5 YEARS AGO 'WE CAN'T STOP' BY MILEY CYRUS WAS NUMBER 1 IN LOS40
The song that marked a before and after
If we talk about a period of five years it does not seem too much but if we analyze that stretch of time in the life of Miley Cyrus ... It is a world! The return that he has given her since 2013, which was a definitive year for her. She marked a before and after both in her musical career and in her personal life.
It was the year she released Bargerz, the first album on a different label than the previous three that she had released under the Hannah Montana umbrella. A break with her Disney girl stage and a vindication of her own personality that was marked by controversy.
And the first single from that album was We can't stop, which on October 5, 2013 reached No. 1 on the LOS40 list. And she didn't do it by chance. Her impact on the entire world was decisive in achieving this achievement. Who doesn't remember her performance at the MTV Video Music Awards that summer?
First single
We can't stop was the first single from Miley's fourth album. She had changed record companies and had been announcing for a while that she was going to show herself as she was. It was time to position ourselves and there was a lot of expectation to know where the shots would go.
Party in the USA (2009) already revealed a more carefree and fun aspect of the singer but it was nothing compared to what was to come.
At the 2013 Billboard Music Awards she announced that she had a single ready for this premiere. “I'm so excited,” she expressed at the time, “I feel like I can be myself. I feel like I can express it better now in my music.
Already at that time she announced that this new stage was beginning at the hands of Mike WiLL-Made It, the producer of We ca n’t stop. “We came together and it really turned out to be a perfect solo and exactly what I wanted and it's exactly what I wanted as my first sound and my first look. I think it is an important message for me and for my fans who did not stop waiting, so, it is great, "he added at the time.
The choice of producer already made it clear to us that the pop that she had displayed in her Disney stage of hers was going to acquire certain more urban features.
It was the producer who explained to us that the subject, initially, was not intended for her. “When I initially worked on We Can’t Stop, we had done it for Rihanna. The idea was more towards her, but he listened to Pour it up and, immediately, chose it without even having listened to We can't stop, "he explained in an interview with MTV.
Far from letting her die in a drawer, he began to spin it and thought it would be a good song for Miley Cyrus and this turn that she wanted to give in her career. She accepted it and made some changes to the lyrics.
A video with attitude
With the song came a video that also caused a stir. In that break with Disney, Miley wanted to show a much more provocative and hooligan profile and that is what we found at the party that she threw for the images that accompanied the song.
It was directed by Diane Martel whom she met through Pharrell Williams with whom she had worked at the time. It was recorded in Silicon Valley (California) in three days and showed images that made an impact such as the piñata from which joints came out or the combination of twerk with teddy bears.
The most sexualized version of Miley earned her a lot of criticism but it also helped her gain many followers who valued her authenticity, her risk in breaking so radically with the above and transgressing through sex, something that had worked very well for other artists like Madonna.
What is clear is that she scandalized many mothers who had seen her daughters grow up seeing an innocent and responsible Hannah Montana and who now had a totally different character as a reference.
MTV Video Music Awards 2013
The culminating moment of that year, which is now part of popular culture and the most rebellious imagery in music, was her performance in these awards that were handed out in August of that year.
Her performance was a mash-up that began with her theme, linked with Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines that they sang together and ended with Give it 2 by 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar in which she had already disappeared from the scene. .
Although the organization had censored the parts of the lyrics that spoke of ecstasy and cocaine, it seems that they gave him a free hand in sexual expression. And boy did he take advantage of it.
She came out on stage from inside a giant teddy bear (mixing that childish character of these dolls with her recently released new and transgressive image) dressed in a striking bodysuit, two bowties and her tongue sticking out, something that began to become one of their most recognizable hallmarks.
If from the beginning he showed a total disinhibition with his body, the thing increased when he shared the stage with Thicke. The tone was rising and the sexual nature of her performance caused serious faces from the audience. That image of her twerking with him behind her, glued to her, is part of the musical history of the 21st century.
With that performance, she managed to break a record that Beyoncé held during her performance in the Super Bowl, the number of tweets per minute that, during Miley's performance, amounted to 306,000.
A principle of impact
Of course, Miley managed to break with her inner stage, according to some, in a too abrupt way. According to others, knowing well the meaning of the term show. That performance on MTV was commented on during the following weeks in all kinds of forums.
To some it produced a great rejection but to others it discovered a young woman who had a very clear speech and little fear to show it.
Something that, as I said, we had already seen in Madonna that surely was a good reference for her. In fact, when a year later she recorded Unplugged, the two dressed up as cowgirls to sing this song together and the queen of pop's Do n’t tell me. It was a way of giving her public support like she had already done ten years before with Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears.
That rebellious and sexualized image of Miley was what we saw from that moment on and far from diminishing, she grew as she published songs like Wrecking ball with a video in which she appeared completely naked. Seeing her without clothes and making an apology for drugs, began to be a constant.
What we do not know is if that influenced the cancellation of her engagement with Liam Hems worth that same 2013. Without a doubt, her life took a total turnaround in all aspects. For a couple of years they have been together again and Miley's public display has already dropped. What awaits us now? You never know.
