Miley Cyrus has had the same backing band since she was 12 years old

Miley Cyrus is Interview Magazine’s cover star this month serving up an in-depth discussion with Metallica’s Lars Ulrich plus a probably NSFW photoshoot (unless you work in Gucci’s lingerie department) that was shot on the superstar’s farm in Nashville. It’s basically what’s going to get you through a mid-week endorphin slump so let us just say right now: thank you Miss Miley.

The interview (her second with the magazine in two years) centres on much of Cyrus’ work covering the music of other artists including Metallica — Cyrus sang their unforgettable tune "Nothing Else Matters" for the first time at Glastonbury in 2019 where she headlined the festival with the legendary heavy metal band and recorded the track in her home studio during lockdown for the Metallica tribute album Blacklist.

And Metallica isn’t the only band the singer has collaborated with recently. For her latest album, Plastic Hearts, Miley teamed up with Mark Ronson, Billy Idol, Dua Lipa, Joan Jett and Stevie Nicks offering proof positive that Cyrus is what she’s been telling us she is for years: a rock star. And, as many music industry biopics have shown us, the life of a rockstar isn’t always easy. Luckily for Miley, she’s had her on-the-road support system with her for nearly two decades. That’s right, Cyrus’ backing band has been with her since she was a preteen. 

“They are my family when I’m on the road,” Cyrus told Ulrich. “They’ve been through everything with me. Dude, this is going to freak you out—my band has been my band since I was 12 years old.”

I’m about to turn 29,” she continued. “We’ve been through so much. When we’re out on the road, we talk about loneliness. It really can get that way. I have such a support system in them. I love having these authentic, real rock dudes in my band. We even revisit songs that I wrote before I was able to make this huge sonic pivot in my career, before I discovered rock and roll. Now, we cover my own songs. We take my original songs, and turn them on their head, and make them kick ass,” she said.

Cyrus’ experience with covering the songs of different artists — especially ones that seem, on the surface, so unlike her — has endowed her with a unique view of her own talent and how its changed as she’s aged. “My whole life, whether in vocal training or just continuing to hone my craft, it’s always been about, ‘Why do you sound like a man? Where’s your f---ing falsetto, b---h? Why can’t you sing the high octave of Party in the U.S.A anymore?’ In this song,” said the singer, referencing the Metallica cover, “I get to sing in that low register, and I get to live in that authentic, genuine sound. My voice is how I represent myself. It’s how I express myself. I’ve worked with so many people who tell me, ‘We’re going to have to bring in a singer to hit those high parts.’ You know, “falsetto” is this Latin term for when a boy goes through puberty, but they still want him to sing in the choir. It means false,” she quipped, adding, “I don’t have a false voice.”

For the media and the record industry, it’s become hard to categorize Miley as she’s evolved as an artist and that’s something she seems very proud of. “F--k the divide,” she told Ulrich. “For you to listen to my cover of ‘Nothing Else Matters’ with an open mind is an example of that — you don’t judge who I’ve been, what I’ve done, or how people see me. Then, by allowing me to cover ‘Nothing Else Matters’ on the record is like you guys validating my relationship to this song,” she said. “It feels like it was written for me, and it was something that I was able to make my own. And now, my fans have that connection to it as well.”

Preach.

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[video_embed id='2303877']BEFORE YOU GO: ‘Schitt’s Creek’ star Sarah Levy marries Graham Outerbridge [/video_embed]