World News – GB – Every Miley Cyrus Cover, Ranked

Disney star turned Eternal Title Maker Miley Cyrus has long recognized the power of a good cover And she had the voice to back it up – a voice that can easily cross pop, rock, country and soul While she has been recording covers since the late 2000s, she made it a more intentional staple of her repertoire with her YouTube series Backyard Sessions, which debuted with three favorite covers fans in 2012 and returned to popular demand in 2015 with even more, with a few guests. She has also found success in other venues, from BBC Radio 1’s “Live Lounge” to the stage of The Tonight Show in through tributes and cover compilations (Not to mention her live shows, where she regularly releases new covers on behalf of fan service) With a new cover of Blondie’s « Heart of Glass » streaming (again, at the request of fans) and a “Backyard Sessions” special on MTV Unplugged premieres on October 16, it’s a great time to revisit the highs and lows of Cyrus’ cover discography (In the name of setting the boundaries, we stick to the covers officially released, meaning no live bootlegs)

It’s hard to systematically determine what makes a Cyrus cover great. Sometimes he chooses the perfect song for the moment; others, he brings a left-wing song to a new audience or gives it new meaning. Sometimes he sings the song that shows the best outlines of his voice; others are distorting songs that just shouldn’t work the way she wants But a great swing can’t always be a success Many of Cyrus’ misses often have the makings of her great covers and end up failing for them. reasons that others succeeded: a vocal performance played too directly or too outside the lines; a song choice that either makes her disappoint or ends up sounding empty Either way, her best and worst covers are rarely interesting Here are all of Miley Cyrus’ covers, ranked

41 « Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds » (The Beatles) with Flaming Lips and Moby, with a little help from My Fwends The Beatles’ frenetic cover album from Flaming Lips is chaotic, and the participation of Cyrus has virtually nothing to do with it This fuzzy take on the song just sounds terrible, Cyrus giving the most absent vocal performance she has ever sung

40 « Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah » (Song of the South), Disneymania 4 Few things made me happier that Cyrus finally left Disney than his terrible revival of the great success of one of the most racist films in society

Making a pop cover with a section of chains is a gimmick in itself; singing to « vibin » while you are only supported by a string section is just plain silly

Well done, this unique turtle wonder is light and floaty Cyrus does the opposite with another verified, almost dismal voice – with abandoning that awesome horn part

37 “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” (Robert Hazard), Breakout Maybe Cyrus might pull off a better cover of that Cyndi Lauper hit today, but she couldn’t shake Disney in her 2008 performance

Cyrus loves to cover a topical song, but that choice – which at first glance suited his Happy Hippy Foundation well – backfired. Joan Jett’s original performance is quite lukewarm, and the lyrics in make a pretty thin hymn (« Look, they treat you brutally, but you’re pretty tough, and we’re all different ») Switching to the acoustics degrades the song the rest of the time, though Cyrus still tries to sing it like a rock song full of strength

Doing a simple acoustic cover of this song just reveals that, sorry, it’s kinda boring Points awarded for Cyrus playing the lyrics at every opportunity; points deducted for his cries out of nowhere at the end

34 “Crimson & Clover” (Tommy James and the Shondells) with Joan Jett, Tommy James and Dave Grohl; 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction It was probably a good thing that Cyrus’ voice was lower in the mix so that his belt didn’t totally blow original performer Tommy James out of the water. is nice to see Cyrus running for his icon, Joan Jett

Of course, Cyrus doesn’t add much to this coverage, but it gave Grace the platform for an important message Cyrus has always had a keen sense of when to move forward and when to step back when performing with others, and this is a prime example of the latter

Cyrus performs her godmother’s torchlight song very well, but without great vocal moments and with the band that sometimes leads her, this is the weakest of her three original covers of Backyard Sessions She was a bit looser when ‘she joined Dolly Parton for the song at a Hallmark event in 2010 and ultimately gave the song the belt it deserved with Parton during her 2019 Grammys tribute, but oddly enough, Cyrus’ best overall performance would have could be with Parton and Pentatonix on The Voice in 2016

31 “Sleigh Ride” (standard), Spotify Singles 30 “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” (standard), Spotify Singles There are precisely no surprises in either of these Christmas performances, for better or for worse

29 « A Day in the Life » (the Beatles) with the Flaming Lips and New Fumes, With a Little Help of My Fwends This cover of the Beatles is less odious than the other team of Cyrus Flaming Lips, even tolerable when this is her bridge It just adds a little humanity, which is sorely lacking in the rest of the cover

28 « Every Rose Has Its Thorn » (Poison), Can’t Be TamedCyrus gives it all while singing this power ballad, but the drum track and stiff guitar solo behind it makes it all sappy – barely suitable for an album called Can’t Be Tamed

27 « The Bitch Is Back », Restoration: The Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin Many Cyrus fans who stumbled upon this cover outside of the compilation album thought it was an original, and that sounds like something she would do, doesn’t it? Its country version works surprisingly, but it doesn’t inject it with as much attitude as the original John If Cyrus wrote the thing, that would be more underwhelming, but on the cover it’s still pretty fun. >

26 « Part of Your World » (The Little Mermaid), Disneymania 5Cyrus was already a little punk in 2007 when she launched on, uh, the ballad of The Little Mermaid Under that layer of stickiness that a Disney Channel cover is bound to have, it’s fun and playful, a delicious little clue of where she would end up going

25 “You’re Going to Make Me Alone When You Go” (Bob Dylan) with Johnzo West, Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty InternationalCyrus tweaks this Bob Dylan cover and sneaks in some big notes in the process, but otherwise plays pretty straightforward It’s not a memorable cover (especially when it comes to Dylan), but it’s a nonetheless engaged performance of the song

This Pink Floyd cover is a Rorschach test for your thoughts on the band themselves Les aime? You’ll be in Cyrus’s faithful interpretation of a suitable ballad amid pandemic lockdown. Hate them? You’ll think it’s a dragging rendition of one of their simpler songs

23 « Heart of Glass » (Blondie), single There is almost a hypnotic quality to Debbie Harry’s original performance of Blondie’s first and best hit – her powerful whisper made « Heart of Glass » such crossover feat, connecting the disparate worlds of punk and disco with an intricate song Cyrus throws disco out the window for his raw performance of the song, which was streamed by popular demand after making his debut at a festival in fanless iHeart music For me, his screams in the verses shatter the wonder of the song, even though it is one of Cyrus’ most whimsical performances. That’s the thing: she could’ve done justice to a bigger Blondie song (I know she can burn « One Way or Another »), and she also has the vocals for a traditional « Heart of Glass » cover. , but she remains the hell- determined to stay original It’s hard to blame her

Cyrus gives her cover more groove than the Beatles original, but her husky voice isn’t entirely cheerful with such a realistic song, and she overdo it with the belt in the chorus But we know all that she really chose this song, performed for special COVID-19 relief, for the title alone, right?

Cyrus couldn’t have chosen a song more perfectly on the nose, in keeping with the 80s influences of her latest single « Midnight Sky », and which she dedicated to her « future ex-husband » a few weeks after confirming her breakup with Cody Simpson Otherwise, it’s a good preview of a playful song that gets carried away a bit at the end

20 « Head Like a Hole » (Nine Inch Nails), Black Mirror It can be hard to tell how hard we are supposed to think a TV musical performance actually is: Is Cyrus just covering Nine Inch Nails on her Black Mirror episode for now, or did she really want us to enjoy it? But if his song as Ashley O was classified, then let’s give this performance its due too Cyrus gives a punk touch to « Head Like a Hole » with a nice effect, and after releasing some great hard rock covers during of his Bangerz tour, it’s great to hear him growl again

19 « Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me » (Elton John), Revamp: The Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin The bar is high for one of the best songs of Elton John, who has known a second life 15 years after its release thanks to a cover duet by George Michael It’s a vocal mammoth and a lyrical masterpiece; Cyrus takes up the challenge by giving a performance as large and poignant as possible Like Michael’s performance, I’m sure it would be a stunning live, but here the medium feels a bit too contrived and schmaltzy

One of Cyrus’ strengths as an artist is channeling the emotion of a moment into a spontaneous reaction, like this cover, performed just days after Tom Petty’s death. What begins as an interpretation low-key enough of this simple Petty ballad turns into a poignant free fall as Cyrus taps his belt Having his father on the stand only sweetens the whole moment

When Cyrus finally gets the chance to play with John himself, she doesn’t take it for granted.She’s perfectly theatrical alongside the bona fide showman, and her voice makes up for the range John has lost after 50 years. of performance Yet it does not eclipse it, but accentuates its best parts for a loving tribute

16 “New York State of Mind” (Billy Joel) with Billy Joel, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon

15 “Those Four Walls” (Cheyenne Kimball), BreakoutCyrus had excellent coverage under her belt even before she was 16, while still linked to Disney and Hannah Montana It was awesome back then , and all the more so now that he still keeps the rest of his catalog

14 “Man of Constant Sorrow” (Soggy Bottom Boys), AFI Life Achievement Award: a tribute to George Clooney

Remember Mrs. Miley Cyrus can act and boy is she playing her performance of O Brother’s signature song, Where Art Thou ?, one of George Clooney’s most absurd and beloved credits , to the American Film Institute’s tribute to the star She’s in costume, she owns the stage, she jokes with the audience, and she sells this song better than the Soggy Bottom Boys ever did Clooney Eats Everything So

Paul Simon wrote this song as a fun, low-stakes game, and Cyrus plays it in his cover, giving it that twangy swing that she can effortlessly add to a performance It’s even more exciting in front of an audience (including Simon himself) for Saturday Night Live’s 40th anniversary special – Cyrus shows off some jaw-dropping vocals, growls and belts, all in just three minutes

12 “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” starring Mark Ronson and Sean Ono Lennon, the vocals of singleCyrus pulls all that is dark and distressed out of one of the saddest Christmas carols ever written, and this ending presents one of her finest moans I beg her just for her and Sean Ono Lennon to have a chance to play it for free with Mark Ronson and his synths once

11 “Baby I’m in the Mood for You” (Bob Dylan) with The Roots, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon

Cyrus never made the sound of the belts as easy as she does for Dylan with the roots One second she grooves with the band, then she moans the whole chorus, then she has little chats with the audience as if it was nothing – only to redo everything for the end

Take it to the limit – Dedicated to my mom The Eagles were my favorite Mammies band and my mom grew up singing this song in the car with her mom! It’s in honor of my grandmother ❤️ photoTwittercom / ywTjFbVSoW

Are the Eagles supposed to look this emotional? Regardless of how you feel about the band, it’s pretty hard to deny that Cyrus made this song into a special moment, as a tribute to his grandmother, who passed away days before She makes it a powerful rock ballad that sounds as classic as the ‘original, supported by one of the best arrangements and performances of his band

Without Cyrus, this little-known Dido song would have remained a soft-spoken break-up song, but she made it her canvas when she dedicated her performance Backyard Sessions to Leelah Alcorn, a transgender teenager who died by suicide on the last year For this performance, she made the song a sweet and heartfelt elegy, letting the simple chorus speak for itself. When she revisited it in 2017 on The Tonight Show, the day after filming for Route 91 Harvest, she made it a passionate call to action – you can hear angst and frustration in her voice equally.

There’s a similar attitude between Bangerz-era Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey’s early ’10 character, which makes this cover look like it was concocted in a lab. already stood out among the early tracks of Del Rey as one of the most dynamic, but Cyrus has multiplied its peaks and valleys, emotionally and sonically And who else would dare to blow up that bridge like that?

7 « Look what they did to my song » (Melanie), Backyard Sessions 2012; with Melanie Safka, Backyard Sessions 2015

Cyrus performed an excellent cover of this song already in 2012, so much so that Melanie herself joined Backyard Sessions for her next iteration Then she took miles further the second time around, singing as if words had took on new meaning for her over the next three years But Melanie was there to keep things from getting too serious; she releases a verse in French, making Cyrus laugh like no other duo partner

6 “The first time I saw your face” (Roberta Flack), BBC Radio 1 “Live Lounge”

When choosing covers, Cyrus doesn’t choose notoriously huge singers, like Whitney Houston or Aretha Franklin She’s an Unchallenged Old Soul, which means her cover of Roberta Flack fits the bill perfectly and is the most intimidating song ever. she ever took Cyrus keeps the song as delicate as Flack wanted, singing purposefully as if the whole song would crumble if one note was out of tune It’s a treat to hear his voice shake in parts of this performance, but when she makes it to the final it’s a reminder that she’s still the same confident Miley Cyrus

This cover’s Backyard Sessions take is the definition of casual, with Cyrus and Ariana Grande wearing jumpsuits and hanging out like longtime friends, chatting during instrumental hiatus and erasing their lines Their chemistry is alone is like a Serotonin kick They’re a good musical match too: Grande’s silky voice balances Cyrus’ smokier tone When they relaunched the cover of Grande’s « One Love Manchester » concert, it took on new meaning as a song. of resilience, even if it provided an essential moment of lightness

She doesn’t take a verse or a chorus to herself, but Cyrus is the glue that holds this cover, of one of the best songs ever written. Her joy is infectious when she harmonizes with two of her hero, rock icon Joan Jett and Against Me! From Laura Jane Grace Finally, Cyrus turns to passionate cries that should make Paul Westerberg proud; a month later, when she came out as a flowing genre, fans would know what the words really meant to her

Cyrus wasn’t even old enough to drink when she delivered what may well be the definitive take of this 62-year-old standard – surpassing Eartha Kitt and Nina Simone Her voice is as haunting as the elixir on which she sings, but she performs with unparalleled control, pushing and pulling the notes to a huge and jaw-dropping finale

Condolences to Billie Eilish, because not only did Cyrus sing this song the way she wrote it, but she made it a masterclass in restraint His raspy belt makes the song sound bigger than you can imagine. would never have imagined, before she reinstated her voice for smooth passages of this string The belief she brings to each line allows Cyrus to make Eilish’s Anthem for a Generation at the Crossroads his own, turning it into a statement from an oft-misunderstood artist entering the next stage of her career. career

You can see from Cyrus’ face how excited she is to sing along with Melanie, a 60s folk icon that she first covered in 2012 Or you can hear it after the second chorus of « Peace Will Come », when Cyrus sings with a religious fervor she has never quite equaled before or since This is the highlight of this performance, but hearing Cyrus and Melanie gently pose the song is impressive in itself, because their voices blend together like the intergenerational soul sisters they are Listening to her is living a perfect minute of peace they sing about

* A version of this article appears in the October 12, 2020 issue of New York Magazine Subscribe Now!

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Miley Cyrus