Miley Cyrus’ rocker-chic era is officially kicking off with her first live album titled “ATTENTION: MILEY LIVE.” Her album contains 20 songs and was released April 1. The intro track “ATTENTION” set the standard for the album. It does not shy away from screaming vocals and energetic beats. The short song is not something I’d listen to while doing homework or walking to class, but it would be a good hype song for a workout.
Most of the songs on her album she has already performed, some of which are from her Hannah Montana era. I was most excited to hear her cover some of her older songs like “The Climb” and “7 Things.”
I prefer these as the classic pop Hannah Montana songs, but the new album puts a unique twist on some of her older music.
The album also contains recent popular songs like “Plastic Hearts” and her cover of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass.” Both songs are good if you like Cyrus’ original cover of them.
Cyrus applies a rock style to all these songs on this album. If you aren’t a fan of rocker Cyrus, these songs may not be for you.
On tracks like “We Can’t Stop X Where Is My Mind?” Cyrus screams, “How you doing tonight, Los Angeles?” On other tracks like “23” you can hear the audience and other background noise. This made me feel like I was part of the concert, especially at the end of “Maybe” when she thanks her fans and dedicates the next song to them. I can tell from her breathing control and the fact that she can hit notes as she does in the studio that she’s a strong performer.
Her album includes lots of covers and mashups, which may confuse some fans who aren’t aware of which are originals. For example, “Bang Bang X See You Again” is a mashup between Cher’s “Bang Bang” from 1996, and Cyrus’ “See You Again” from 2007. The album displays a pattern of rock and country female artists from the 60s and 90s which I think is super cool and unique. Some of her covers are Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” and Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.”
“Like a Prayer” is probably my favorite song on the album. I think it went beautifully with Cyrus’ vocals and she killed it as a rock cover. “Jolene” was also a good cover, and Cyrus hit some impressive high notes as well. It paired well with her signature unique voice.
There were some other songs I haven’t heard like “You” and “Maybe.” “You” was performed for the first time at the NBC’s New Year’s Eve party to tease this album and “Maybe” is a Janis Joplin cover.
“You” was more of a slow song, which I wasn’t a fan of. “Maybe” was also a slow song, but with lots of impressive vocals. I preferred this over “You.” Cyrus even did some hard rock scream notes, which showed her ability to do well in multiple different genres.
The most iconic song featured on the album for me is “Party In The USA,” one of Cyrus’ most popular songs on Spotify, with over 900 million streams. However, I was disappointed by the covered version. It contained more yelling than singing, and it lacked the classic pop version fans fell in love with.
I wish Cyrus had recorded the album as a studio version and released both so listeners could choose which to listen to.
Songs on the album are either hit or miss, I do like this album and will add some of her songs to my playlist. If you enjoy listening to rock or pop, this album is worth a listen.
I rate it four out of five stars.
This story was written by Jolan Kruse. She can be reached at [email protected]
