She Is Coming

Cyrus collaborated with producers including Mike Will Made It, Mark Ronson, and Andrew Wyatt for her then-untitled seventh studio album, which was completed between fall 2017 and May 2019.[4] The first track from these recording sessions, the Ronson-produced "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" for his own album Late Night Feelings (2019), was released on November 29, 2018; it peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and number 43 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[5][6] Cyrus described the sound of the song to be a "nice introduction" to and "heavier" than her own record.[7]

Cyrus first used the phrase "She Is Coming" on social media in anticipation of the Met Gala on May 6, 2019.[8] On May 9, she used the phrase to announce that new music would be released on May 30.[9] On May 27, it was announced that She Is Coming would be released as a multi-track extended play, instead of a lead single on its own, on May 31. Consequently, it is Cyrus' first EP since The Time of Our Lives (2009).[10] The cover artwork, photographed by Gray Sorrenti, was revealed that day; the black-and-white picture sees Cyrus standing over the camera dressed in a crop top reading "never mind the bollocks", making reference to the 1977 album by the Sex Pistols.[11]

Upon its release, Cyrus revealed that She Is Coming is the first of three EPs that tell "different [chapters] to a trilogy" that will together form the full-length record that was confirmed to be titled She Is Miley Cyrus.[2]

She Is Coming is a pop project with hip hop, rock and trap influences and R&B elements.[1][12][13] Cyrus described the three EPs to be "seasonal" in nature, and related She Is Coming to "[wanting to feel] light and feel the warmth" of early summer compared to She Is Here and She Is Everything being "colder and a little darker" as the release cycle was planned to extend into the fall.[14]

Cyrus performing in Barcelona at Primavera Sound, May 2019

Sam Keywanfar, founder of the media buying company MilkMoney, acknowledged that Cyrus conceptualized much of the marketing campaign for She Is Coming. Cyrus launched the hotline 1-833-SHE-IS-MC, which randomly plays messages prerecorded by Cyrus and prompts callers to leave a message, to coincide with the release of She Is Coming.[15] International versions of the phone number were launched in Australia, Canada, Peru, Poland, Singapore, Spain, and the United Kingdom.[16] The American hotline phone number appeared on out-of-home advertisements in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York City, and London for four weeks following the release of the EP.[16] It is a motif on several pieces of merchandise from her online store, including a condom being sold for USD$20 that was particularly discussed.[17]

Cyrus first performed "Cattitude", "D.R.E.A.M.", and "Mother's Daughter" at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in North Yorkshire on May 25, 2019.[2] Cyrus performed at Primavera Sound in Barcelona on May 31,[18] the Orange Warsaw Festival in Warsaw on June 1,[18] Tinderbox in Odense on June 28,[19] the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset on June 30[20] and the Sunny Hill Festival in Pristina on August 2.[21]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	64/100[26]
Review scores
Source	Rating
The Guardian	[1]
Los Angeles Times	positive[27]
NME	[13]
Consequence of Sound	B-[28]
Slant Magazine	[29]
AllMusic	[30]
Pitchfork	4.6/10[31]

She Is Coming received tepidly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the EP received an average score of 64 indicating "generally positive reviews".[26] Aimee Cliff from The Guardian felt that She Is Coming successfully blended musical influences from Cyrus' previous releases "without resorting to extreme stereotypes" in terms of promotion, and complimented Cyrus for "making some of the best pop songs she has made in years."[1] Mike Neid from Idolator described the EP as "certainly enough to net the hitmaker yet another win", but described Ghostface Killah's verse on "D.R.E.A.M." as "vibe-killing" and "Cattitude" as the "most glaring stumble."[32] Mikael Wood from the Los Angeles Times described the EP "as a means of keeping up with the kids" that have emerged in the industry since Cyrus' last project, and complimented it for possessing "a daffy energy that reminds you why it was fun to pay attention to Cyrus in the first place."[27]

Cyrus was accused of copying an Instagram artist, Stephanie Sarley, after the release of several short videos promoting She Is Coming, in which Cyrus is seen "suggestively eating pieces of fruit, promoting her own toll-free phone number, and fingering even more fruit" [33]

She Is Coming debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 with 36,000 album-equivalent units, of which 12,000 were pure album sales. It is Cyrus' 12th top-ten entry on the chart.[34][35]

Sample credits

• "D.R.E.A.M" samples Wu Tang Clan's "C.R.E.A.M."