Prisoner (Miley Cyrus song)
"Prisoner" is a song by American singer Miley Cyrus featuring English-Albanian singer Dua Lipa. It was released on November 19, 2020, through RCA Records as the second single from Cyrus' seventh studio album Plastic Hearts (2020). It was also included on the re-issue of Lipa's second studio album Future Nostalgia: The Moonlight Edition (2021). It is a dance, dark-pop, disco-punk, disco-rock, glam rock and nu-disco song produced by Andrew Watt and the Monsters & Strangerz.
"Prisoner"
November 19, 2020
July 2020[1]
2:49
- Miley Cyrus
- Andrew Wotman
- Jordan K. Johnson
- Marcus Lomax
- Stefan Johnson
- Ali Tamposi
- Jonathan Bellion
- Michael Pollack
- Dua Lipa
The music video was released on the same day as the single and was co-directed by Cyrus and Alana O'Herlihy. It features the singers driving a tour bus and draws references to the films The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Female Trouble. "Prisoner" received mostly positive reviews from music critics, though some of them deemed it one of the weaker moments of the album. The song reached number one in Bulgaria, Croatia, and Malta, the top ten in ten additional countries, and the top forty in nineteen additional countries. It also peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Global 200 and number 54 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Critical reception[edit]
Ali Shutler of NME gave the song five out of five stars, calling it "a disco-punk anthem that goes off like a cherry bomb", stating that it "hit[s] the sour-sweet spot between grit and glam" and described Lipa as "the perfect partner in crime for [Cyrus], as they take the basement snarl of punk and give it some '80s disco swagger". Shutler also remarked that "the track gives [Lipa]'s excitably shiny Future Nostalgia space to shine without forcing [Cyrus] out of the spotlight", further praising the artists for "elevat[ing] each other rather than competing" and added: "If only every collaboration had this balance."[19] The New York Times' team of music critics ranked "Prisoner" as the most notable song of the week in their weekly updated column "The Playlist", where Lindsay Zoladz called the track "truly outrageous" and stated that Cyrus and Lipa "make a harmonious pair".[23] Justin Curto from Vulture called the collaboration "a match made in '70s heaven".[24] Eli Enis from Consequence said that "the two stars exude a natural chemistry" on "Prisoner", even though "the pairing is a little bit unusual on paper".[25] Mike Wass of Idolator remarked that Cyrus' previous single "'Midnight Sky' set the bar exceedingly high, but Miley Cyrus proves that lightning (or pop genius) can strike twice with 'Prisoner'", pointed the inspiration by "the unique fusion of pop, dance and rock that briefly occurred in the early 1980s" in Cyrus' Plastic Hearts era and stated that "there are elements of all three genres in 'Prisoner' which wouldn't sound out of place sandwiched between Pat Benatar and Blondie on '80s playlist".[26] Erica Gonzalez from Harper's Bazaar praised "Prisoner" calling it a "killer collaboration" and saying "the song itself also evokes a gritty, vintage feel".[27] Jon Blistein of Rolling Stone wrote that the track "perfectly splits the difference between Dua Lipa's neo-disco pop and the late-Seventies/early-Eighties rock vibe that's defined Cyrus' Plastic Hearts era".[28]
Claire Shaffer, also from Rolling Stone was less positive, writing that "one area where the album falters" is the collaborations, as "they feel more than a little tacked on", thinking that "Prisoner" would be a better fit to Lipa's Future Nostalgia album.[29] The Guardian's Alexis Petridis compared "Prisoner" unfavorably to its music video and Lipa's solo songs from the same year, opining it is "far less interesting than its blood-spattered, spider-eating, John Waters-quoting video: its sound isn't a million miles from Lipa's own Future Nostalgia, but the song itself isn't anything like as strong as that album's hits.[30] Dan DeLuca of The Philadelphia Inquirer brought up "Prisoner" with its eight credited writers as an example for how Plastic Hearts "suffers from ordinary, by-committee songwriting".[31] In her album review, Katie Tymochenko of Exclaim! opined that Cyrus's confidence is "overshadowed by large-scale dance numbers", "Prisoner" and "Gimme What I Want", and added: "Longtime fans might appreciate these contributions, but, for most people, there's nothing here that's not already overplayed on the radio."[32] In Beats Per Minute's evaluation of Plastic Hearts, "Prisoner" is where "it becomes clear that this isn't Miley's Coral Fang. The duet with Dua Lipa is the straight '80s throwback'-track we've heard many times this decade, a typical referential single that any Gen-X'er could call out."[33] Variety's A. D. Amorosi felt that "Prisoner" was lacking in originality and catchiness, calling it "a surprise, spun-synth-sugar mess, with Cyrus' voice neutered by AutoTune and Lipa's listless vocal lines blurred in its mix.[34]
Music video[edit]
Background and release[edit]
The music video for "Prisoner" was filmed over two days from September 30 to October 1, 2020, in Brooklyn.[35][36][37][38] The video was co-directed by Cyrus and Alana O'Herlihy.[39] On November 18, 2020, Cyrus teased the music video release on her social media with a 20-second clip where the two artists are seen, covered in blood, partying it up and eating cherries.[40] On November 19, the next day, the video premiered on YouTube alongside the song's release and it was described by Liam Hess of Vogue as "packed with grunge-inspired fashion and enough black eyeliner to make [Joan] Jett herself jealous".[5][40]
Synopsis[edit]
The road trip-inspired video begins with Cyrus' mouth singing the first verses of the song with a visual reference to the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show.[41] Performing as unnamed rockstars, the clip follows with Cyrus and Lipa driving a tour bus together, where the two then vamp it up and party in the back of the bus like an 1980s rock band.[5] During the party it can be seen both of them dancing and smoking together until Cyrus dumps a jar of maraschino cherries down her face, making it look like she is covered in blood.[41] Right after that, Cyrus and Lipa start grinding on, licking each other's bodies and singing the song's chorus face to face. Subsequently, the video portrays the duo arriving at a dive bar and delivering a riotous show with Lipa giving the audience the middle finger while wearing an ultra-rare 1990s Gucci cut-out dress designed by Tom Ford.[5][41] Lastly, a message pops up onscreen: "In loving memory of all my exes, eat shit".[41] The video ends with an extraction of John Waters' film Female Trouble, in which Divine's character Dawn Davenport says, "I'm a free woman now and my life is ready to begin".[42]
Reception[edit]
After calling it "truly outrageous" and "blood-splattered", Lindsay Zoladz of The New York Times drew parallels between the video and two classic films: "Rock of Love: Thelma & Louise? The Runaways biopic if it were directed by Ozzy Osbourne?", she reflected in her review of the song.[12] Similarly, Ali Shutler of NME pointed that the video is "packed with attitude and big on Thelma & Louise energy" in a five out of five stars review.[19] Sydney Bucksbaum of Entertainment Weekly described the video as "a sexy, bloody road trip"[41] and Eli Enis of Consequence stated that "the two stars exude a natural chemistry".[24] Justin Curto of Vulture praised the video saying: "emotionally and physically, however, they are quite free, dancing and licking each other on the bus before rocking out at a dive bar together."[24] Mehera Bonner of Cosmopolitan pointed the final scene with a message to Cyrus' and Lipa's exes as the standout moment of the video, calling it "iconique".[43] Wonderland magazine called it "already iconic", "a trip itself" and noticed its "references to Jennifer's Body, The Runaways and even The Rocky Horror Picture Show, we're also getting mad Thelma & Louise vibes, just without any death defying cliff jumps (as of yet)."[44] Erica Gonzalez of Harper's Bazaar praised its visuals saying it "exude[s] pure raunchy, '80s rock 'n' roll vibes, complete with mullets, a disheveled tour bus, and ripped fishnet tights" and further commented "they play up the old-school aesthetic with film footage, heavy eye makeup, and layers and layers of jewels".[27]
Live performances[edit]
Cyrus performed "Prisoner" first time without Lipa on the first episode of the Amazon Music Holiday Plays digital concert series on December 1.[45] Later she performed on The Howard Stern Show.[46] She again performed "Prisoner" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on December 7.[47] Cyrus performed "Prisoner" on the newest episode of the YouTube series Released on December 10.[48] Cyrus again performed "Prisoner" along with "Party in the U.S.A." and "Edge of Midnight (Midnight Sky Remix)" on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest in Times Square on December 31.[49] Cyrus again performed "Prisoner" along with "Golden G String" and a cover of "Fade Into You" by Mazzy Star on Tiny Desk Concert hosted by NPR Music on January 28, 2021.[50] Cyrus performed "Prisoner" along with several songs off Plastic Hearts at 2021 Super Bowl with TikTok Tailgate.[51]