‚Flowers‘ is Miley’s biggest hit in a decade, and finds her opening up about her personal life. Sound familiar?
Miley Cyrus is back on top of the pop charts, and she arrived there with a little help from Taylor Swift.
Not explicitly, mind you. Swift is not credited as a guest or a writer on Cyrus‘ new song „Flowers,“ which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart this week. But her influence, her ethos, is all over it.
That’s because on „Flowers,“ Miley gets personal. She’s spilling details of her love life and her relationship and inviting fans to be a part of her narrative, which is a formula Swift has perfected better than any other modern pop artist.
And as social media and current trends have made everyone’s story an open book, artists are sharing more of themselves, and are reaping the rewards from fans who feel like they’re on the inside, cozying up to their besties each time they listen to a new song.
Let’s back up. „Flowers,“ the first track from Miley’s forthcoming „Endless Summer Vacation,“ is the 30-year-old’s first No. 1 single in a decade and only the second chart-topper of her career. She got there previously with „Wrecking Ball,“ which spent three non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 in 2013, two weeks before and one week after Lorde’s nine-week „Royals“ run.
The years in between saw her swing and miss with several attempts, and by the time 2020’s „Plastic Hearts“ album failed to produce a Top 10 hit, it looked like Miley’s hitmaking days were behind her, and she had a long, respectable career as a covers artist and a New Year’s Eve host ahead of her.
But then she planted „Flowers“ and came roaring back, and that’s where Swift comes into play.
„Flowers“ is largely seen as Miley’s kiss-off to her ex-husband, Liam Hemsworth, from whom she split in 2019.
