Miley Cyrus Premieres New Single “Used to Be Young”

Miley Cyrus Premieres New Single “Used to Be Young”: Miley Cyrus has released her latest single, “Used to Be Young,” along with a music video.

“This song is about honouring who we’ve been, loving who we are, and celebrating who we will become,” stated Cyrus in a statement. “I feel proud when considering my past and hopeful when considering my future. I am appreciative of my devoted fans, who make my aspirations a daily reality. I am profoundly grateful for the consistency of your unwavering support. This is a melody for you.”

Miley Cyrus Premieres New Single “Used to Be Young”

Cyrus has been teasing the new song for some time, alluding at its lyrics in a profile for British Vogue published in May 2023: “I know I used to be crazy/I know I used to be fun/You say I used to be wild/I say I used to be young.” She explained in the interview that these lyrics came to her after another songwriter approached her with a “standard fucked up in the club track,” a motif to which she no longer relates after two years of sobriety.

This week, promotional posters began appearing in cities such as Brussels, alerting fans that the release of “Used to Be Young” was imminent. The posters featured images of Cyrus along with some of her instantly recognisable old lyrics in block text, such as “I hopped off the plane at LAX” and “I came in like a wrecking ball”; then, in another box, “I say I used to be young.”

On Wednesday (August 23), Cyrus posted a handwritten version of the lyrics to her song “Used to Be Young” on Instagram. The lyrics include such pointed lines as “It’s not worth crying over/ The things you can’t erase/ Like tattoos and regrets/ Words I never meant/ And ones that got away.” In the caption, she elaborated on the song’s history: “These lyrics were written almost two years ago… at a moment when I felt misunderstood. I have spent the past 18 months creating a sonic representation of my perspective for you to hear. Now is the time to release a song that I could eternally perfect. Although my task is complete, this song will continue to be composed daily. The fact that it is unfinished contributes to its attractiveness. That is my life right now… incomplete yet comprehensive.”

The music video for “Used to Be Young” features a “super emotional” Miley Cyrus singing directly into the camera. She explained in a statement that she would be singing the melody directly to her mother. She explained, “I could see her inside the camera using a technology that allowed me to livestream with my mother from inside the camera.” “So, we could see each other, and as she danced, it made me cry, it made me laugh, it evoked so many real emotions, and I think it’s really exposing people to genuine emotion, which I don’t believe we get to see very often in modern times.”

Hulu is currently broadcasting the new TV special Endless Summer Vacation: Continued (Backyard Sessions), which reveals a more introspective side of Cyrus. It’s a reimagining of the original version that aired on Disney+ in March, replete with a brand-new interview.

A limited 7-inch vinyl of “Used to Be Young” is currently available for pre-order. See below for Cyrus’s announcement of her new single.

“Used to Be Young” is the first new music Cyrus has released since her March album Endless Summer Vacation, which features the chart-topping single “Flowers.”