Miley Cyrus drops new single post-separation from husband Liam Hemsworth
Nothing is more therapeutic than journaling your thoughts and feelings following heartbreak. The safety and privacy of a journal is a haven for someone to pour their heart onto paper without fear of judgment or unwanted advice.
Go ahead, call your ex a cheating rat! No one will ever know! Unless of course, you are a pop star with millions of fans expecting a post-breakup bop. Turning those words into chart-topping singles is something of a talent.
To be so vulnerable with the inner turmoil of your heart can be seen as speaking truth to feelings or a simple distraction from fully processing the events. Regardless of the motivation, it came as little surprise when Miley Cyrus released a single about her recent separation from husband Liam Hemsworth.
The first hint of her return came as news broke of their separation, and Cyrus tweeted a photo of her in a recording set-up.
Fans took to Twitter begging for a Bangerz round two, with songs about Cyrus living her life judgment-free and with no boundaries. It seemed obvious to many that the problems between the couple would be stemming from Cyrus’ return to music and all the schematics that come with it (yes, I’m talking about the resurgence of her twerking videos) that would push Hemsworth over the edge.
But a close source to the couple detailed to People that that simply isn’t the case this time around. The anonymous source says, “Liam parties with his friends, and Miley thinks he should’ve grown out of that by now,” and that it was a combination of each side feeling like their expectations were not being fulfilled.
With that, it doesn’t seem like the time for more sledgehammer-swinging music videos. Cyrus’ first single post-breakup Slide Away is a little more Kacey Musgraves than Lizzo. The lyrics seem to all relate back to different issues with their relationship, with the chorus saying “why don’t you slide away/ back to the ocean/I’ll go back to the city” addressing their perspective roots (and the paparazzi photos of Hemsworth surfing in Australia this week).
The clearest lyric comes in the second verse when Cyrus says “move on, we’re not seventeen/I’m not who I used to be/You say that everything changed/You’re right, we’re grown now” addressing their decade-long relationship that started on the set of The Last Song. It seems to be in complete continuity of her Instagram post about the breakup, where she talks about the beauty of change and her agreement to no longer stand in the way of it.
The song quickly rose to number two on Apple Music’s charts, trailing only behind Taylor Swift’s new single, released at the same time.