rainbowland” promoting society to come together “hand in hand,” as well as, “She’s Not Him,” incorporating a time when Cyrus was seeing a woman after her split with Liam Hemsworth.
Miley Cyrus is ever changing; who’s to say she won’t completely become someone else by next year? For now, sit back and enjoy — “living in a Rainbowland.”
Check out the music video for “Younger Now” below.
Serena Montoya is a second-year Arapahoe Community College student, majoring in journalism. She will be wrapping up her studies at ACC this fall and transferring to MSU Denver come spring to complete a bachelor's degree. In her free...