MC’s MUSIC LOUNGE: Miley Cyrus has released her newest album Something Beautiful, full of both bops and experimental experiences

Clearly the pop girlies got the memo that it’s Pride month because we are only a few days into June and we’ve already gotten more pop action than we have all of 2025 so far. Miley Cyrus has released her newest album Something Beautiful and it is full of both bops and experimental experiences that she has become famous for in her work. In a recent Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance she spoke about how she was “surrounded” by gays, so if anyone knows how to give the gays the best gift for Pride month, it’s Hannah Montana herself. This new era of Miley’s career has seen her come full circle in appreciating both where she’s come from and where she is headed. The result is truly something beautiful.

Miley expresses her love for the drag and ballroom communities every chance she gets, following the long lineage of pop divas before her who did the same. Madonna brought “vogue-ing” to the mainstream with her 1990 hit, and just a few years ago we had Beyoncé craft an entire album dedicated to the Black gay community which is where the history of ballroom began. Miley has many different personalities on this new album but it’s the second half of the record where she really strikes a pose on songs like “Walk of Fame” and “Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved” which features Naomi Campbell and is one of this week’s music picks. Every song on the new album has a visual attached to it making for a complete one-hour visual film. The music and the lyrics tell the entire story, this isn’t some meta production like This Is Me.. Now (no shade to JLo, because controversially I f*king loved that little vanity project of hers). The entire project will be playing in theatres for one night only on June 12.

Onto the other girls of pop… Sabrina Carpenter, Mariah Carey and Ashlee Simpson all have something in common and no, it’s not that they are all fabulous (which duh), it’s something way more exciting: the girls are all back with new music announcements that magically trickled in at the start of the week and month. I told you, the girls got the gay bat-call and are ready to report for duty. Sabrina has released this teaser on her socials along with billboards across the USA with “Manchild” written on them and some other lyrics.

Mariah Carey on the other hand is finally gearing up to release her first new album in 7 years, dropping this teaser of her in a car with “MC16” written on the license plate, alluding to the fact that this will be her 16th (yes, 16th!) studio album. When I tell you the gay gasp I gasped when she dropped the teaser, everyone in my office turned to me lol. Y’all know I love Mimi, we are both MC’s after all.

Finally, we have Ashlee Simpson who has teased her return on social media after wiping her page clean and liking a ton of fan theories about the new music. This will be Ashlee’s first new music in a whopping 17 years.

Next week, Addison Rae finally drops her full-length debut album and one of the new singles is featured this week. Along with Addison, this week brings us all the Miley Cyrus fever we could want. Plus, new music from Leon Thomas and Tate McRae and a viral pick that was designed for the runway.

Listen on…

MC’s PICKS OF THE WEEK

“Easy Lover” by Miley Cyrus

In a recent interview with The New York Times Magazine, Miley talks about how she either makes “normal” songs or “really weird” songs with no in between. Miley can dip into her radio friendly mainstream bag just as easy as her experimental one, and “Easy Lover” is a taste of radio star Miley – you know the one who recorded songs like “Flowers” and “Party In The USA”. The lore behind this song is rich. It was originally written for her 2020 album Plastic Hearts, which upon hearing the songs made perfect sense because that’s my favourite Miley album period, no wonder I took to this track so quickly. She then sent the song along with “Shotgun Rider” (which would become “II Most Wanted”) to Beyoncé for Cowboy Carter, with the latter being chosen. The track has an undeniable 80s feel reminiscent of Hall & Oates, and of course you can’t ignore the fact that the actual title of the song is shared with another 80s classic. It’s the perfect song to blast in the car with the top down while chewing bubble gum. A very specific image maybe, but that’s what the music painted for me, I’m just following the paintbrush lol. It almost sounds like the type of song that an adult Hannah Montana may have recorded, now that’s something beautiful.

“Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved (feat. Naomi Campbell)” by Miley Cyrus

Miley knows how to make a strut anthem; she’s been doing them since “Liberty Walk” on her 2010 album Can’t Be Tamed. This time she’s enlisted the help of supermodel Naomi Campbell who speaks throughout the chorus, telling the listener to “pose” – fitting. Naomi also uses her signature luxurious speaking voice throughout the bridge as the violin in the background creates a cinematic wall of sound. Miley’s entire Something Beautiful project is both a love letter to music and fashion, and this track is the one on the record that holds that love very clearly. It’s giving full on ballroom; I mean again it’s literally Naomi Campbell telling you to f*king pose. I know I use this word often, but in this case it holds very true – it’s iconic. Miley has always given her love to the LGBTQ+ community and especially the drag community, having been inspired by them in a lot of her art. This track is a love letter to them and the inevitable vogueing that was going to happen to her music regardless – she’s catering to her people. Miley recently appeared at the “Something Beautiful Ball” in NYC on the release day of her album, a party hosted by fans in the city and she spoke about the love affair she’s had with her fans and the queer community in general. It’s comforting to know that she’s as inspired by us as we are by her, that’s love.

“Fame is a Gun” by Addison Rae

With just a few days to go before the big release of her debut album, Addison, Addison Rae has dropped one more single. “Fame is a Gun” is a dance-heavy electro-pop dream with some synth elements that were very popular in the later 2000s. Lyrically she is singing about the backlash she has received from the public as she has been making her transition from TikToker to established pop performance artist. I can understand why people may still be skeptical, but the music hits, so that really should be the only thing that matters. Making quality pop music can be tricky since a lot of the time there isn’t as much creativity in the final outcome, but every single one of Addison’s releases so far have been edgy and unique. I attribute that to both her eclectic music taste, which she showcases in her public Spotify playlists, and the fact that she openly studies the greats as expressed in her recent podcast interview with The New York Times: Popcast. The music video directed by Sean Price Williams has a vintage feel with Addison living out “the glamorous life” that she sings about in the song, oversized sunglasses and all. The video also marks the first time that she drops the “Rae” surname, with the title card only showing her first name. She alluded to dropping the Rae back when the pre-order for the album was announced saying this would be the “first and last” album by Addison Rae – going solely by Addison after this project.

“NOT FAIR” by Leon Thomas

Leon Thomas has had quite the year already and it’s only May. He just earned his first-ever platinum single, and now he’s released the deluxe edition to the album that it came from. MUTT Deluxe: HEEL includes nine new tracks, making for a fresh listening experience for those of us who have been hooked on the original. “NOT FAIR” is a standout from the new batch of songs, with its catchy hook and R&B tone the song screams hit. Leon is singing about love but not just any love, I call it toxic love. The type that gets you so hooked that you lose all impulse control and just succumb to your partner every time, and how it’s “not fair”. There’s always a little bit of an adrenaline rush when you feel such a euphoric high with someone, and it can be really difficult to resist, lord knows I’ve tried. The song fits well with the overall vibe of the entire album and makes for a quality future single choice – hopefully that prediction comes true. Leon has been everywhere promoting his music and has been putting in the work to ensure that it stay a success, and kudos to him because it’s working. In the streaming era, the shelf life of an album is short, so the fact that he not only has earned breakthrough success but is managing to maintain it with this project is to be commended. I got the chance to meet Leon back in November for this album and he is such a sweet guy and a consummate professional, you can tell this is a man who works at his craft hard and it shows in the music.

“Just Keep Watching (From F1 The Movie)” by Tate McRae

Every pop star needs a hit from a movie soundtrack in their repertoire, I don’t make the rules. It was only a matter of time before Tate McRae got hers – and she has the new Brat Pitt/Damson Idris spectacle F1 to thank. The track is as catchy as some of Tate’s most recognizable songs and the video has her in all her flexible glory. It seems that her impressive flexibility being put on display in the “Revolving Door” video was just the beginning because this new video has her bending in ways I didn’t even know were possible. Someone on X said that Tate doesn’t even dance in these videos anymore, and just does pilates moves lol. As a pilates enthusiast maybe that’s why I’m actually drawn to it. The visuals are giving Y2K meets futurism, and while she’s slaying throughout the clip, I can’t help but acknowledge that she’s basically doing what Tinashe’s been doing for years, just with label support (Justice for Tinashe). The entire F1 soundtrack is shaping up to be an event, like what we saw with Barbie two summers ago. Of all the tracks heard from this soundtrack so far from the likes of Doja Cat, Rosé and more, Tate’s is the strongest in terms of mainstream potential. The Ryan Tedder produced track already is sitting high on my running playlist. Whether or not the song will fare as well as “Dance The Night” from Barbie in the numbers department is yet to be seen, but if F1 does what it’s supposed to do then “Just Keep Watching” will earn success just from association. I’m also so here for this renewed interest in soundtracks being used to promote movies. It was done so often in the 80s and 90s, and it feels like the Netflix era has taken that from us. When you can garner a hit at radio for your film, it gives it a longer shelf life because radio hits end up being played for months and months on end, well after the usual promotional cycle of a film is finished. Here’s to more movie soundtracks!

MC’s VIRAL PICK

“Glam” by Christina Aguilera

It wouldn’t be Pride month without the divas so it’s fitting that this week’s viral choice comes from one of the most iconic voices to grace our speakers in the last 25 years. “Glam” by Christina Aguilera is an album cut from her 2010 underrated gem Bionic and is a runway-ready anthem perfectly designed for the catwalk. “Glam” was originally intended to be the first single from the album as expressed in this January 2010 interview with Marie-Claire in which Christina was the cover girl for the month. The song ended up getting switched out for the more rhythmic “Not Myself Tonight”, which looking back may not have been the best choice. Don’t get me wrong, I love that song, but “Glam” has a very clear point and the possibilities of what she could have done visually would have translated a lot better. “Glam” is reminiscent of “Vogue” by Madonna and diva ballroom anthems. Christina sings “don’t let the clothes wear you” over a thumping bass and flamboyant instrumental that makes for the perfect addition to your Pride 2025 playlists, but the question is – why is a 15-year-old Christina Aguilera song gaining traction? Frankly, there is no specific reason other than the fact that it’s a fire song. Christina herself has used the track in multiple videos over the last few years and she’s had it a part of her live shows post-Covid but there hasn’t been any push. Regardless, the song is picking up steam online particularly on Instagram Reels where the song is in the Top 25 most used sounds with over 50k uses at the time of writing and sits at #25 on Instagram’s trending sounds chart, and is even at #1 on iTunes Brazil. I don’t even think Christina has picked up on the song’s current reach, but it keeps growing by the day so who knows – maybe the Xtina comeback I’ve been waiting for is just around the corner, and it’s about time because there’s only so many “Travel Town” ads I can sit through.