There are albums to dance to. Others to cry to. Some, to forget. Something Beautiful, Miley Cyrus’s latest work, does none of those things—or perhaps all of them at once. It’s not an album you simply listen to. It’s one you navigate. Maybe that’s why it feels more like a film than a record. A circular film. A mirror. A confession. A rebirth.

At the invitation-only premiere of the visual film accompanying the album, I realized how profoundly it acts as a metaphor for life, self-discovery, and the emotional cycles we all live through. It never ends: when it finishes, it has already begun again.

An album that begins where it ends

The first thing that struck me about Something Beautiful was its almost cinematic dramatic structure. The album opens with the mature serenity of Prelude, plunges into pain, collapse, and rebirth, and ends with the innocent, vulnerable plea of Give Me Love. It feels like the final track is actually the beginning of it all.

This inversion is more than aesthetic; it’s emotional. Miley uses her real life as raw material, turning experiences and traumas into music:

  • More to Lose feels like a direct dialogue with Slide Away.

  • Golden Burning Sun evokes her ex-husband and perhaps the traumatic Malibu house fire.

  • Walk of Fame is a punch in the face of the Bangerz-era fame hypocrisy and post-VMA backlash.

  • Every Girl You Ever Loved recalls loves like Liam Hemsworth and Stella Maxwell.

  • Pretend You’re God seems to challenge the narrative that casts Liam as the hero and Miley as the villain.

Without naming names, the album screams these stories, with courage and without bitterness. Miley doesn’t live in her trauma anymore; she observes it with clarity.

Beauty as a choice

The title isn’t ironic—it’s an artistic statement. Miley could have named the album Ashes or Aftermath, but she chose something beautiful. In recent interviews, she’s explained that this decision reflects her desire to see beauty even in moments of destruction. Like the classic film once said, “Life is beautiful.” Miley reminds us that beauty can be found in survival, in the softness that follows storms, and in the wisdom gained through pain.

The album-film experience: when sound becomes image, and image becomes skin

Watching the visual film Something Beautiful is overwhelming in the best way. The album already carried a cinematic narrative, but the film elevates its visceral power. Each track becomes a cinematic chapter, with Miley embodying characters that are raw versions of herself. The film transforms the album into a visual testimony, showing how the singer was shaped, erased, judged, and finally reborn.

It reveals a profound vulnerability, especially in tracks like Give Me Love and Reborn, where Miley survives the pressures of child stardom and rises from her own ashes. The aesthetic is striking, weaving together symbols, vintage outfits, and intimate settings that deepen the story she’s telling.

Inevitable comparisons: dialogue and ruptures

Something Beautiful openly dialogues with Miley Cyrus’s past work, yet marks a radical break in both maturity and emotional depth.

Compared to Bangerz (2013)—an era defined by youthful rebellion and aggressive rupture with her previous image—this album feels more reflective and profound. There’s no shock for shock’s sake; there’s emotional courage instead of provocative bravado. Where Miley once sought freedom from her past, now she seeks to understand it and integrate it into her current identity.

Regarding the experimental Dead Petz (2015), the new album is more structured and less chaotic, though just as bold. The sonic experimentation of old gives way to a subtler, more calculated exploration—not less daring, but undeniably more mature.

When we turn to Plastic Hearts (2020), a clearer continuity emerges. The rock attitude of that record is still present but refined. While Plastic Hearts helped Miley find strength after personal collapse, Something Beautiful transcends that strength and finds meaning beyond mere resistance. The rock edge remains, but is softened and blended with sophisticated vulnerability.

Finally, compared to the recent Endless Summer Vacation (2023), this new work seems to complete an emotional trilogy. In her previous album, Miley took full control of her narrative. Now, she elevates that control: beyond exposure, there’s genuine artistic introspection. It feels as if her entire journey has come full circle, forming a cohesive, circular narrative.

Divided reactions: the album that defies consensus

It’s fascinating to see how Something Beautiful sparked polarized reactions on Metacritic. With a score of 71, the album gathered both praise and criticism. Outlets like Sputnikmusic hailed it as one of the greatest pop albums of the decade, while Pitchfork dismissed it as generic and tonally inconsistent. The Guardian called it beautiful but ultimately too conventional, whereas AP News praised its emotional depth and artistic maturity.

This diversity of opinions reveals the multifaceted nature of the album. Miley didn’t try to please everyone—she tried to provoke. And perhaps that’s where the true beauty lies: in an album that is not easy but powerful, challenging, and emotionally charged.

The reverse cycle theory

I have an almost irresistible theory: listening to the album in reverse reveals a kind of emotional autobiography told backwards. Starting with Give Me Love, we witness the innocent, youthful plea for love reminiscent of The Last Song era. We then move through the wild and chaotic chapters of the Bangerz and Dead Petz years, followed by a return to roots with Golden Burning Sun and Easy Lover—a reflection of the Malibu and Younger Now period. From there, we arrive at the emotional collapse of More to Lose, which feels like a direct continuation of Slide Away from the She Is Coming era, culminating in the controlled, empowered narratives of Plastic Hearts and Endless Summer Vacation through the album’s earliest tracks.

In this way, track by track, we are led backwards through Miley’s emotional history — as if she’s digging into her past in reverse, finishing at the clarity and calm of Prelude.

Or perhaps a beginning: the foundation theory

But maybe the boldest theory is that the album isn’t an ending—it’s a beginning. Miley has dropped hints in interviews that this could be just the first act of something bigger. In that light, Something Beautiful doesn’t close a chapter—it opens a new narrative path, beginning with Prelude and Something Beautiful as manifestos of a new Miley.

The album walks us through essential emotional stages to understand who she is today, ending not in naïveté but in self-awareness. Give Me Love isn’t the start of a love story—it’s the choice to ask for love, now knowing exactly who she is.

In this perspective, the album becomes a powerful prologue to a new artistic era—and Miley, its conscious director.

The power of ambiguity

Regardless of which theory rings truer—or even if all of this is just poetic rambling born out of listening to Give Me Love for the hundredth time—one thing is certain: Something Beautiful is an artistic milestone. It’s no longer Miley trying to prove something or break free; this is Miley the creator, the emotional director of her own story.

Since Endless Summer Vacation, she has been showcasing growing artistic maturity. But now, she delivers a complete, powerful, and multifaceted work that demands attentive listening and visual sensitivity. This album provokes. It requires focus and emotional courage from anyone who dares to enter it.

Conclusion: the beauty of contradictions

If beauty is a form of resistance, then Miley nailed it: she created an album that lives precisely at the point where everything collides. It’s vulnerable and fierce, painful and elegant, intimate and universal. A letter written in fire and delivered with grace. A shattered mirror in which, somehow, we see ourselves whole.

Maybe all of this is just one big theory born from the delirium of someone who listens to music as if reading fate. Maybe it’s just emotional projection—or the sheer enthusiasm of someone who loves when art transcends entertainment and becomes a personal manifesto.

But what if it’s not?

What if Something Beautiful really is just Act I of a trilogy?

What if Miley is following in the footsteps of her idol and friend Beyoncé, who already taught us that great narratives are told in layers, in eras, and in acts?

What if, after this first episode, we get a Someone Beautiful… and a Somewhere Beautiful?

Personally, I see this path with crystal clarity. And I root for it with even more intensity.

Because if this is just the beginning, then what comes next might be the most beautiful thing she’s ever created.

And if all of this really is just a wild theory spinning inside my head…

Lucky me—to live in a mind where art, desire, and intuition walk hand in hand and tell stories too beautiful to doubt.