“Where the f**k was I?”: It took Miley Cyrus 17 Years and Eight Studio Albums to be taken Seriously by the Grammys and Singer is Laying It All Bare Now
Regarded as a pop icon, Miley Cyrus’ name is often cited in the list of artists in the industry who have successfully evolved from being a child star to a successful musical icon. Cyrus’ Party in the U.S.A., from her 2009 EP The Times of Our Lives, became one of the best-selling singles of all time and was later certified thirteen times platinum by the RIAA. The singer-songwriter-actress is recognized as one of the most influential artists worldwide.
Miley Cyrus’ 2023 album Endless Summer Vacation is a shift in her music from synth-pop, glam rock, and rock genres to pop and dance-pop. This change was highly appreciated by her fans as well as the critics. The lead single Flowers broke massive records for the artist, along with winning her first Grammy for it. The artist, in an interview, bared her soul on why it took so long for Grammys to recognize her talent.
Miley Cyrus gets real about Grammys recognizing her after two decades
In a recent interview with W Magazine, Miley Cyrus, who won her first Grammy for her eighth studio album Endless Summer Vacation’s lead single Flowers, got real about waiting twenty years for the recognition. She said,
No shade, but I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and this is my first time actually being taken seriously at the Grammys. I’ve had a hard time figuring out what the measurements are, because if we want to talk stats and numbers, then where the f**k was I? And if you want to talk about impact on culture, then where the f**k was I? This is not about arrogance; I am proud of myself.
Flowers earned the Artist Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. Cyrus has only been nominated at the Grammy Awards twice, i.e., in 2015 for Pop Vocal Album for Bangerz, which she lost to Sam Smith, and in 2022 as a part of Lil Nas X’s album Montero.
The singer further shared in her interview about her brilliant performance at the Grammys, where she called out the audience members for not showing enough enthusiasm. She shared,
I wanted it to be a celebration of bravery because I perform out of fear. I didn’t always have the fear of performing that I have now. But going from spending two years alone and seeing no more than one person a day during lockdown to knowing that millions of people watch the Grammys is a big shock to the nervous system. Before I went onstage, right as the curtain was about to lift, I was screaming at the top of my lungs, ‘I am free’.
The performance has over 39 million views on YouTube, with Cyrus adding that her 12-year-old self got to come out and play while her 31-year-old self was in Bob Mackie with big hair.
Miley Cyrus talks about working with Beyoncé
Cyrus was asked about her recent collaboration with Beyoncé on her album Cowboy Carter, to which she said in the W Magazine interview that she wrote the song two years ago and her mother loves it. When Queen Bey reached out to Cyrus, she said she instantly thought of it because the song encompasses their relationship. She said,
I told her, ‘We don’t have to get country; we are country. We’ve been country.’ I said, ‘You know, between you being from Texas and me being from Tennessee, so much of us is going to be in this song.’ Getting to write a song, not just sing, for Beyoncé was a dream come true.
Miley continued to share about the special relationship she shares with Beyoncé, adding that one of the things that they text about is their relationship with their respective mothers. Both of their mothers have been involved in their careers, and Cyrus mentioned that both of them grew up in their way with their moms, who were everything.
My mom was my makeup, hair, seamstress, styling, and tour manager, like the actual manager. The word mother is the most all-encompassing word.
The artist lastly concluded that she loves being an adult, noting that she has a rule that she doesn’t look up or down at anyone; she just looks, which gives her the clarity to see the world for what it is.
