“FLOWERS” BY MILEY CYRUS: TRACK REVIEW

BY LIAM GILLIN (He/Him)

“Wrecking Ball” walked so “Flowers” could run. “Flowers” is the newest single released by Miley Cyrus to promote her newest album Endless Summer Vacation coming out this March. When it comes to Miley Cyrus’s music career, audiences should always expect the unexpected. Her voice is constantly maturing and the sound is always changing. One thing has always been a constant in her music and it’s that she always has sang the truth. She has never shied away from her personal life in her work.

“Flowers” is about her divorce with actor Liam Hemsworth after an on again off again relationship that has spanned over a decade, officially ending in 2019. Interpolating from Bruno Mars “When I Was Your Man,” media outlets and fans have claimed Hemsworth dedicated the 2012 hit to Cyrus. Lyrics include “I can buy myself flowers/Write my name is the sand/Talk to myself for hours,” channeling the new discovery of independence that comes with being newly single after years of being in a committed relationship.

The sounds of Miley Cyrus this time can be described as a soap opera meets disco funk pop ballad. It’s like Gloria Gaynor's “I Will Survive” but much slower and with the pop elements of today. The subtle string section of “Flowers” really brings it all together. Is this the revenge, break up anthem of 2023? Not necessarily because while it makes a great break up song, it is not necessarily the revenge anthem audiences will be looking for. “Flowers” is not about revenge but about moving on and acceptance.

Cyrus sings “I can love me better” over and over. The more she sings it in the song, the louder it gets. Endless Summer Vacation is one of the most anticipated albums of the year so far and if “Flowers” could tell fans anything about what is to come, it’s that Miley Cyrus is about to give fans the self-help album of 2023.