Bridging the Cyrus Generation Gap 

Prior to watching her performance on the Grammys, singing "Flowers", Miley Cyrus was an indecipherable personality in the pop zeitgeist showing up in my periphery every now and then.  I had no clue and never watched "Hannah Montana", but I loved "Party in the U.S.A." and "Wrecking Ball" without really knowing who she was.  The appearance with Robin Thicke was unavoidable in headlines and magazines, but I still didn't really "get" her.  When I first heard "Midnight Sky", I was like, who is this singer that sounds like Stevie Nicks "Wild Winged Dove".  Then there was a bunch of media coverage about her marriage to Chris Hemsworth and occasionally I would see her talking on an interview or something and noted to myself, what an unusual and ultra-adult voice she had.  Occasional tabloid stories about family and marital rifts ... but then came "Flowers". 

We all know the song was an immediate "Earworm" and the video, showcasing her incredibly fit body while singing about the fierceness of independence and loving yourself.  This is when I started paying more attention to who she was and what she was saying.  And I realized that this was a forthright, sometimes brutally honest, no apologies given, headstrong and talented performer who made no qualms about mistakes made while growing up in the limelight.  Previously, I was confused about what musical "lane" she was in; but I came to realize she doesn't HAVE or WANT a lane.  And when she mentioned that she really doesn't want to do tours and perform in front of audiences of thousands, that there's really no connection to people when doing that and that she'd rather sing in front of much smaller groups, my fondness grew.  This was a unique personality, an outlier and a star that was not gonna play the Hollywood gang.  "I stuck out my tongue a lot - so what?" 

The Grammys was an awards show that used to be a religion for me; for years I would have watching parties.  But the past few years, I've just fast-forwarded through most of them on DVR.  But this time, watching Miley open the show and come out in that Tina Turner-esque dress, the hairdo of a 40-year-old from a night-time soap opera in the 80's (which worked for her!) and her confident strut; I was glued.  She sounded great and I love how she chided the audience with "Come on, don't pretend like you don't know this song!".  She 100% deserved those Grammys.  And now I know why I never understood what lane she's in.  She has created her own. 

Now as for her situation with her parents, I'm glad that Miley is super tight with her mom Trish and that they have such a great relationship.  The media portrays Miley as feuding with her father, but who really knows the truth. And if a real part of the issue is the fact that he is with a person who is 28 years younger than him ...well, I certainly can’t be personally judgey on that one.  Billy Ray Cyrus is a "Busy Man" and maybe he don't want no "Old Town Road".  Live and let live, mullet man!  Supposedly we only get to ride on this Merry-Go-Round once, so where's the beef?  

UPDATE: Star magazine just arrived in my mail box with Billy Ray on the cover.  “Cheating, Mind Games & Torture – Divorce #3 After 7 Months” 

"I Wanna Have Some Fun" - Billy Ray's upcoming duet/remake/remix with Samantha Fox