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The Disney Channel produces pop stars much as the USSR churned out chess grandmasters. The television arm of the US’s flagship entertainment company has a highly effective production line in which beaming teen tyros are launched into the charts via kidvid sitcoms. Alumni include Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter — and among the most durable of them all, Miley Cyrus.
At the age of 32, Miley — adapted from Smiley, the nickname she was given as a cheerful tot — has been making records for almost two-thirds of her life. The first came out in 2007 when she played the lead role in Disney’s Hannah Montana. There has been turbulence along the way, such as the lurid shenanigans of her Bangerz era in 2013. But provocations like the video for the monster hit “Wrecking Ball”, with a naked Cyrus astride the titular demolition tool, served a purpose. They were a rite of passage from wholesome Disney stardom to a solo career in pop’s pleasuredome.
Something Beautiful arrives after her biggest hit to date with “Flowers”, the world’s best-selling single in 2023. It’s billed as a visual album, with an accompanying film that will be released in cinemas next month. Like a Malibu shaman, Cyrus speaks of imbuing the project with “healing sound properties” in order “to medicate somewhat of a sick culture through music”. What this translates into is a solid set of songs with filmed performances that resemble MTV promos and perfume adverts.
It opens with Cyrus uttering folderol about beauty and the fleeting nature of things as though launching a celebrity scent. Her huskily powerful voice is shown to better effect in the title track, which stages a dramatic switch from supper-club crooning to rock fireworks. “More to Lose” is a by-the-numbers ballad, elevated by committed vocals and an attractively moody sax part. “Easy Lover” has a familiar but warm disco beat, while “Walk of Fame” heads in a harder electropop direction.
The film shows Cyrus performing the songs with much hair-tossing and catwalk-style strutting. She wears various high-fashion outfits in artful deshabille. Naomi Campbell guests on the one outright misfire, “Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved”, a cringeworthy “Vogue” knock-off. There are no obvious hits à la “Flowers”, but the tracks hold together well as an album. It’s an exercise in slickness and versatility, dressed up as a grand statement.
★★★☆☆
‘Something Beautiful’ is released by Columbia
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