Younger Now

Younger Now
Studio album by Miley Cyrus
Released September 29, 2017 (2017-09-29)
Recorded 2015–2017
Genre
Length 41:11
Label RCA
Producer
Miley Cyrus chronology
Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz
(2015)		 Younger Now
(2017)
Singles from Younger Now
  1. "Malibu"
    Released: May 11, 2017
  2. "Younger Now"
    Released: August 18, 2017

Younger Now is the sixth studio album by American singer Miley Cyrus. It was released on September 29, 2017, by RCA Records. Cyrus began planning a commercial follow-up record to her fourth album Bangerz while simultaneously making her experimental fifth album Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz in 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.

Younger Now received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who felt that the songwriting and production lacked substance. It debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 with first-week figures of 45,000 album-equivalent units, and stands as Cyrus' lowest peak in the country and her smallest first-week sales there. The two singles released from the album, "Malibu" and the title track, respectively peaked at numbers ten and 79 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The former track has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

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 not tour for or release any further singles from it.

Background and development

After a three-year break from music, Cyrus released her fourth album Bangerz in 2013. She worked with hip hop 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]

Release and promotion

Cyrus announced the album on August 8, 2017, by posting the title of the album, in a ropey script on the back of a bedazzled black faux leather jacket, on her website, along with the release date spelt out in metal studs. It was released on September 29, 2017.[14][15] The title track was released as a single on August 18, 2017, along with a pre-order of the album.[16]

Cyrus first performed the album's lead single, "Malibu", at Wango Tango on May 13.[17] She sang "Malibu" again at the Billboard Music Awards and The Voice on May 21 and 22, respectively.[18][19] She performed the song again on The Today Show on May 26 as a part of their Citi Concert series.[20] That same day, she also made a surprise guest appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote her musical guest spot on Late Night with Seth Meyers later that night.[21] Cyrus was also a performer at the One Love Manchester benefit concert on June 4.[22] Cyrus performed "Malibu" and "Inspired" on Fallon on June 14.[23] On August 22, Cyrus launched a website, youngernow.com, where fans could upload photos onto the artwork of the "Younger Now" single.[24] On August 27, Cyrus performed "Younger Now" for the first time at the MTV Video Music Awards.[25] On September 7, Cyrus performed the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

From October 2 to October 6, Cyrus made appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and performed "Week Without You".[26] On November 4, she performed "Bad Mood" and "I Would Die for You" on Saturday Night Live.[27]

On October 30, 2017, Cyrus confirmed to MTV that she would not tour for or release any further singles from Younger Now.[28]

Singles

"Malibu" was released as the lead single from Younger Now on May 11, 2017, and has peaked at number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[14] The title track and second single from the album, "Younger Now", was officially released on August 18.[29]

Promotional singles

"Inspired" was released as a promotional single from Younger Now on June 9, 2017.[30] "Week Without You" was released as the second promotional single from the album on September 21, 2017.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic58/100[31]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[32]
Consequence of SoundC-[33]
Entertainment WeeklyB[34]
The Guardian[1]
Idolator[35]
The Independent[36]
NME[37]
Pitchfork4.7/10[3]
Slant Magazine[38]

At Metacritic, Younger Now received a weighted score of 58 out of 100 from review aggregate website Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews", based on 17 reviews from music critics.[31] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave Younger Now 3.5 stars out of 5, saying the album "seems slightly scattered as it flits from song to song, it nevertheless adds up to a portrait of a pop star so confident of her swagger, she doesn't bother with such niceties as old-fashioned flow."[32] Dave Simpson of The Guardian opined, "On Younger Now, she has taken control of the songwriting and production and emerges as a conservative, big-lunged, country-tinged pop star with songs about breaking free."[1] Pitchfork writer Claire Lobenfeld rated the album 4.7 out of 10, citing "Bland production and weak songwriting hamstring the personalized nature of Younger Now, making it merely a suggestion of the kind of artist Miley Cyrus could be."[3] Spin's Jordan Sargent called Younger Now Cyrus' "least honest album ever", further stating: "Where her past albums felt messy but painfully sincere, Younger Now comes off as safe and overly sanitized, with the frisson that made Cyrus a star all but entirely blasted away."[2] Billboard highlights the progressive nature of one of the tracks, She's Not Him, by saying it legitimizes bisexual and pan-sexual identities.[39]

Commercial performance

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.[40] In its second week on the chart, Younger Now fell to number 36.[41]

Younger Now debuted at number eight on the UK Albums Chart with 10,024 copies sold in its first week,[42] becoming her fourth top 10 album in the United Kingdom.[43] 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.[44] 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.[45]

Track listing

All tracks written and produced by Miley Cyrus and Oren Yoel, with additional songwriting from Dolly Parton on "Rainbowland".[46]

No.TitleLength
1."Younger Now"4:08
2."Malibu"3:51
3."Rainbowland" (featuring Dolly Parton)4:25
4."Week Without You"3:44
5."Miss You So Much"4:53
6."I Would Die for You"2:53
7."Thinkin'"4:05
8."Bad Mood"2:59
9."Love Someone"3:19
10."She's Not Him"3:33
11."Inspired"3:21
Total length:41:11
Japanese bonus track[47]
No.TitleLength
12."Malibu" (Tiësto Remix)3:19
Total length:44:30

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[32]

  • Miley Cyrus – vocals, producer, executive producer, art direction, design
  • Oren Yoel – producer, instrumentation, horn arrangements, string arrangements
  • Dolly Parton – vocals (track 3)
  • Jamie Arentzen – guitar
  • Jaco Caraco – guitar
  • Nicole Row – bass
  • Paul Dateh – violin
  • Jerry Johnson – cello
  • Matt Walker – cello
  • Taylor Andrew Covey – trombone
  • Antoine Séverman – fiddle
  • Adam Wolf – French horn
  • Harris Majors Ostrander – trumpet
  • Paul Franklin – pedal steel
  • Stacy Jones – drum, musical director
  • Doran Dina – engineer
  • Tom Rutledge – vocal engineer
  • Paul David Hager – mixing, engineer
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing
  • Chris Galland – mixing engineer
  • Jeff Fitzpatrick – assistant engineer
  • Scott Moore – assistant engineer
  • Mark Ralston – assistant engineer
  • Scott Desmarais – mixing assistant
  • Robin Florent – mixing assistant
  • Dave Kutch – mastering
  • Pres Rodriguez – art direction, design
  • Olivia Malone – cover art, photography
  • Brian Bowen-Smith – photography
  • Liam Hemsworth – photography
  • Ryan Kenny – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[48] 2
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[49] 8
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[50] 17
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[51] 21
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[52] 3
Croatian International Albums (HDU)[53] 33
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[54] 9
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[55] 25
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[56] 11
French Albums (SNEP)[57] 40
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[58] 16
Greek Albums (IFPI)[59] 25
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[60] 35
Irish Albums (IRMA)[61] 5
Italian Albums (FIMI)[62] 9
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[63][64] 44
Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)[65] 11
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[66] 4
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[67] 9
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[68] 19
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[69] 6
Scottish Albums (OCC)[70] 7
Slovak Albums (ČNS IFPI)[71] 8
South Korean Albums (Gaon)[72] 81
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[73] 1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[74] 11
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[75] 11
UK Albums (OCC)[76] 8
US Billboard 200[40] 5

Monthly charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
Argentine Albums (CAPIF)[77] 5

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[78] Gold 40,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region Date Edition Format(s) Label Ref.
Various September 29, 2017 Standard RCA [79]
February 9, 2018 LP [80][81]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Miley Cyrus: Younger Now review – big-hearted country-pop from Miley v4.0". The Guardian. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Sargent, Jordan (October 4, 2017). "Review: Miley Cyrus' Younger Now Is Her Least Honest Album Ever". Spin. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Lobenfeld, Claire (September 29, 2017). "Miley Cyrus: Younger Now Album Review". Pitchfork.
  4. ↑ Aswad, Jem (August 24, 2015). "Miley Cyrus' Next Album is 'Not a Miley Record: Source". Billboard. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  5. ↑ Norris, John (May 3, 2017). "Miley Cyrus Breaks Silence on Rootsy New Music, Fiance Liam Hemsworth & America: 'Unity Is What We Need'". Billboard. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  6. ↑ McDermott, Maeve (August 18, 2017). "Miley Cyrus' 'Younger Now' continues her sanitized reinvention". USA Today. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Miley Cyrus On Her Wild Past, Reinvention and Being a "F*cking Role Model"". Harpersbazaar.com. July 13, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  8. ↑ "What is Miley Cyrus' real name?". Capital.fm. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  9. ↑ "A Timeline of Miley Cyrus Appropriating Hip-Hop Culture". Complex. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Miley Cyrus Identifies As Pansexual. What Does That Mean, Exactly?". Yahoo.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  11. ↑ Setoodeh, Ramin (October 11, 2016). "Miley Cyrus on 'The Voice,' Donald Trump and Coming Out". Variety.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  12. ↑ Brucculieri, Julia (October 24, 2016). "Miley Cyrus Had The Best Time Campaigning For Hillary Clinton This Weekend". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Miley Cyrus Says She 'Accepts' Donald Trump In Emotional Video After Hillary Clinton's Presidential Loss". Billboard.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  14. 1 2 Kaufman, Gil (August 8, 2017). "Miley Cyrus' 'Younger Now' Album Due in September". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  15. ↑ Reilly, Nick (August 8, 2017). "Miley Cyrus announces new album 'Younger Now'". NME. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  16. ↑ Cyrus, Miley Ray. "#YoungerNow video is OUT!!! Pre - order the album". Twitter.com. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  17. ↑ Brucculieri, Julia (May 14, 2017). "Miley Cyrus Performs Her Beachy Single 'Malibu' Live For First Time Ever". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  18. ↑ "The Chainsmokers, Halsey and Sam Hunt Performing at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards". Billboard.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
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  20. ↑ Hines, Ree. "Miley Cyrus brings 'Malibu' to New York! See her concert on the TODAY plaza". Today.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Watch Miley Cyrus Take Over NBC to Promote 'Malibu'". Billboard.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  22. ↑ "One Love Manchester: Ariana Grande Calls Benefit Concert 'The Medicine the World Needs,' Justin Bieber Pays Emotional Tribute to Victims". Billboard.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Miley Cyrus on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon". NBC. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  24. ↑ Cyrus, Miley Ray. "YoungerNow.com is LIVE! #youngernowchallenge Upload a photo and make your ownnnnnn! Single out now! Album out 9/29!pic.twitter.com/VI1nUitmpH". Twitter.com. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  25. ↑ "VMAs 2017: Watch Miley Cyrus Go Retro in 'Younger Now' Performance". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  26. ↑ "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JIMMY FALLON Announces October 2–6 as 'Miley Week'". Broadway World. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  27. ↑ "Miley Cyrus Performs 'Bad Mood' & 'I Would Die for You' on 'SNL'". Billboard. November 5, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  28. ↑ "Miley Cyrus Isn't Releasing Any More 'Younger Now' Singles". MTV. October 30, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  29. ↑ Drysdale, Jennifer (August 13, 2017). "Miley Cyrus Apologizes for Skipping Teen Choice Awards, Announces New Single 'Younger Now'". Entertainment Tonight. ET Online. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Inspired – Single". iTunes. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  31. 1 2 "Younger Now Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  32. 1 2 3 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (September 28, 2017). "Younger Now – Miley Cyrus". AllMusic. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  33. ↑ Clark, Tyler. "Miley Cyrus – Younger Now". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  34. ↑ Greenblatt, Leah. "Miley Cyrus is a girl gone mild on Younger Now: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  35. ↑ "Miley Cyrus' 'Younger Now:' Album Review". Idolator. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  36. ↑ "Album reviews: Miley Cyrus, Loney Dear, Van Morrison, Pere Ubu, and more". The Independent. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  37. ↑ Cooper, Leonie. "Miley Cyrus – 'Younger Now' Review". NME. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  38. ↑ Hoskins, Zachary (October 4, 2017). "Miley Cyrus: Younger Now | Album Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  39. ↑ "Miley Cyrus' 'She's Not Him' Is A Pansexual Milestone In Mainstream Music". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  40. 1 2 Caulfield, Keith (October 8, 2017). "Shania Twain's 'Now' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  41. ↑ "Top 200 Albums". Billboard. October 28, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  42. ↑ Jones, Alan (October 6, 2017). "Official Charts Analysis: Shania Twain takes No. 1 in close battle with Wolf Alice". Music Week. Retrieved October 11, 2017. (Subscription required (help)).
  43. ↑ Copsey, Rob (October 6, 2017). "Shania Twain wins fiercely fought battle against Wolf Alice to claim her first Number 1 in 18 years on the Official Albums Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  44. ↑ "Shania Twain returns with third #1". Australian Recording Industry Association. October 7, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  45. ↑ "Shania, Hedley and Tom Petty Loom Large On This Week's Chart". FYIMusicNews. October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  46. ↑ Younger Now (CD liner notes). Miley Cyrus. RCA Records. 2017.
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  49. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Miley Cyrus – Younger Now" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  50. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Miley Cyrus – Younger Now" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  51. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Miley Cyrus – Younger Now" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  52. ↑ "Miley Cyrus Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
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  56. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Miley Cyrus – Younger Now" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
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  63. ↑ "週間　CDアルバムランキング 2017年10月16日付" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  64. ↑ "ヤンガー・ナウ マイリー・サイラス" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
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  67. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Miley Cyrus – Younger Now". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  68. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
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  70. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  71. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). IFPI. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  72. ↑ "2017년 39주차 Album Chart" (in Korean). Gaon. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  73. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Miley Cyrus – Younger Now". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  74. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Miley Cyrus – Younger Now". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  75. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Miley Cyrus – Younger Now". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  76. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  77. ↑ "Miley Cyrus – Younger Now". Argentine Albums. CAPIF. On Fecha, select {{{date}}} to see the correspondent chart. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  78. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Miley Cyrus – Younger Now". Music Canada. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  79. ↑ "Miley Cyrus – Younger Now". Amazon.com Music. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  80. ↑ "Younger Now – Miley Cyrus – Vinyl album" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  81. ↑ "Miley Cyrus – YOUNGER NOW Vinyl/LP" (in German). Media Markt. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
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