- Miley Cyrus releases Endless Summer Vacation on March 10.
- The first single, “Flowers,” was released on Jan. 12, 2023.
- Many think this might be an album about her breakup with Liam Hemsworth.
- She released the full tracklist on Feb. 27 and revealed Brandi Carlile and Sia would be on the album.
“We met each other on the neon dinghy,” says Miley Cyrus over hazy synths in the promo video for her new album, Endless Summer Vacation. “Past the manta rays and the palm trees, glowing creatures being beamed down from great heights. Electric eels and red venom. In the sky, we could see the riders on horseback, on comets, coming towards, kicking up with laughter. My friend Big Twitchy lead the boat to the light. Surfed the north break. We danced until there was nothing left. Just me and Twitchy ’cause that’s all we knew.”
The preview – capturing the current synth zeitgeist that has influenced albums like The Weeknd’s Dawn FM, Tame Impala’s The Show Rush, and Charli XCX’s CRASH – sees Miley as the Angelyne-sque figure that appears on Endless Summer Vacation’s album art. With a chart-topping lead single and anticipation hotter than…well, July in LA, here’s what we know about the album — including the newly released tracklist.
ENDLESS SUMMER VACATION. MARCH 10. pic.twitter.com/p8uEwzl4Tc
— Miley Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) February 27, 2023
Miley Cyrus To Release New Album Endless Summer Vacation
Endless Summer Vacation marks Miley’s first album for Columbia Records. Her first three records – Meet Miley Cyrus (2007), Breakout (2008), and Can’t Be Tamed (2010) – were released on Hollywood Records, an imprint of Disney Group. As such, these albums (and the 2009 EP, The Time of Our Lives) were an extension of her days as the star of The Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana.
In 2013, after signing with RCA, Miley released Bangerz. This record saw her first team up with Mike Will Made-It, Pharrell Williams, Oren Yoel, and other producers. Whereas the first three albums were pop that flirted with dance and rock, Bangerz sought to reestablish her sound with elements of hip-hop and more mature themes. Guest appearances included French Montana, Ludacris, Future, Nelly, and Big Sean, as well as Britney Spears. The album’s major singles include “Wrecking Ball,” “We Can’t Stop,” and “Adore You.”
This is also the era when Miley began to twerk. She famously/infamously shook her backside across the crotch of Robin Thicke when he performed “Blurred Lines” at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. The Bangerz tour saw Miley shed her sanitized Disney Channel image and a lot of her clothes.
In 2015, Miley independently released Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz. Again, Miley worked with Mike Will Made It and Oren Yoel on the project, but the album is noted for the involvement of The Flaming Lips. Miley announced the album when she hosted the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, making it free for her fans to download. Featuring appearances from Big Sean, Sarah Barthel, and Ariel Pink, the 23-track album received mixed reviews. It incorporated a lot of psychedelia, pop, rock, alternative, and experimental sounds.
Miley shifted gears again in 2017 with the release of Younger Now. Oren Yoel returned, but not Mike Will Made-It. Considered a pop rock/country-pop album, it saw Miley pull back from the far-out edge of Ded Petz and the overt sexuality of Bangerz. The lead single, “Malibu,” was about her then-fiancé Liam Hemsworth, a positive reflection on their relationship (before it ended in divorce.) Younger Now also received mixed reviews, with Spin calling it “as safe and overly sanitized, with the frisson that made Cyrus a star all but entirely blasted away.”
Miley’s album Plastic Hearts, released in November 2020, saw her lean heavier into the rock by incorporating elements of punk, new wave, and arena rock. Appearances by Billy Idol and Joan Jett helped Miley set the tone, though the lead single, “Midnight Sky,” was a synth-pop, retro disco bop. The follow-up, “Prisoner” (featuring Dua Lipa), was similar in sound.
Plastic Hearts marked the end of Miley’s run at RCA. She signed with Columbia and released her single, “Flowers,” two weeks after welcoming in the new year.
Endless Summer Vacation Rumored To Be About Ex-Husband Liam Hemsworth
“Multi-platinum selling recording artist, songwriter, and trailblazer Miley Cyrus will release her eighth studio album Endless Summer Vacation on March 10th,” Columbia Records announced in a press release on Jan. 5. “2023 finds Miley the strongest and most confident she’s ever been, with the music and imagery of Endless Summer Vacation serving as a reflection of the strength she’s found in focusing on both her physical and mental well-being. Recorded in Los Angeles and produced with Kid Harpoon, Greg Kurstin, Mike WiLL Made-It, and Tyler Johnson, Miley describes the album as her love letter to LA.”
“Unsurprising to no one, Miley kicked off 2023 in full force,” the press release added. “Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party, which Miley co-hosted with global superstar, Dolly Parton, was a major success. In addition to the announcement of ‘Flowers,’ the live special featured an A-list lineup of musical performances and special guests, including Sia, Latto, Rae Sremmurd, David Byrne, Liily, and Fletcher, as well as Paris Hilton, SNL’s Chloe Fineman, Sarah Sherman, and comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy.”
The first single from the album, “Flowers,” is a disco-flavored bop that incorporates a funk beat. After its release, many thought it was a response to Miley’s ex-husband, Liam Hemsworth. The couple wed in 2018, only to file for divorce a year later. The split was finalized in 2020. The song was also released on January 13, which happens to be Liam’s birthday.
“We were good, we were gold / Kinda dream that can’t be sold / We were right ’til we weren’t / Built a home and watched it burn,” Miley sings at the start of “Flowers,” with many interpreting it as her speaking to her and Liam’s crumbling relationship.
“I can buy myself flowers,” she sings on the chorus. “Write my name in the sand / Talk to myself for hours / Say things you don’t understand / I can take myself dancing / And I can hold my own hand / Yeah, I can love me better than you can.” Fans also saw it as a response song to Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man.”
Leading to its release, it was unclear if Endless Summer Vacation would contain lyrics and themes similar to “Flowers.” Miley has dated a handful of people since breaking up with Liam. She had a highly-publicized relationship with Kaitlynn Carter for a few months in 2019. Later that year, she began dating Cody Simpson, a relationship that lasted until the summer of 2020. She spent most of 2022 involved with musician Maxx Morando. She invited his band, Liily, to perform on her New Year’s Eve special.
Themes & Lyrics Of Endless Summer Vacation
“The music and imagery of Endless Summer Vacation serving as a reflection of the strength she’s found in focusing on both her physical and mental well-being,” the press release read.
“Flowers” sees Miley take a more aggressive breakup stance than “Slide Away,” the song Miley released in 2019 after the end of her marriage. With Plastic Hearts being Miley working through her feelings of the failed romance (“Hate Me,” “WTF DO I Know,” “Gimme What I Want”), Endless Summer Vacation might be a reclamation of confidence and fun.
On Feb. 27, Miley and Columbia Records shared the tracklist to Endless Sommer Vacation. The song titles gave fans more to go on regarding themes of the album. Fans also learned that Brandi Carlile and Sia would appear on the LP.
1. Flowers 2. Jaded3. Rose Colored Lenses 4. Thousand Miles (feat. Brandi Carlile)5. You6. Handstand 7. River 8. Violet Chemistry 9. Muddy Feet (feat. Sia)10. Wildcard 11. Island12. Wonder Woman 13. Flowers (Demo)
When Can We Expect Miley Cyrus’ New Album
Endless Summer Vacation arrives on March 10.
Miley’s sore offered the album on red, crystal clear, and black vinyl. There is also a CD option, a box set that features a CD and towel (featuring Miley on one side), and a CD & Puzzle Box Set (which features a puzzle of a topless Miley standing next to a wall-to-ceiling window. Target has a white vinyl option, only at stores/online.
The rollout of the album should be easier than Plastic Hearts. Released on Black Friday 2020 (Nov. 27), fans reported shipment delays and instances where stores were out-of-stock. “When choosing the 11/27, the SUGGESTED DATE for [an] album release, my team and I were never told major retailers don’t stock physical albums on Black Friday and wouldn’t get copies of [Plastic Hearts] until a few weeks after [its] release,” Miley tweeted on Nov. 29. “My fans are everything to me [and] to know y’all are disappointed when going out to stores/calling/checking stock to be led down, I am equally if not more frustrated.”
The rollout affected Plastic Hearts’ first-week sales number. While it and Younger Now didn’t match the commercial success of Bangerz (which is triple-Platinum as of 2023), there is a sense that Endless Summer Vacation might be her best-selling release in years. Fans are hyped (“I am actually so excited for miley’s new album“), and that can be seen on the charts. “Flowers” began a run atop the Billboard Hot 100, staying at No. 1 for its first four weeks.
Summer begins early in 2023, thanks to Miley. Her fans are ready to go on an Endless Summer Vacation, and so are the critics. “If the rest of the album is anything like this first track, we’re all in for a treat,” writes Consequence.