Younger Now
Younger Now is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Miley Cyrus. It was released on September 29, 2017, by RCA Records. Cyrus began planning a commercial follow-up record to her fourth studio album Bangerz (2013) while simultaneously making her experimental fifth studio album Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz (2015),[4] although later became influenced by her reconciliation with fiancé Liam Hemsworth in 2016. Younger Now was written and produced by Cyrus and Oren Yoel, with whom she had collaborated on her previous two full-lengths. Not concerning herself with radio airplay, their efforts resulted in an "honest" final product that sees Cyrus "leaning into her roots."[5] It features guest vocals from singer Dolly Parton, Cyrus' godmother. Musically, it is a country pop and pop rock record.
This article is about the album. For its title track, see Younger Now (song).
Younger Now received mixed reviews from music critics, who felt that the songwriting and production lacked substance. It debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200. "Malibu" and "Younger Now" were released as singles, with the former track being certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and peaking at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100.
Looking to remove herself from the provocative reputation she had developed while promoting Bangerz and Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz, promotional efforts for Younger Now associated Cyrus with an increasingly conservative image.[6] She performed during several television programs, including the Billboard Music Awards and MTV Video Music Awards, before stating the month following the release of the album that she would neither release any further singles from the record nor tour for it, so she could focus on her work on The Voice.
Background and development[edit]
After a three-year break from music, Cyrus released her fourth album Bangerz in 2013. She worked with mainstream producers to attract new listeners, and developed a sexually provocative image, which is credited with reviving Cyrus' career and turning her into a pop music icon.[7][8] She followed that with a psychedelic album, Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz, which was released for free on SoundCloud in 2015. It received mixed reviews, and Cyrus generated accusations of cultural appropriation for her wearing dreadlocks during promotional activities for the album.[9] Cyrus also came out as pansexual in 2015, nearly a year after establishing the Happy Hippie Foundation to support homeless and LGBT youth.[10][11]
Cyrus became a coach on The Voice in 2016, and spent time campaigning for Hillary Clinton during the presidential election after Bernie Sanders, the candidate Cyrus originally endorsed, lost the Democratic nomination to Clinton.[12] Cyrus admitted to being saddened by Clinton's loss and the strong political divide of the nation, and decided to return to her country roots and wholesome image to try to reach out to conservatives.[13]
Two weeks before Younger Now was released, Cyrus stated that she was "over [the album]" and was "already two songs deep on the next one," which would become the EP She Is Coming (2019).[14] In December 2018, Cyrus acknowledged that the musical direction of Younger Now "wasn't exactly the home for [her]" and credited producer Mark Ronson with "[helping her] carve out [her] sound, where [she] could do everything that [she wanted], which is more modern" for the follow-up record.[15] She later stated that elements of the follow-up album could be related to the "country-influenced things that [she] did on Younger Now."[16]
Commercial performance[edit]
Younger Now debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 with first-week figures of 45,000 album-equivalent units, of which 33,000 were traditional sales. It placed behind Shania Twain's Now (137,000 units), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' Greatest Hits (84,000 units), Demi Lovato's Tell Me You Love Me (74,000 units), and A Boogie wit da Hoodie's The Bigger Artist (67,000 units). The charting earned Cyrus her eleventh top-ten entry in the United States, including material she recorded as Hannah Montana, and marked her first entry there since Bangerz debuted at number one in 2013.[57] In its second week on the chart, Younger Now fell to number 36.[58] As of April 2023, the album has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over 500,000 copies.[59]
Younger Now debuted at number eight on the UK Albums Chart with 10,024 copies sold in its first week,[60] becoming her fifth top 10 album in the United Kingdom.[61] It also became her fourth top 10 album in Australia after Breakout (which topped the charts), Can't Be Tamed (which reached number four), and Bangerz (which also reached the top position), entering at number two on the ARIA Albums Chart.[62] The record became her eighth overall top 10 entry in Canada, combining both music under her real name and while performing as the character Hannah Montana, debuting at number three in the country.[63]
By June 2023, the album surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify, which makes it her 6th project to achieve this milestone.