Cyrus showcases endless growth
As her first album since her divorce with Liam Hemsworth in 2020, Miley Cyrus released “Endless Summer Vacation” with her new studio, Columbia Records, on March 10. Giving a peek into the artist’s flourishing talent, her hit single “Flowers” made it onto the Billboard 100 and stayed there for six consecutive days.
Cyrus’ newest album focused on how she felt toward her ex-husband when they were still engaged. However, her feelings shifted with each song, from sadness, anger and acceptance, shown by the instrumentation of the songs with the strong, vibrating tune from electric tones to soft acoustics.
Songs like “Wild Card” contained violent, aggressive melodies utilizing stronger drum beats and electric notes, while others were sober, slow melodies using gentle drum beats and less tech-heavy instruments. The overall album’s genre was pop-rock and pop-country, similar to her past albums. With such pleasant variety, I was immediately hooked on Cyrus’ different melodies.
As a whole, the album covered the different thematic stages of being in love—along with the pressing reality of falling out of love. “Rose Colored Lenses” has a sweet, dreamy melody that portrays the feeling of being in love with someone, just like how Cyrus felt when she and Hemsworth were engaged in 2012. Contrastly, “Wild Card” portrays the feeling of being with someone who is constantly holding you back from being the true you. With such an empowering message, the song sends a strong message to the youth, reminding them not to let someone that they love or care for prevent them from being themselves.
“Endless Summer Vacation” featured other iconic singers such as Sia and Brandi Carlile. But with the inclusion of the other singers, they should have had more lyrical parts. Their respective songs are catchy and both suit the contributing singers, but they would have been more suited singing alongside Cyrus in the spotlight.
Including the contributing singers was strange since neither sang a big part of each song. With both singers playing minor roles, it seems as if Cyrus was using the two artists to draw more attention to her album.
Cyrus not only sang about love and heartbreak, but also included songs dedicated to personal growth. Her trending song “Flowers” inspires the idea of self-love after being in a rough relationship, with a catchy, and carefree melody.
The melody was meant to give listeners a sense of carefreeness after she was suffocated in a toxic environment. Adding on, the lyrics describe how it felt to be independent and love oneself with the iconic line “buy myself flowers.” Cyrus continues to portray how even being single, she can care about herself better than anyone else.
Yet again, Cyrus produced a successful and critically acclaimed album, allowing listeners to enjoy the summer as it rolls in.
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