MC’s MUSIC LOUNGE: Miley Cyrus gives us the first taste of Something Beautiful

Now that we’re a couple of weeks into spring and the days are getting longer, the high-profile music releases are also getting bigger and it’s happening fast. Traditionally, early summer is a popular time for album releases. This means you can expect a significant amount of lead singles every spring, and this year is no different – lo and behold the return of the one and only Miley Cyrus.

Miley has been teasing her new album and accompanying film Something Beautiful for just over a week now, and we’ve gotten a first taste into the universe she has created. The first set of visuals for both the spoken word intro “Prelude” and the haunting ballad “Something Beautiful” have dropped and based off the posts on her IG page, Miley is going for a more traditional popstar approach, keeping the veil of mystery over her this entire rollout (her posts are written in the third-person), almost as if to make sure we the audience know that it’s not Miley directly putting this out, but rather her team, leaving us only able to see her through the art itself. The attention to detail through her fashion choices this era is already haute couture with the 1997 Mugler pieces, and if you know Miley, that’s intentional. We’ve all seen her own the red carpet in daring 90s couture fashion choices, especially in recent years, so the high-fashion feel for the album’s visuals seems to have been in progress for a while. She’s already teased her next release slated for this Friday, which has been billed as the “official first single”, I’m tuned the f*ck in.

On the topic of brighter days, Ariana Grande has released the deluxe version of her eternal sunshine album, which was my most played of 2024. Following the short film trend along with Miley, Ariana dropped a 26-minute short film (appropriately titled “brighter days ahead”) which features two of the six new songs added to the track list, along with some favourites from the original. Ariana’s visuals this entire era have also been top notch. Heavily inspired by the 2004 hit film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Ariana plays an aged version of herself who is going through her old memories before deleting them forever. With some portions meant to represent her last touring era in 2019, to others representing her recent relationship with Dalton Gomez, the video is filled with Easter eggs to her own personal life and cinematic influences for fans to decipher. Ariana’s never short of a headline regarding her dating life, but in true Grande fashion it’s all expressed through her lyrics.

Next week, in addition to Miley, we’ve got a new release from Ciara that will probably keep us dancing (just in time for the summer body training of course). This week along with new picks from Ariana and Miley, there’s a duet with Joé Dwèt Filé and Burna Boy that fuses both Haitian and Nigerian flavours into one summer-ready anthem. Plus, a highlight from the UK rap scene with Nemzzz and a hit of 2000s nostalgia with a new track by Evanescence. Even this week’s viral pick has a warm and bright feel to it. While there’s always going to be something negative taking over the headlines or infiltrating our thoughts, whether it’s something you read today that triggered you or just life doing what it does, I challenge you all to take a second to let the sounds of new music bring you into the easy energy of spring and in Ariana’s terms… the brighter days we have ahead.

Listen on…

MC’s PICKS OF THE WEEK

“Something Beautiful” by Miley Cyrus

It’s not a drill, just the surprise drop of the first of what looks like many upcoming singles from Miley Cyrus. Very few artists are unanimously associated with raising an entire generation in the way that Miley is, and her longevity in music shows this. We’re close to the 20th anniversary of Hannah Montana and it seems like Miley is reaching new career heights with every move she makes. After winning Grammys two years in a row (one with the literal queen Beyoncé), she’s taken another page out of B’s book with this new rollout. In a world where Beyoncé has robbed us of the very visuals she became so associated with, we can at least hold some comfort in knowing she has inspired others to make some visual art. “Something Beautiful” serves as a promotional single, with the official first single coming this Friday. The song is a cinematic introduction into the new musical universe she has created with this new body of work. It’s soul one minute, and it’s hard rock the next. Screamo even at times, soul-tinged with a rock edge, and her raspy vocals soar over every single genre switch. The minute the lights explode and all hell breaks loose in the song is when you realize she isn’t playing it safe here, she’s a f*cking rock star.

“twilight zone” by Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande and Max Martin are one of pop music’s most magical and essential singer/producer duos right now, and they’ve struck gold yet again. “twilight zone” is a dreamy synthy pop gem that feels like a 90s dream. The song is represented in her short film Brighter Days Ahead where her character in the film, Peaches, is searching through a destroyed home, only to find a teddy bear and necklace. Both of which are the main symbols that have been used to promote the record. This has led to many believing this song as the official sequel to “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)”, the biggest hit off the album. If we’re going based off melody and the actual sound, then it’s a pretty safe assumption. The song is named after The Twilight Zone, one of Ariana’s favourite shows that she’s mentioned on multiple occasions over the years, including her 2019 Halloween party. The lyrics on the other hand have fans spiraling that they are about her ex-husband Dalton Gomez where she sings that she “hopes this might be the last one” in reference to songs about him. The song has a delicate feel that mirrors the clearly painful subject matter. I picture driving through a rain storm yet you can see a rainbow peeping out. Ariana sings the song in her higher vocal register giving the track the signature angelic sound that makes her music so special.

“4 Kampe II” by Joé Dwèt Filé, Burna Boy

If brighter days bring one thing, it’s shorter but more passionate evenings. I spoke about Joé Dwèt Filé a few weeks ago and the worldwide splash he’s been making as of late with his music. He has already performed sold out concerts in certain territories in Canada and Europe but this is the beginning of a new ascension for him. The Haitian artist is now taking it to the next level by collaborating with one of the greatest crossover stories in recent music times: Burna Boy. The sensual song has a bit of a salsa flair to it, and is more of a slow jam versus the usual party anthems that Burna Boy has been releasing. That’s just the beauty of it, he has adapted to Joé’s sound for this track simply bringing his name and flair to introduce the already popular song to a worldwide audience. Burna even begins his own verse in Haitian creole as a nod to the country and the music he is singing to. The best part however is the perfect harmony of both Joé’s and Burna’s vocals. Together they sound so effortlessly in sync, and are sure to have you out your seats by the halfway mark.

“DILEMMA” by Nemzzz, Central Cee

My workout playlist had very quickly become dominated with various UK rap tracks, and Nemzzz has become an essential. The track comes from the new deluxe edition of his Rent’s Due mixtape. His flow doesn’t falter behind that of Central Cee on the track, which already shows he can hold his own alongside the top artists in the field. The song is fun and has some memorable one liners, including my favourite, “She keep on saying I wanna be down, go listen to Brandy”. There’s something about rap tracks referencing Brandy’s iconic debut. Maybe it’s the title itself being so catchy, or it could just be the sheer impact of her presence. I’m going to say both, clearly 2pac felt the same (see the 3:24 mark)… “17 like Brandy, you just wanna be down”. Not to go on a complete Brandy tangent, but you know what, just the fact that I even went on one is reason enough to save this song to your playlists.

“Afterlife (from the Netflix Series “Devil May Cry”) by Evanescence

The theme song to the new Netflix animé series Devil May Cry comes from one of the defining voices of the 2000s. It’s fitting too because Evanescence’s first single “Bring Me To Life” was the theme song to the 2003 film Daredevil, so what better way to come back to music after a four-year hiatus than with yet another cinematic piece. Amy Lee’s signature operatic vocals have the ability to pierce through your soul, and she delivers them in full strength on this anthemic rock ballad. The song sounds like a classic song the band would’ve released back in their mid-2000s heyday which, mixed with the TV adaptation of this iconic animé, is a dream straight out of 2005. Why is it that big rock ballads fit dramatic animés so perfectly? I can’t put my finger on it, but that hard rock and drums over a fighting scene between hero and villain makes me feel whole. Devil May Cry showrunner told Billboard that the Amy and the band were a “perfect fit” for the show, which has now ushered in the next era of Evanescence. They’ve been touring stadiums worldwide for the last few years just off their hits, so it’ll be interesting to see what more new material from the band could look like. If it’s anything like this, then consider it already streamed.

MC’s VIRAL PICK

Jessie J, b.O.b “Price Tag”

As Will Smith himself commented on the very video he was a part of, “I can’t keep up with these trends”. Boy, is he correct lol. Every week it feels like a different hit from my youth has found Gen Z and turned itself into a viral hit. While on one hand, it’s always fun to watch the songs resurgence (I’m still getting my life from the viral rise of “Someone To Call My Lover”), on the other, it’s like how on earth did you guys not know these songs already. “Price Tag” is the newest song getting the treatment with users making fun clips to the song’s pre-chorus and chorus, making facial expressions and literal action to the song’s lyrics. Many users are even including the behind the scenes of the making of these clips. I will say, the ones with the dogs are my favourite and have completely taken over my feed. You can never have too much dog content. Jessie J’s original run of the song “Price Tag” back in in 2011 had the song peaking at #1 in the UK and #23 in the USA. The song is now pulling in millions of videos to the sound, so there’s always a chance for this track to get the “Running Up That Hill” treatment very soon.