Miley Cyrus Tickets

Throughout Miley Cyrus’ career, the image-shifting singer has always managed to find a way to get “The Best of Both Worlds.” Those words were first used as the theme on her Disney Channel TV series, a show in which she played Miley Stewart, who also secretly maintained the identity of world-famous pop star Hannah Montana. And while Cyrus has never left any doubt about her desire to be a celebrity, she has undergone several public transformations. First, in accordance with her child star persona, she released tween-friendly music with a country twang, essentially playing out the same career as Hannah Montana. She was just as successful, too: Albums Meet Miley Cyrus (2007) and Breakout (2008) each went No. 1 in the United States. As its title suggests, 2010’s Can’t Be Tamed headed in a more mature direction, but it was nothing like the shift to come.

In 2013, Miley dropped Bangerz, a hip-hop-inspired album with production from Mike Will Made It and features from rappers like Future and French Montana. (Song titles like “Love Money Party” and “FU” should give you some idea of the album’s thematic direction.) She got tattoos, changed her hair and, infamously, twerked onstage at the 2013 VMAs. Things didn’t get any less weird with 2015’s Miley Cyru & Her Dead Petz, which garnered little of the acclaim or sales of Bangerz.

Cyrus must have decided it was time for another change in 2017, as she announced a forthcoming album with the release of lead single “Malibu.” While not a direct return to any of her previous sounds, “Malibu” certainly has more in common with, say, her 2009 EP The Time of Our Lives than anything off of Bangerz. Of course, only time will tell what Miley does next. Whatever it is, it’s safe to assume it won’t be her final transformation.