Miley Cyrus has been in New York this week working on some brand partnerships, photo shoots, and in and out of the studio as she prepares for the release of her new album Something Beautiful. As MC has shared in his weekly columns, the styling for Something Beautiful has been couture – archival and current, pulling from major fashion houses like Mugler and McQueen. 

 

This will fully be on display with Something Beautiful, the visual project that will accompany the album. MC posted the trailer a few weeks ago, I’ve included it again at the bottom of this post. The film will premiere at Tribeca Film Festival in June. 

 

For me it’s giving JLo. Obviously the tone is different, but the concept is similar. Last year, when she released This Is Me…Now, the album, JLo also put out a film, This Is Me Now: A Love Story, that included tracks from the album and Miley’s description for Something Beautiful could also apply, just substitute the names: 

“A unique visual experience, fueled by fantasy, including 13 original songs from the upcoming album. A one-of-a-kind pop opera from the mind of… Miley Cyrus.” 

 

JLo’s film was a messy delight and it was ridiculed up and down. Of her marriage and all the noise that came with it had something to do with that. But also, honestly, there was also the fact that the music was mid. None of the songs were bangers. And Miley, as we know, can deliver a banger, although none of the tracks released so far are blowing it up the way “Flowers” did. Then again, as MC has also said, this doesn’t seem to be her motivation right now. She’s already had that kind of success, and recently, with both “Flowers” and “II Most Wanted” with Beyoncé, both Grammy winners. This might not be what Miley’s after with Something Beautiful. 

 

Whatever it is, I love the mood, the glam-rock power performer that took over when she brought “Flowers”, live, to the Grammys. She is electrifying on stage, and she’s always been a reliably compelling presence in a live setting. See also all the times she’s been on Saturday Night Live. Right now, at this stage of her career, as she gets deeper into her 30s, she’s leaning into this energy, the scale she can command with her vocals and also the pure magnetism that’s made her such an enduring popstar for over half her life, since she was 13 years old. 

 

I also love the bangs. Not quite as micro as she had them a couple of months ago but she’s clearly committed to them for this era in all its variations. It’s a bit weird here in New York because she’s wearing her hair in a tight wave, almost curl, that sometimes isn’t brushed out and stiff with gel. It’s definitely a throwback, an 80s/90s hybrid, and I don’t hate it for her since, we’ll, she’s Miley, and it’s coded to where her aesthetic lives right now. Curious to see if it takes hold everywhere else. 

 

The micro bang is already a thing and has been for a minute. But the micro bang with a long tight wave is a whole other degree of difficulty.