What’s Happened to Miley?
It seems that ever since the release of Miley Cyrus’ comeback chart topper ‘We Cant Stop’ and the rather raunchy music video that accompanied it, fans of the star have become increasingly worried about the possibility of another Britney Spears style meltdown edging its way onto the horizon for this young star.
I was personally thrilled to hear of Miley’s comeback onto the music scene back in the Spring, and viewed her somewhat drastic image change as a good way of transforming herself from Disney starlet into a more mature young woman with her own unique sense of style and musical taste.But what came next was something of a surprise however, and now things just seem to be getting worse and worse for Miley.
For those unaware, the video for Miley’s hit showed her wearing a white lycra jumpsuit and seemed to suggest that her only talent as a dancer was in her ability to ‘twerk’. Altogether, the video seemed a bit too much of a transformation for this beloved Disney channel star to be making, especially at the still tender age of 20, especially compared to the far more sophisticated music video styles of fellow teen sensations Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato.
Yet the video for the song wasn’t the most shocking thing we have seen from Cyrus in the past few weeks. That award must of course go to her performance at the VMA’s, which still seems to be causing quite a bit of controversy in the world of pop.
For those unaware of the performance, Cyrus once again took to the stage in next to no clothes to perform her new song. Singing with what also seemed to be little control over her dancing or facial expressions, and tongue hanging out, Cyrus flailed across the stage before being accompanied by Robin Thicke to sing, ‘Blurred Lines’, and once again feeling the need to ‘twerk’ around him incessantly. Altogether, the pair were an odd match, with Thicke’s gentlemanly composure and cool persona contrasting drastically with what can only be described as Cyrus’ somewhat slutty stage presence, it was all just a bit strange.
But it doesn’t stop there, because for those like me who keep up date with Cyrus’ music will be aware of her new song and its music video, ‘Wrecking Ball’. Saying that, the video has reached nearly 170 million views on YouTube, which seems to justify the fact that it has been seen by those who aren’t even fans of the singer, but who just want to see what all the fuss is about.
This time, not only is Miley wearing very little, but at points she is in fact shown to be completely naked. The song, which I took to be a sentimental evocation about the heartache of a break- up and its emotional impact upon those involved seemed therefore to have very little link in my eyes, to the overtly sexualised body language and facial expressions that Cyrus demonstrates throughout the video (licking and kissing sledge hammers). Again, very odd.
It seems that the former tween sensation ironically, and also laughably, wants to be taken seriously and in doing so, feels that she must exert her sexuality as a way of showing how grown up she has become. It seems that quite the contrary is in fact true, and we all find ourselves feeling a little awkward watching Miley behaving like this, especially seeing as she was such a sweet, country singer and bubbly idolised pop sensation for young girls. Let us not forget that her show, Hannah Montana, is still being aired on the Disney Channel on a regular basis, so what message is she sending out to them?
There is little decorum, composure, or even beauty to her now crazed image, and must therefore argue that if she really does want to grow up and be taken seriously, then her music, and her music alone is what she needs to focus on.
Michaela Jewell
