You can only see Miley Cyrus’ right eye on the cover art of her perhaps most recognized tune. It’s so well known that it’s a celebratory anthem even for those outside of the country: ‘Party In the U.S.A.’ Strands of auburn hair cover the other eye—that was before the platinum-quiffed bob and two-toned bohemian beach curls (not to be confused with the Hannah Montana wig, which, of course, came earlier). Long before August 4, 2009, the very day that we not only heard the killer synth baseline for the first time but also kicked off the start of Miley claiming it as her release month. What followed was ‘Wrecking Ball,’ ‘Slide Away,’ and ‘Midnight Sky.’ Each belongs to a different era, respectively, but they also carry on the August release tradition.
So August may’ve “sipped away like a bottle of wine,” to quote Taylor Swift, but it did throw a giant party for all Smilers. To get even more technical, it isn’t just the month as a whole that she favors. Instead, it’s a particular day: August 25th. On that day, various events transpired in her historical timeline, but as for the latest? That’ll be the release date of her newest single, ‘Used to Be Young,’ which pays homage to her misunderstood feelings back then. To amp up the excitement, we wanted to fill in the gaps in the August 25th timeline.
‘Wrecking Ball’
We already know that ‘Wrecking Ball’ came out in August. If you don’t have her discography memorized by heart, you might be surprised it got the August 25th stamp of approval. It’s just the song itself, though, as the music video was uploaded on YouTube a little later on, on September 10th, to be exact. It’s got a tumultuous history, and we don’t mean Miley taking the lyric “I came in like a wrecking ball” quite literally by swaying on the bulldozer in the iconic white crop tee and pants combo (yes, there’s another outfit, or lack thereof, to represent how vulnerable she felt in the relationship). Basically, Miley wrote the track back in 2012, but when she shared it with Dr. Luke, he tried to take writing credit by unsuccessfully selling it to Beyonce.
2013 MTV VMAs
Bangerz is stacked with, well, bangers. Outside of the second single, ‘Wrecking Ball,’ the album contains hits like ‘Adore You,’ ‘We Can’t Stop,’ (we honestly couldn’t stop ourselves from pressing the loop button), and ‘Do My Thang,’ to mention a few. But it also has moments that shook up Miley’s career, pigeonholing her a certain way before we inevitably saw her as that smiley emblem hippy once again. Yeah, we’re throwing the 2013 MTV VMAs performance into the mix. The thing is that if we added another ten years to that date, then it would’ve blended into the night. Still, we were starting out with the twerking movement (truly, Mr. Schuester dedicated a whole Glee session to it a few months later in ‘The End of Twerk’).
Also, combine her popping out of a giant teddy as her entrance, it being so overtly sexual with the help of a foam finger that there’s a YouTube compilation of famous faces giving their in-person reaction like it’s some influencer segment, and that her Disney days weren’t as far back as they are now. However, the point that ‘Used to Be Young’ is making is that at the time of the performance, she was only 20 years old. At this point, any other average young adult is having as much fun as they can tear up on a Saturday night.
Billy Ray Cyrus’ Birthday
On a wholesome note, Miley’s father, Billy Ray Cyrus, was born on the day back in 1961. He is clearly an integral part of her childhood and those reminiscent feelings of youth outside of the spotlight, but more so as he was a main figure in Hannah Montana, showing up as the character Miley Stewart’s dad. He is therefore grounded in the fabric of the early days of her career as well as her childhood.
‘Used to Be Young’ Release
“I know I used to be crazy
I know I used to be fun
You say I used to be wild
I say I used to be young…“
We don’t know much about ‘Used to Be Young’ yet as the singer remains with the group, who would rather tease us with a four-second instrumental clip than leak it themselves in an acoustic performance on a live stream. What we do know is that it will get us right in the feels. For starters, in the promo, Miley walks toward us. There’s nothing much to see around her, as it’s a void of darkness. She’s in a gorgeous red sequin leotard and black see-through tights. What’s peeking through is what has our gaze, though, as it’s a graphic tee of Mickey Mouse himself. It’s obviously representative of the two eras the song is about, and if that wasn’t cemented, then the title card follows.
Alongside Miley’s upcoming release of ‘Used to Be Young,’ there’ll also be an additional follow-up of her backyard sessions that spins off from her Disney+ Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions) that came back in March with the album. While the continued version will air on ABC instead on August 24 from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. EDT, it will also feature a chat with Miley as she recounts the first 30 years of her life in tune with the track’s title. If you miss out, no worries. It will then stream on Hulu the day after.
While we can’t possibly pick a favorite off Endless Summer Vacation, we’ll let you stew over it by tweeting us @thehoneypop. Need help? Have a flick through this article we wrote earlier this year, wherein, in an ode to ‘Flowers,’ we crafted three bouquets from Miley’s songs. Our Facebook and Instagram pages also link to more articles on the singer!
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