Younger Now

''Younger Now'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Miley Cyrus. It was released on September 29, 2017, by RCA Records. Cyrus began planning a commercial follow-up record to her fourth album '' Bangerz'' while simultaneously making her experimental fifth album ''Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz'' in 2015, although later became influenced by her reconciliation with fiancé Liam Hemsworth in 2016. ''Younger Now'' was written and produced by Cyrus and Oren Yoel, with whom she had collaborated on her previous two full-lengths. Not concerning herself with radio airplay, their efforts resulted in an "honest" final product that sees Cyrus "leaning into her roots." It features guest vocals from singer Dolly Parton, Cyrus' godmother. Musically, it is a country pop and pop rock record.

''Younger Now'' received mixed reviews from music critics, who felt that the songwriting and production lacked substance. It debuted at number five on the US ''Billboard'' 200. " Malibu" and " Younger Now" were released as singles, with the former track being certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and peaking at number ten on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Looking to remove herself from the provocative reputation she had developed while promoting ''Bangerz'' and ''Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz'', promotional efforts for ''Younger Now'' associated Cyrus with an increasingly conservative image. She performed during several television programs, including the ''Billboard'' Music Awards and MTV Video Music Awards, before stating the month following the release of the album that she would neither release any further singles from the record nor tour for it, so she could focus on her work on ''The Voice''.

Background and development

After a three-year break from music, Cyrus released her fourth album '' Bangerz'' in 2013. She worked with mainstream producers to attract new listeners, and developed a sexually provocative image, which is credited with reviving Cyrus' career and turning her into a pop music icon. She followed that with a psychedelic album, ''Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz'', which was released for free on SoundCloud in 2015. It received mixed reviews, and Cyrus generated accusations of cultural appropriation for her wearing dreadlocks during promotional activities for the album. Cyrus also came out as pansexual in 2015, nearly a year after establishing the Happy Hippie Foundation to support homeless and LGBT youth.

Cyrus became a coach on ''The Voice'' in 2016, and spent time campaigning for Hillary Clinton during the presidential election after Bernie Sanders, the candidate Cyrus originally endorsed, lost the Democratic nomination to Clinton. Cyrus admitted to being saddened by Clinton's loss and the strong political divide of the nation, and decided to return to her country roots and wholesome image to try to reach out to conservatives.

Two weeks before ''Younger Now'' was released, Cyrus stated that she was "over he album and was "already two songs deep on the next one," which would become the EP ''She Is Coming'' (2019). In December 2018, Cyrus acknowledged that the musical direction of ''Younger Now'' "wasn't exactly the home for er and credited producer Mark Ronson with " elping hercarve out ersound, where hecould do everything that he wanted which is more modern" for the follow-up record. She later stated that elements of the follow-up album could be related to the "country-influenced things that hedid on ''Younger Now''."

Composition

''Younger Now'' is considered a country pop and pop rock record. It written by Cyrus and Oren Yoel, with whom Cyrus first collaborated on the ''Bangerz'' track " Adore You" in 2013.

Promotion

Release

Cyrus' then-untitled sixth studio album was first discussed in a '' Billboard'' cover story published in May 2017. On August 7, she announced that the record would be titled ''Younger Now'' and would be released on September 29. It was made available for preorder on August 18. The album was available on CD, digital download, and streaming on the release date; a vinyl pressing followed on February 9, 2018.

Singles

The lead single " Malibu" was announced on May 3, 2017, and released with its music video on May 11. It debuted at number 64 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and peaked at number ten the following week. The track was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in January 2019. The second and final single, title track " Younger Now", was released with its music video on August 18. It peaked at number 79 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Promotional singles " Inspired" and " Week Without You" were released on June 9 and September 21, respectively. On October 30, Cyrus confirmed there would be no further singles and that she would not be touring in support of ''Younger Now''.

Live performances

Cyrus first performed the album's lead single, "Malibu", at Wango Tango on May 13. She sang "Malibu" again at the ''Billboard'' Music Awards and ''The Voice'' on May 21 and 22, respectively. She performed the song again on ''The Today Show'' on May 26 as a part of their Citi Concert series. That same day, she also made a surprise guest appearance on ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' to promote her musical guest spot on '' Late Night with Seth Meyers'' later that night. Cyrus was also a performer at the One Love Manchester benefit concert on June 4. Cyrus performed "Malibu" and "Inspired" on ''Fallon'' on June 14. On August 22, Cyrus launched a website, youngernow.com, where fans could upload photos onto the artwork of the "Younger Now" single. On August 27, Cyrus performed "Younger Now" for the first time at the MTV Video Music Awards. On September 7, Cyrus performed the song on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show''.

From October 2 to October 6, Cyrus made appearances on ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' and performed "Week Without You". On November 4, she performed "Bad Mood" and "I Would Die for You" on ''Saturday Night Live''.

Critical reception

At Metacritic, ''Younger Now'' received a weighted score of 58 out of 100 from review aggregate website Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews", based on 17 reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave ''Younger Now'' 3.5 stars out of 5, saying the album "seems slightly scattered as it flits from song to song, it nevertheless adds up to a portrait of a pop star so confident of her swagger, she doesn't bother with such niceties as old-fashioned flow." Dave Simpson of ''The Guardian'' opined, "On ''Younger Now'', she has taken control of the songwriting and production and emerges as a conservative, big-lunged, country-tinged pop star with songs about breaking free." ''Pitchfork'' writer Claire Lobenfeld rated the album 4.7 out of 10, citing "Bland production and weak songwriting hamstring the personalized nature of ''Younger Now'', making it merely a suggestion of the kind of artist Miley Cyrus could be." '' Spin''s Jordan Sargent called ''Younger Now'' Cyrus' "least honest album ever", further stating: "Where her past albums felt messy but painfully sincere, ''Younger Now'' comes off as safe and overly sanitized, with the frisson that made Cyrus a star all but entirely blasted away." '' Billboard'' highlighted the progressive nature of one of the tracks, "She's Not Him", by saying it legitimizes bisexual and pansexual identities.

In November 2018, Mike Wass from Idolator commented that ''Younger Now'' was "a potent reminder that you don't need dozens of collaborators and an A&R team the size of Texas to make an excellent pop album" despite not being "the sequel to ''Bangerz'' that er fanbasesecretly wanted" and not having "obvious singles." He felt that the title track combined the "pop hooks and meme-friendly lyrics" of "Malibu" with the "mood and emotion" of the album, and "holds up as a warm ray of light in Miley's discography" whose underwhelming performance was inexplicable.

Controversy

Cyrus' comments on growing distant from hip hop culture in her ''Billboard'' cover story sparked controversy in May 2017. That month, she clarified that " herespects all artists who speak their truth and appreciate all genres of music" and elaborated on her preference for "uplifting, conscious rap", citing Kendrick Lamar as an example, over the sex- and materialism-based lyrics that she explained "pushed erout of the hip-hop scene a little" in the article. Cyrus issued another apology in the comments of a YouTube video titled "Miley Cyrus Is My Problematic Fav...Sorry" in June 2019, where she wrote that " hefucked up and hesincerely apologizes" and expressed regret that " erwords became a divider in a time where togetherness and unity is crucial."

Commercial performance

''Younger Now'' debuted at number five on the US ''Billboard'' 200 with first-week figures of 45,000 album-equivalent units, of which 33,000 were traditional sales. It placed behind Shania Twain's ''Now'' (137,000 units), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' ''Greatest Hits'' (84,000 units), Demi Lovato's '' Tell Me You Love Me'' (74,000 units), and A Boogie wit da Hoodie's '' The Bigger Artist'' (67,000 units). The charting earned Cyrus her eleventh top-ten entry in the United States, including material she recorded as Hannah Montana, and marked her first entry there since ''Bangerz'' debuted at number one in 2013. In its second week on the chart, ''Younger Now'' fell to number 36.

''Younger Now'' debuted at number eight on the UK Albums Chart with 10,024 copies sold in its first week, becoming her fifth top 10 album in the United Kingdom. It also became her fourth top 10 album in Australia after '' Breakout'' (which topped the charts), '' Can't Be Tamed'' (which reached number four), and '' Bangerz'' (which also reached the top position), entering at number two on the ARIA Albums Chart. The record became her eighth overall top 10 entry in Canada, combining both music under her real name and while performing as the character Hannah Montana, debuting at number three in the country.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Miley Cyrus. All music and production by Cyrus and Oren Yoel, with additional songwriting from Dolly Parton on "Rainbowland".

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.

* Miley Cyrus – vocals, writer, producer, executive producer, art direction, design
* Oren Yoel – producer, writer, instrumentation, horn arrangements, string arrangements
* Dolly Parton – vocals, writer
* Jamie Arentzen – guitar
* Jaco Caraco – guitar
* Nicole Row – bass
* Paul Dateh – violin
* Jerry Johnson – cello
* Matt Walker – cello
* Taylor Andrew Covey – trombone
* Antoine Séverman – fiddle
* Adam Wolf – French horn
* Harris Majors Ostrander – trumpet
* Paul Franklin – pedal steel
* Stacy Jones – drum, musical director
* Doran Dina – engineer
* Tom Rutledge – vocal engineer
* Paul David Hager – mixing, engineer
* Manny Marroquin – mixing
* Chris Galland – mixing engineer
* Jeff Fitzpatrick – assistant engineer
* Scott Moore – assistant engineer
* Mark Ralston – assistant engineer
* Scott Desmarais – mixing assistant
* Robin Florent – mixing assistant
* Dave Kutch – mastering
* Pres Rodriguez – art direction, design
* Olivia Malone – cover art, photography
* Brian Bowen-Smith – photography
* Liam Hemsworth – photography
* Ryan Kenny – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

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{{Authority control

2017 albums
Miley Cyrus albums
RCA Records albums
Country pop albums
Country albums by American artists