Miley Cyrus was born into the music industry, and has spent her career channelling her Nashville and Hollywood roots into a diverse discography stacked with hits. Add to that countless covers that are well done and span many different genres, and there is no debate that she is one of the most versatile pop singers of our generation.

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“Flowers”, from her upcoming album “Endless Summer Vacation”, debuted at the top spot of the Billboard Top 100. This is Miley’s second time at the top spot, and while success like this is not 100% predictable, Miley did almost everything right to set “Flowers” up for this to happen.

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Her Diverse Career

In the late 2000s, Miley broke free from her Disney Channel persona as Hannah Montana, pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter. Initially, she released successful teen-pop hits like “See You Again”, which peaked at #10 on the Top 100.

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In the time since, she has generated hit after hit, each under a new persona depending on the part of the decade it was released. Miley moved away from being kid-friendly in the early 2010s, with rebellious and provocative pop performances in the “Can’t Be Tamed” and the “Bangerz” eras. She then went more conservative, with her country-inspired “Younger Now” era later in the decade. She changed trajectory yet again at the start of the 20s with “Plastic Hearts”, a powerful 80s-inspired rock/pop album.

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Miley has dabbled in quite a few genres with her discography, but her long list of well-done covers fills all the gaps her own songs miss. Her covers of “Heart of Glass”, “Zombie”, “Jolene”, and many more have been very well received.

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By touching nearly all genres with her work, Miley has broadened her reach as far as possible. Because she did a good job doing so, she has positioned herself as someone who can do it all, garnering respect from fans who would otherwise be disinterested.

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Timing & Generating Hype

Miley co-hosted a New Year's special on NBC with her legendary godmother, Dolly Parton. In it, she used her genre-bending talent to perform a set of their classics. This received high ratings and leveraged both fanbases to bring themselves to the top of everyone’s minds again. 

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Additionally, promoting “New Year, New Miley” on social media in an ominous campaign through December ensured that her fans were on the lookout for something big. 

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Flowers was released on January 13th, in an uncompetitive post-holidays lul for new music. These factors combined created a perfect time to fill the new music void, and ride the wave of piqued interest from her promotion and New Year's event.

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Harry’s House & Sound Consistencies

Last year, Harry Styles dominated the charts with “Harry’s House”, and his writer-producers played a huge role in shaping the sound of his album. By sharing two of Harry’s producers on “Endless Summer Vacation”, it is argued by Billboard that Flowers is a continuation of that sound, and it works for Miley. Because of her versatility, she was able to take advantage of and put her spin on the sounds that are popular right now.

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Fan Theories & Personal Influences

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Miley has been no stranger to channelling her struggles into her albums; her infamous relationship with Liam Hemsworth has influenced her music for at least a decade now. 

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“Flowers” does this to the ultimate degree, and its music video got her fans theorizing about apparent ‘easter eggs’, alluding to the drama surrounding the relationship. Naturally, these theories blew up on TikTok and other platforms.

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Everyone loves some celebrity drama. Because Miley’s has been prevalent for so long, these theories have taken off with younger and older fans alike. By not addressing rumours, it has kept fans talking, only expanding the reach of the song.

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Is 2023 Going to be Miley’s Year?

Not much is known about the direction “Endless Summer Vacation” is headed, but Miley has proven before that she can take an album where she wants to. Her distinct vocals and constant exploration has cultivated a vast and diverse fanbase. Additionally, by leveraging her infamous breakup, and using cunning social media tactics, she has only grown the number of people on the lookout for her new music.

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We can only speculate about what Miley’s new era will look like. However, it is safe to predict that it will likely take over the charts.

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