Just when the pop landscape seemed destined for an endless stream of TikTok-optimized snippets, Miley Cyrus throws a glittery curveball that nobody saw coming. Her latest single “End of the World” doesn’t just nod to disco’s golden age — it practically time-travels there, dragging Pink Floyd’s conceptual ambitions along for the ride.
The track’s accompanying video feels like a fever dream conjured up in Studio 54’s heyday. Cyrus, decked out in an emerald sequined number that would make even the most seasoned disco divas do a double-take, commands a minimalist set that somehow manages to feel both retro and distinctly 2025.
Here’s where things get interesting. Rather than tapping the usual suspect producers, Cyrus has assembled an unlikely dream team. Alvvays’ Molly Rankin and Alec O’Hanley — indie rock’s current golden children — have joined forces with Shawn Everett, the sonic architect behind some of Kacey Musgraves’ and Alabama Shakes’ most memorable moments. The result? Something that defies easy categorization.
“Let’s pretend it’s not the end of the world,” she belts in the chorus. It’s the kind of line that hits differently in our current climate — equal parts escapist fantasy and stark reality check. The song, which first surfaced during an intimate Chateau Marmont set last summer, has evolved into something far more ambitious than those early acoustic renditions suggested.
But this single is just the tip of the iceberg. Cyrus’s upcoming album “Something Beautiful” (dropping May 30 via Columbia) apparently aims to be nothing less than a pop culture prescription for our collective malaise. She’s described it as “The Wall, but make it glamorous” — which might sound absurd if anyone else said it. Yet somehow, coming from the artist who’s consistently zigged when everyone expected her to zag, it makes perfect sense.
The whole project’s getting the full treatment, too. Word is there’s a “pop opera” in the works — directed by Cyrus herself alongside Jacob Bixenman and Brendan Walter — scheduled to hit theaters this June. Thirteen original tracks, each with its own visual fantasy… because apparently, regular music videos just won’t cut it anymore.
Fresh off “Endless Summer Vacation,” most pop stars would’ve played it safe. Instead, Cyrus seems dead set on creating something that could either be brilliant or completely bonkers — probably both. With “End of the World,” she’s served up an appetizer that suggests this might be exactly what pop music needs right now: something unafraid to think big, even if it means risking looking ridiculous.
And y’know what? In a landscape of carefully calculated streaming algorithms and focus-grouped hooks, there’s something refreshing about an artist swinging for the fences while wearing sequins.
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