What other pop stars should learn from Miley Cyrus

“Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions)” is a hustler to Miley Cyrus’ new album: a framework that heralds the worst in terms of banality, hypocrisy and boredom. Instead this 42 minute special which combines live performances, documentary cut and behind the scenes it demonstrates how much the little girl behind Hannah Montana has grown into a self-aware woman and artist.

Let’s start with a bit of history: the tradition of “Backyard Sessions”, the live sessions with which the American singer mixes classics and hits from her repertoire, dates back to 2012. Initially it is a treat for very young enthusiasts. Shortly after the adult world she discovers the former Disney singer in her sexy and destructive phase of her, in the transformation of her into “Wrecking Ball”.

Brief history of Backyard Sessions

In retrospect the Backyard Sessions were a crucial step for the artist’s credibility. In his period of scandals, excesses and provocations, they built the alternative image of a solid and charismatic live singer,

with multifaceted and sometimes unexpected musical tastes. A bit of Pearl Jam, the ever-present Britney Spears and the Cardigans alongside her hits before and after Hannah Montana’s bigwig.

Meanwhile Miley Cyrus changes as many musical styles as haircuts, enters and leaves a ten-year marriage known more for public disagreements than for its solidity. In the background there are always her Backyard Sessions. I am an impossible union between the‘intimacyto with which Miley and a handful of backing vocalists and musicians sing her songs live from the backyard and an always high-level production, who takes care of every minimal aesthetic and photographic detail of those courtyards.

MTV, Apple and Disney are interested in the project, which then explodes during the pandemic. Giocoforza inserts both the desire for a less mediated and more emotional contact with the enclosed public, and the impossibility of having a production at the top, not to mention the ban on any type of live concert. At the center of her is always Miley, with her stage animal charisma, her instantly recognizable voice, her ability to handle live performances and interviews.

In Miley Cyrus’ backyard

Let’s go back to 2023, the year in which not a week goes by without a local or international pop star or singer-songwriter promising to tell us about himself through a documentary, a film, a series that replenish the streaming catalogs. Just in the last couple of months we talked about Elodie on Prime Video and of Bono and the Edge on Disney+two of the most emblematic and successful titles of a long list of possible visions from the sofa at home.

“Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions)” certainly fits into this vein, but it does so with the charisma el‘uniquenessto of‘artist behind it. One that, even when he completely misses a record, still takes it on stage making sparks.

Since “Endless Summer Vacation” is anything but a glaring mistake, the documentary attached to this EP is particularly relevant, amplifying its reverberation. The impression is that, after experimenting and having fun, the pop star has decided to become relevant again, central to the music scene. The radio and social success of “Flowers” and “River” confirms it.

The idea behind “Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions)” is to move away from celebratory documentaries or intimate stories, fusing a live performance of 8 of the album’s 13 tracks with a short commentary on each piece, its origins and meaning.

Visually “Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions)” serves as connection between the singles and their video clips. The live session is in fact recorded right in the villa where the “Flowers” video clip is set. The production with a sober cut is actually very studied. Dollies and close-ups of the singer almost always hidden behind the sunglasses alternate in a montage that brings out the best – visually speaking – of the location with the Los Angeles hills in the background.

Each piece sees a visual composition and a slightly different set: “River” is sung on the roof of the villa, “Jaded” on a reflecting platform near the swimming pool, “Wonder Woman” inside a hall with only the accompaniment of the piano.

The real life behind Miley Cyrus’ endless summer

“For me this is like the Cinderella’s glass slipper: fits my identity as a person and an artist perfectly,” Miley comments at the opening of the special, where she tells the personal stories behind the songs.

We talk about how “Thousand Miles” was born as a reaction to the suicide of a close friend’s sister, then Miley explains how “Wonder Woman” is inspired by the feminine strength that unites three generations of her family: her recently deceased grandmother who managed her fan club, her mother Tish (with whom she filmed the video clip “Mother’s Daughter”) and finally her.

The feminine and feminist discourse is central but, Miley explains, it’s because her songs are descriptive. The sheets soaked in lemonade, the French manicure that takes her back to her successful years, the flowers left by her ex. Sensory snapshots of what she sees around her.

The only concession to the past is when Miley Cyrus sings “The Climb”, which now seems like another song compared to the one included in the soundtrack of “Hannah Montana: The Movie”. Miley Cyrus’ climb, after a wrecked marriage, is more heartfelt and personal, mature.

The two most awaited pieces arrive at the end. In the meantime day fades into evening. According to the singer, the succession of pieces on an album is crucial. In “Endless Summer Vacation” the songs from day, AM, precede those associated with night, PM. “River” could only be in this last part, in which emerges one of two reticence of‘operation. Miley pontificates and pontificates, but then blurts out, amused and promptly bleeped, that it’s a song about sexual intercourse and fluid exchange, only they “don’t want me to say it.”

The only real disappointment is that there are no specific comments on who inspired “Flowers”, ie L’ex-husband Liam Hemsworth. On the other hand, unlike Shakira, Miley Cyrus has been much more subtle in her attacks, hiding digs and easter eggs in the video and in the release date of the song. Partly because the ex’s legal action seems to be ready to materialize, partly because the song then went around, becoming a hymn to learning to love and appreciate one’s worth.

What should other pop stars learn from Miley Cyrus? To transform a promotional material into something more than a self-celebrating hustler, fusing live elements together with a behind the scenes that makes MTV so old, capable of satisfying both the enthusiast and the curious. All with an impeccable production and visually organic to the album project, to create what fans call “an era”.

In short, okay push the album, but at the same time you can create quality contentto with value (musical and productive) not indifferent, keeping the playing time more than contained. Miley maintains the backyard, making it welcoming to regular guests and passing bystanders. Thus her commercial becomes content that she is satisfied to have seen and not an empty celebration that leaves the time that she finds.

Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions) setlist:

-Jaded -Rose Colored Lenses -Thousand Miles -Wildcard -Island -Wonder Woman -The Climb -River -Flowers

Where to see Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions)? Disney+

How long is Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions)? 42 minutes.

When is Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions) coming out? March ****2023