Let's give Miley Cyrus her flowers

WHAT WRITERS CAN LEARN FROM MILEY

The first album I ever bought for my daughter was Miley Cyrus. We were at my mom’s house when I gave it to her and we jumped up and down on the bed to a song called 7 Things.

That was 2008. My daughter would’ve been six and Miley would’ve been around 15. All these years later, Miley is back in my life. This time she’s teaching me lessons that we writers can learn from.

What I learned from Miley Cyrus

Miley was still in her Hannah Montana days when my daughter and I were pillow-fighting to her music. Her songs were about what you expected from a teenager: fun, playful, mature at times but mostly simple tunes that spoke to her fanbase, which was massive even back then.

Today, Miley Cyrus has a new album that just came out called Endless Summer Vacation. It will probably be the number one album in the world after its first week on the charts, and her single Flowers has already been number one for several weeks.

I listened to Miley’s current album. She’s not that same little girl anymore. These songs are personal, expressive, melodic and layered with undertones of pain, but not in a “feel sorry for me” kinda way. There’s celebration in this music, also. She’s in her musical prime.

In the 15 years since I first discovered Miley Cyrus, I’ve learned a valuable lesson: do not be afraid to evolve.

Miley’s been under a microscope since she was a toddler. She’s the daughter of a country music star, she’s had her own TV show on Disney, and she’s orchestrated a successful music career. The fact that she’s still relevant more than 15 years after her first album (longer as an actor) speaks to the fact that she’s allowed herself to evolve, even if it was messy sometimes.

Evolution isn’t always pretty

That’s one thing I admire about Miley; she isn’t afraid to try things and even get things wrong. I remember when she leaned into hip-hop style music. I hated this phase of her evolution. It didn’t feel authentic. She was twerking on stage and the lyrics to her music felt forced.

She moved on from that phase, but didn’t completely leave it behind. Her Endless Summer Vacation album is produced by Mike Will Made it, who is one of the top producers in all of hip-hop. While this album doesn’t sound like the mess of those original hip-hop days, Miley pulled the elements of hip-hop that most complimented her style and created what I think is a brilliant collection of music.

Read my novel, Boys and Girls Screaming

But she wouldn’t have gotten here if she was afraid to experiment with hip-hop in the first place. If she was afraid to deal with the criticism, scared to handle the backlash, or anxious about what people would say, she wouldn’t have been able to evolve the way she has. Her messiness has brought her here. This is what true creative evolution looks like.

And to you, my fellow writers, I encourage the same process. Don’t be afraid to go places that frighten you or challenge you or push you in ways that make you uncomfortable.

Evolving as a writer is a good thing. It’s what keeps you inspired. It’s what keeps you getting better. And it won’t always look the way you picture it in your mind. Things will go wrong and you’re going to have to be OK with that.

As long as you’re learning, as long as you’re growing and opening yourself up to new experiences, then you’ll find yourself in places you never thought possible.