Photo: WENN.com
Miley, Miley, Miley. She's been written about so much for the past few weeks that if she was to suddenly disappear in a puff of blunt smoke it seems that no one would have anything to talk about anymore.
The whole debacle has reached a certain fever pitch in the past few days, with older and wiser (ahem) musical peers Sinead O'Connor, Annie Lennox and Amanda Palmer wading into the already over-congested waters. O'Connor pleaded with Cyrus not to let the music industry 'prostitute' her. Miley wasn't impressed, sparking a further onslaught of bloody open letters from O'Connor (they're all over the internet, go read them). Can't they just email each other?
The 'sexualisation of females in music' debate has been bubbling furiously for a while now, with Rihanna, Beyonce, and Katy Perry having previously been the subject of outraged essays about how said artists are terrible role models for young girls. However, it has a whole new poster girl in the form of squeaky-clean Disney actress turned twerking, tongue-bothering, Robin Thicke-grinding (hey, someone's got to do it) adult popstar, Miley Cyrus.
This transformation has apparently ruffled many a feather, with (in descending order of fame) Jay-Z, Cher, Brooke Shields, Pink, Kelly Clarkson, Bill O'Reilly, a So You Think You Can Dance judge, and Robin Thicke's MOTHER all criticising Cyrus for her drastic image change. Many are hailing her as 'out of control', or having a mental breakdown, or on drugs. What's sadly and commonly known as 'doing a Britney', basically.
But that is exactly the opposite of what Miley Cyrus is doing. It's probably the most brilliantly executed musical metamorphosis in history, and Cyrus is the mastermind behind it all, at the tender age of 20 (with a little help from mum and dad). The transition from Disney starlet to grown-up musician was never going to be easy, so why not just be as unsubtle and in-your-face about it as possible? Cyrus' newfound 'outrageous rebel' status has slowly been drip fed into the public consciousness - we were shocked when fuzzy photos surfaced of her holding a bong, now we barely blink an eye at her flashing a large percentage of her vagina for creep photographer extraordinaire Terry Richardson.
Twerking dwarves? All part of the plan
That performance with Robin Thicke at the VMAs? The naked, unstoppable juggernaut that is the Wrecking Ball video? Part. Of. The. Plan. And it's working, because we're all talking about it - and she's set to score a UK chart double this week with single 'Wrecking Ball' and album Bangerz.
The 'Wrecking Ball' video amassed the most YouTube plays in a single day for any video ever, garnering a colossal 20 million views in 24 hours. All controversial roads have been leading to album Bangerz, which shot to number one on iTunes as soon as it was released. If the girl was busy developing an addiction to prescription pills, she wouldn't be constantly performing shows, hosting episodes of SNL and er, appearing on Alan Carr.
Amanda Palmer nailed it in her own open letter on the O'Connor/Cyrus debacle, saying: "Miley is, from what I can gather, in charge of her own show. She’s writing the plot and signing the checks, and although I think it’s tempting to imagine her in the board room of label assholes and management, I don’t think any of them masterminded her current plan to be a raging, naked, twerking sexpot. I think that’s All Miley All The Way."
Which is why it feels a little patronising for other older musicians such as Cher, Annie Lennox and O'Connor to bestow their advice upon her, when girlfriend has got the shrewdest business mind on the planet right now. She's not going to change her carefully-honed career plan for anyone, so all you can do is give her a tiny bit of credit, right? Guys?
