Miley Cyrus Endless Summer Vacation Backyard Sessions is the latest musical film where the singer performs songs from her latest album. It is executive produced by Cyrus herself and directed by Jacod Bixenman and Brendan Walter. Produced by Daniel Lachman and the background vocals are given by Ayo Awasika and Christine Smit.
Musical director Stacy Jones, and members on the strings are Desiree Hazley, Erynn Hill, Michelle Packman, and Vainayaki Sivaji. Rufus Wainwright plays the piano, on the Keys is Michael Schmid, Jamie Arentzen & Heather Baker on the Guitar, Bass by Josh Moreau & Saxophone by Brett White. It has a runtime of about 42 minutes in total.
Disney+ Hotstar description reads:
Miley Cyrus takes the stage performing songs from her new album and reflecting on who she is today
-Miley Cyrus Endless Summer Vacation Backyard Sessions Review Contain Spoilers-
With the release of her latest eighth studio album –Endless Summer Vacation, Miley Cyrus decided to share the process and the first live performances through this musical concert film. The lead single Flowers, which was released on 12th January 2023 became an instant hit after its release. It also set several streaming records and reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks.
Looking at the new musical sounds and the success of the single made everyone curious & excited to hear Cyrus’s new album. In the film, she calls this album – the concoction of all the tried/tested and the best sounds from her career so far. She goes on to call it a Cinderella shoe which is a perfect fit for her & shows how far she has come.
Clad in a white dress which is a white tank top joined to a short skirt with side g-strings. Embellished with a gold ornament that joins them together & along with it, she dons black sunglasses, as her blonde & brown beachy waves swiftly move around. The first song performed by her is titled Jaded. The lyrics presumably suggest concern for the ex-lover after the breakup.
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Although it starts with melancholic guitar sounds, soon takes the high-note route with dynamic drums. The second song sung by her is Rose Colored Lenses, which revels in the good times & wants to be in that moment forever. Miley shares how she tries to be quite descriptive in her lyrics which paints a complete picture for the listener. And she mentions if you are my friend & they hear the album, it may feel like a conversation which has all the emotions from joy to sadness.
Thousand Miles which also features Brandi Carlile is performed next and she shares how it was written in 2016-17 and was very different from what’s on the album. The inspiration behind the song comes from the incident where her friend’s sister took her own life & it made Cyrus think about her own sister. She titled it Happy Girl at first, wanting the person to be content in life but with time the sad song turned into an inspirational one with some country music influences.
She also changes into a blue asymmetrical dress with a thigh slit and performs the song Wildcard next. It perfectly suits her persona, who refuses to be boxed in one particular way. She also shares that the sequencing of songs in the album is very important to her & tries to put them together like a film.
It also divides them into AM and PM, where the songs in AM category are full of buzzing energy & PM is a mix of slinky seediness and grime with glamour. Leading to the next song called Island which essentially relates Cyrus to an island which is known by everyone but they are strangers to her. Miley contemplates if this life is a paradise or a lonely island.
With this song, we slowly transition from the bright summer day to the sunset where the singer is seen in a black top & long skirt with a slit. It shows a PM side of the album, a song which you can listen to at the end of a busy day to cool down. Taking inspiration from her personal life, the next song Wonder Woman is about her grandmother from her mother’s side & the generational knowledge with strength that has been passed down.
The following was a delightful surprise as she performed The Climb which is from Hannah Montana The Movie, where she reveals her identity. It instantly brings nostalgia and clearly expresses how Cyrus wants everyone to cherish the journey to wherever they want to go in life. She also changes into a yellow dress which is embellished with ring sequins & looks like fish scales from a distance.
Moving towards the end literally, with the sundown & clad in a black jumpsuit, Miley dons a glamourous look to perform the song River, which falls under the pop-rock genre. The song has big potential to be the next dance track on social media. Lastly to end her film Cyrus talks about changing over the years and how she advocates self-love and starts singing Flowers.
Summing Up: Miley Cyrus Endless Summer Vacation Backyard Sessions
This musical special showcases Miley Cyrus as one of the leading artists of the current times and how she has transformed her music & personality over the years. Starting as a Disney star to getting comfortable in her own skin, it’s been an adventurous journey with many highs and lows and she is ready to show it all through her music.
Miley Cyrus Endless Summer Vacation Backyard Sessions is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
You can also listen to her latest album on Spotify & Apple Music.
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