vulture lists

Every Miley Cyrus Cover, Ranked

It's hard to consistently pinpoint what makes a Cyrus cover bully. Sometimes, it'southward picking the perfect song for the moment; others, it's bringing a left-field song to a new audition or imbuing it with new meaning. Photo: YouTube

Miley Cyrus, Disney star turned perennial headline-maker, has long recognized the ability of a good cover. And she has the voice to back it up — one that can effortlessly traverse popular, rock, country, and soul. While she's been recording covers since the tardily aughts, she made them a more intentional staple of her repertoire with her Backyard Sessions YouTube series, which beginning debuted with three fan-favorite covers in 2012 and returned by pop demand in 2015 with even more, along with some guests. She's found success in other venues, too, from the BBC Radio 1's "Live Lounge" to the stage of The Tonight Testify to tributes and covers compilations. (Not to mention her alive shows, where she regularly busts out new covers in the name of fan service.) In 2020, Cyrus's covers were back in the spotlight thanks to a new cover of Blondie's "Heart of Drinking glass" hitting streaming (once once more, by fan demand) and another revival of the Backyard Sessions as an MTV Unplugged special. She used her cover skills while promoting her 2020 album Plastic Heartsouth, sprinkling in new renditions at stages from her NPR Tiny Desk to her Super Bowl LV pre-show on TikTok to an entire Pride concert special. Her latest project, a live album chosen Attending (released on April ane), featured even more than new covers she'due south performed over the past year on stage.

That makes it the perfect fourth dimension to take a look dorsum at the highs and lows of Cyrus's covers discography. (In the name of setting boundaries, nosotros're sticking to officially released covers, meaning no live bootlegs.) It's hard to consistently pinpoint what makes a Cyrus encompass great. Sometimes, it's picking the perfect song for the moment; others, information technology'south bringing a left-field vocal to a new audience or imbuing information technology with new meaning. Sometimes, it's singing the song that shows off the best contours of her voice; others, it's bending songs that merely shouldn't work to her will. Just a big swing tin can't e'er exist a hit. Many of Cyrus's misses often take the makings of her great covers and stop upwards unpleasing for the reasons the others succeeded: a vocal operation played as well straightforward or too outside the lines; a song choice that sets her upwards to disappoint or ends upward ringing empty. Regardless, her best and worst covers alike are rarely not interesting. Here is every Miley Cyrus embrace song, ranked.

76. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (the Beatles) with the Flaming Lips and Moby, With a Fiddling Aid from My Fwends
The Flaming Lips' corybantic Beatles covers anthology is cluttered, and Cyrus'south participation barely has anything to do with that. This fuzzed-out take on the song sounds just terrible, with Cyrus giving the most absent vocal performance she's ever sung.

75. "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" (Song of the South), Disneymania iv
Few things have made me happier that Cyrus eventually left Disney than her terrible cover of the big hit from i of the company's most racist films.

74. "No Tears Left to Cry" (Ariana Grande), BBC Radio 1 "Alive Lounge"

Doing a pop comprehend with a strings section is a gimmick on its ain; singing about "vibin'" while yous're but backed past a strings section is just giddy.

73. "Happy Together" (the Turtles), Backyard Sessions 2015

Washed well, this i-hitting wonder past the Turtles is lighthearted and buoyant. Cyrus makes information technology the opposite with some other checked-out, well-nigh mournful vocal — along with ditching that awesome horn part.

72. "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" (Robert Hazard), Breakout
Maybe Cyrus could pull off a better cover of this Cyndi Lauper hitting today, but she couldn't shake the Disney off in her 2008 performance.

71. "Different" (Joan Jett & the Blackhearts) with Joan Jett, Backyard Sessions 2015

Cyrus loves to encompass a topical vocal, but this pick — which, on its face, fit her Happy Hippy Foundation well — backfired. Joan Jett'southward original performance is tepid enough, and the lyrics make for a pretty thin canticle ("Look, they treat you rough, but you're tough enough, and we're all different"). Going acoustic declaws the song the residuum of the way, even if Cyrus is still trying to sing it similar a total-force rock song.

70. "Why'd Y'all But Call Me when You're High?" (Arctic Monkeys), MTV Unplugged 2014

Doing a straightforward acoustic cover of this song just reveals that, sorry, information technology'due south a little boring. Points awarded for Cyrus playing up the lyrics at every chance she gets; points deducted for her out-of-nowhere screaming at the end.

69. "Crimson & Clover" (Tommy James and the Shondells) with Joan Jett, Tommy James, and Dave Grohl; 2015 Rock and Coil Hall of Fame Induction
Information technology was probably a good thing that Cyrus's voice was lower in the mix so her belting wouldn't totally accident original performer Tommy James out of the water. Still, it's sweet to run across Cyrus show upwardly for her icon, Joan Jett.

68. "White Wedding" (Baton Idol) with Billy Idol, Super Basin LV #TikTokTailgate
On a musical level, Cyrus's duet with Plastic Hearts collaborator Baton Idol is uneven and cut too short, with just a few seconds of belting from Cyrus to redeem information technology. But Cyrus is clearly having fun performing with Idol — tin't you lot tell from all the grinding? — and information technology's hard to fully knock her for that.

67. "True Trans Soul Rebel" (Against Me!) with Laura Jane Grace, Backyard Sessions 2015

Sure, Cyrus doesn't add much to this cover, simply she did give Grace the platform for an important message. Cyrus has always had a great sense of when to pace forward and when to step back when she performs with others, and this is a great example of the latter.

66. "Nosotros Belong" (Pat Benatar) with Brothers Osborne, Stand up by You

Without the Brothers Osborne, it could've been a near-perfect Cyrus encompass, sitting in her '80s power ballad sugariness spot and suiting her raspy vocalisation perfectly. With a different song choice, it could've been a celebratory moment shortly after TJ Osborne's historic coming out, pairing up the country star with a bonafide queer icon. But every bit information technology stands, it's just disappointing — TJ'due south smooth baritone gets done out confronting Miley and the band, and the duet format holds Miley back from truly owning information technology. Points for getting TJ into a pride T-shirt, though.

65. "Jolene" (Dolly Parton), Backyard Sessions 2012

Cyrus does a fine performance of her godmother'south torch vocal, but without whatsoever big vocal moments and with the ring leading her at times, it'due south the weakest of her three original Backyard Sessions covers. She was a fleck looser when she joined Dolly Parton for the song at a 2010 Hallmark event and finally gave the song the chugalug it deserved with Parton at her 2019 Grammys tribute, but oddly, Cyrus's accommodating best performance simply might've been with Parton and Pentatonix on The Voice in 2016.

64. "Sleigh Ride" (standard), Spotify Singles

63. "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" (standard), Spotify Singles
There are precisely zero surprises in either of these Christmas performances, for improve or worse.

62. "Freedom '90" (George Michael), Stand by You
After a nighttime full of largely true-blue, run-of-the-manufacturing plant renditions of pop hits, Cyrus decides that she's going to put a bit of a spin on her finale number, and it's as well much too late. The ways she messes with the vocal'due south phrasing just don't brand sense, and instead comes off as Cyrus being off-rhythm. The just peaks in the song come courtesy of the fill-in singers, who save the performance from devolving into a mess.

61. "A Solar day in the Life" (the Beatles) with the Flaming Lips and New Fumes, With a Piddling Help from My Fwends
This Beatles encompass is less obnoxious than Cyrus'due south other Flaming Lips team-upwardly, even tolerable when information technology comes to her bridge. She adds merely a bit of humanity, something the rest of the cover is sorely lacking.

60. "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" (Poison), Can't Be Tamed
Cyrus gives her all singing this ability ballad, just the drum rails and stiff guitar solo behind her brand the whole affair sound sappy — inappreciably fitting for an album called Can't Be Tamed.

59. "Bang Blindside (My Baby Shot Me Downward)" (Nancy Sinatra), Attention: Miley Live
Cyrus can do the sort of haunting performance that would serve a full version of this song — and does for only a few bars here, before segueing into a operation of ane of her ain songs, "See You Once again." A bit of a shot in the pes.

58. "Mickey" (Toni Basil), Super Bowl LV #TikTokTailgate
Cyrus clearly didn't perform "Mickey" for the song itself, but more than and then to simply enter her Super Bowl pre-show to a "Hey Miley!" chant. It'due south not a shocker out the gate, and she's conspicuously warming up, simply the song's playfulness suits her well and makes this encompass difficult to apartment-out detest.

57. "The Bitch Is Back," Restoration: The Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin
Many Cyrus fans who happened upon this cover outside the compilation anthology idea information technology was an original, and it sure sounds like something she'd make, doesn't it? Her countrified version surprisingly works, but she doesn't quite inject it with as much mental attitude equally John's original. If Cyrus had written the affair, it'd be more disappointing, but every bit a cover, information technology's still pretty fun.

56. "Don't Stop Me Now" (Queen), NCAA Concluding Four
55. "We Will Stone You" (Queen), NCAA Concluding Four
After Cyrus's Super Bowl tailgate performance proved she could thrive at sporting events, it was only a matter of time before she pulled out a "We Will Stone Yous" cover. Information technology was perfect fare for the opening of her NCAA Terminal Iv functioning, broadcast on CBS. Merely her faithful vocal performance couldn't match the energy of that downright epic opening interpolation of "Nosotros Are the Champions" — and every bit curious as I was to hear Cyrus's take on "Don't Stop Me At present" continue, information technology only served as a atomic number 82-in to a difficult-rocking operation of "Nosotros Can't Stop."

54. "Function of Your World" (The Piffling Mermaid), Disneymania 5
Cyrus was already a piddling punk way back in 2007 when she rocked out to, uh, the ballad from The Little Mermaid. Underneath that layer of tackiness that a Disney Channel cover is leap to have, it'southward fun and playful, a delectable picayune hint at where she'd eventually go next.

53. "You lot're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Become" (Bob Dylan) with Johnzo Due west, Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International
Cyrus polishes up this Bob Dylan cover and sneaks in a few big notes in the process, but otherwise plays it fairly straight. It's not a memorable cover (especially when it comes to Dylan), simply it'south a nonetheless committed performance of the song.

52. "Truthful Colors" (Cyndi Lauper) with Little Large Town, Stand by You lot
Cyrus kicked off a run of on-the-nose vocal choices for her pride special with Cyndi Lauper's ballad-turned-queer-canticle. Information technology's a song that can pull right on your heartstrings when done right or come off every bit melodramatic when done wrong, but the affair about Cyrus's encompass with Piffling Large Town is it only doesn't get much of anywhere. The notes get hitting, and nothing almost it sounds bad, but information technology all feels like a flake of a chore.

51. "Wish You Were Hither" (Pink Floyd), Saturday Nighttime Live

This Pink Floyd cover is a Rorschach examination for your thoughts on the band itself. Beloved them? Yous'll be into Cyrus'southward true-blue rendition of a carol fitting for the middle of pandemic lockdown. Hate them? You'll think it's a dragging accept on one of their simpler songs.

50. "These Days" (Nico), MTV Unplugged Backyard Sessions
At offset glance, this maverick carol seems perfect for Cyrus. But hearing her perform information technology, you realize that Nico's German drawl is its evocative heart, and Cyrus can't match that. She sings it well, and her run-through is a good reminder that "These Days," written by Jackson Browne, could've fabricated a damn fine country vocal. Instead, Nico'south legacy looms over it.

49. "Heart of Glass" (Blondie), single
There's near a hypnotic quality to Debbie Harry's original functioning of Blondie's get-go and best hit — her forceful whisper made "Heart of Glass" such a feat of a crossover, bridging the disparate worlds of punk and disco with one intricately constructed song. Cyrus throws disco out the window for her raw performance of the song, released on streaming by popular demand afterward she debuted it at a fanless iHeart Music Festival. To me, her screaming in the verses shatters the wonder of the vocal, even if it stands as one of Cyrus'south spunkiest performances ever. That's the affair: She could've done justice to a bigger Blondie song (I know she can scorch "Ane Manner or Another"), and she has the voice for a traditional "Center of Glass" encompass likewise, but she remains hell-aptitude on staying original. It's hard to fault her for it.

48. "Cowboy Take Me Away" (the Chicks) with Orville Peck, Stand past Y'all
This performance flirts into the same issues as Cyrus'south encompass of "We Belong" with Brothers Osborne from earlier in the evidence: It's a perfect solo Miley choice, dragged downwardly by a duet partner whose voice doesn't quite fit. Merely "Cowboy Have Me Away" has more going for it, from Orville Peck'southward comfort on that stage and flirty chemistry with Cyrus to the sheer fact of it beingness a stronger Cyrus vocal operation. It doesn't quite take u.s.a. abroad, simply at least information technology goes somewhere.

47. "Aid!" (the Beatles), "Global Goal: Unite for Our Future"

Cyrus gives her cover more groove than the Beatles original has, merely her raspy voice doesn't quite clot with such a down-to-concern song, and she overdoes it with the belt in the chorus. But we all know she really chose this song, performed for a COVID-19 relief special, for the title alone, right?

46. "Communication" (the Cardigans), MTV Unplugged Backyard Sessions

Offset of all, points to Cyrus for surprising once over again hither and not choosing "Lovefool" similar many assumed when she teased a Cardigans cover. That said, that vocal would've been a welcome upbeat plough at this point in her Unplugged special. Instead, her "Communication" cover drags at points, as much of a vocal tour de forcefulness every bit information technology is.

45. "I'll Stand by You" (the Pretenders), Stand by Yous
The namesake ballad is undeniably Cyrus's biggest operation of her Peacock pride special, and information technology's hard to argue it'southward bad. Merely the song could benefit from a more controlled version by Cyrus, who goes for her belting-without-abandon approach here rather than the wearisome build that makes her best ballads blink.

44. "Maneater" (Hall & Oates), The Tonight Bear witness Starring Jimmy Fallon
Cyrus could not have chosen a more perfectly on-the-olfactory organ song, keeping with the '80s influences of her latest single "Midnight Heaven," and which she defended to her "hereafter ex-husband" weeks after she confirmed her breakdown with Cody Simpson. Otherwise, information technology's a good run-through of a playful vocal that gets a little carried away at the end.

43. "Believe" (Cher), Stand up by You lot
Cyrus took fans correct to queer church, then heaven, with this cover of "Believe" from her Peacock pride special, featuring a troupe of dancing drag queens and entirely every bit much glitter every bit you'd expect. It pushes the boundary of how kitschy something can be while nonetheless being good, but isn't there something queer nigh that? The performance loses points, though, for Cyrus's vocals — she can't make up one's mind whether she wants to use her twang at the offset (thank god she ditches it for this one), and deploys some random speak-singing to kick off that huge bridge. Nevertheless, information technology's extremely hard to detest.

42. "Caput Like a Hole" (9 Inch Nails), Black Mirror
It tin exist difficult to tell how good nosotros're supposed to recollect a Television receiver music performance really is: Is Cyrus but covering Nine Inch Nails on her Black Mirror episode for the scrap, or did she actually desire usa to enjoy this? But if her song as Ashley O charted, then let's requite this functioning its due, too. Cyrus puts a punk spin on "Head Like a Hole" to nice effect, and afterward she pulled out some bully hard-stone covers on her Bangerz tour, information technology'south bang-up to hear her snarl again.

41. "Gimme More" (Britney Spears), MTV Unplugged Backyard Sessions

This is the perfect encompass to set the scene of Cyrus's anticipated Backyard Sessions special because, well, it's weird. Britney Spears'due south "Gimme More than" is the straight opposite of a country-rock barnstormer, but that's exactly what Cyrus turns it into. It'due south non a vocal with much room to belt, merely Cyrus finds it anyhow, although she cuts her abbreviated takeoff right when things starting time going through the roof. Uh, give us more!

40. "Don't Let the Sun Become Down on Me" (Elton John), Revamp: The Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin
The bar is high for one of Elton John's best songs, which experienced a second life 15 years after its release thanks to a encompass duet by George Michael. It'due south a vocal mammoth and a lyrical masterpiece; Cyrus steps up to the claiming, giving as large and poignant a performance as she tin can muster. Like Michael'south performance, I'one thousand certain it would be a stunner live, but here, the bankroll feels but a bit as well artificial and schmaltzy.

39. "Rebel Girl" (Bikini Kill), Super Bowl LV #TikTokTailgate
"Insubordinate Daughter" feels tailor-made for Miley Cyrus to cover, from sound to history to message. Her decidedly unpretty have (especially against that neon-pinkish stage) fits the vocal, but feels a bit stagnant — at this bespeak, information technology's aught we haven't heard Cyrus do before. It'southward missing the big moment most of her covers build toward.

38. "American Woman" (the Gauge Who), NCAA Final Four
I'll never not be a sucker for Cyrus covering a testosterone-fueled rock number, and the "American Adult female" encompass that airtight her NCAA Terminal Iv performance was a straight hit to that spot. Her backing ring sounds absolutely chaotic hither, just that growl can still cutting through.

37. "Dancing Queen" (ABBA) with Maren Morris, Stand past You
Permit'south be honest: Virtually of the covers from Stand by You come off as glorified karaoke, with Cyrus and friends doing a low-stakes run-through of a song she wouldn't otherwise be singing if the goal of the special weren't being gay as hell. But karaoke can however be good! And that'due south what happens when Maren Morris, a country star who'southward perennially down for anything, joins Cyrus for a karaoke classic, "Dancing Queen." It'southward corking fun, from Cyrus's playful banter to Morris's, er, endearing dance moves. And like with any good karaoke operation, the pair give their all to the song itself. They also testify to be some of the better duet partners of the nighttime, striking sweet harmonies in the choruses.

36. "Where Is My Mind?" (Pixies), Attention: Miley Live

This vocal is squarely in Cyrus's '80s alt-rock sweet spot. Predictably, she delivers in this medley performance with "We Can't Cease," teetering from some belted notes to hitting that restrained, well-nigh talky chorus. But hither's a champagne problem: It just can't compare to the stellar operation of "We Can't Terminate" sandwiched effectually information technology, which Cyrus elevates with some guitar shredding and live backing vocals.

35. "Wildflowers" (Tom Petty) with Billy Ray Cyrus, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

One of Cyrus's strengths equally an artist is channeling the emotion of a moment into an off-the-gage reaction, like this cover, performed just days afterwards Tom Petty'southward expiry. What starts as a adequately subdued take on this simple Petty ballad turns into a poignant costless fall as Cyrus taps into her belt. Having her father on backing just sweetens the whole moment.

34. "Boys Don't Cry" (the Cure), Save Our Stages Fest
Cyrus's cover of "Zombie" was the articulate takeaway from her three-vocal ready at an empty Whisky a Get Go, merely don't count out her opening comprehend of another moody, punk-inflected rock song. She dives into one of the Cure's signature songs smoothly and performs a faithful take on the vocal, never laying on besides much rasp. Forgive her if information technology'southward a chip rushed, though — she was merely building up to the existent treat that came afterward.

33. "Tiny Dancer (Elton John) with Elton John, Grammys 2018

When Cyrus finally gets her moment to perform with John himself, she doesn't have information technology for granted. She's fittingly theatrical alongside the bonafide showman, and her voice makes up for the range that John's lost afterward 50 years of performing. Even so she doesn't overshadow him, instead accentuating his best parts for a loving tribute.

32. "Nix Compares 2 U" (Sinead O'Connor), Attention: Miley Live

Great vocal choice! Solid cover! Simply what we really need to talk virtually is that transition, almost mid-notation, from the chorus of "Wrecking Brawl" to the chorus of "Zip Compares 2 U." My compliments to the arranger.

31. "Boot and Screaming" (Ashlee Simpson), The Fourth dimension of Our Lives
It'due south both a good and a bad thing that Cyrus's encompass of this cut from Ashlee Simpson's I Am Me sounds well-nigh exactly similar the original. The bad: Cyrus has shown u.s.a. that she has a skill for taking a song and spinning it into her ain. The skillful: This was the best evidence at the time of that stone growl she kept hiding under her Disney star sheen, the 1 that'd proceed to be the signature flourish of her singing.

xxx. "New York State of Mind" (Billy Joel) with Billy Joel, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Does information technology veer on besides much at times? Yes. Is information technology damn impressive? Too aye.

29. "Cypher Else Matters" (Metallica) with Elton John, WATT, Yo-Yo Ma, Chad Smith, and Robert Trujillo, The Metallica Blacklist
Come across previous blurb.

28. "These Four Walls" (Cheyenne Kimball), Breakout
Cyrus had one great cover under her belt before she even turned sixteen, while she was notwithstanding tied to Disney and Hannah Montana. It was impressive at the fourth dimension, and all the more now given how well it nevertheless holds up to the remainder of her catalogue.

27. "Just Breathe" (Pearl Jam), MTV Unplugged Backyard Sessions

She already proved she could lucifer Eddie Vedder'south guttural growl when Cyrus pummeled her operation of "Say Hello 2 Heaven" with Temple of the Dog at a 2019 Chris Cornell tribute concert. So always going for breadth, she chose Pearl Jam'southward breakout ballad for her Unplugged. One time again, her vox matches Vedder's well, with Cyrus digging deeper than his original take, adding some more growls, and leaving niggling to complain almost.

26. "I Detest Myself for Loving Yous" (Joan Jett) with Joan Jett, Super Bowl LV #TikTokTailgate
25. "Bad Reputation" (Joan Jett) with Joan Jett, Super Bowl LV #TikTokTailgate

Miley Cyrus won't pass upwards a adventure to talk nigh her friend and hero Joan Jett — "Anytime anybody comes to one of my shows and they go out saying, 'What'south incorrect for her?' The explanation is she listened to a lot of Joan Jett growing up," she joked betwixt songs during Jett's appearance at her Super Bowl pre-bear witness. Different some of her previous Jett duets (fifty-fifty the corking, subdued Plastic Hearts outing "Bad Karma," which they performed correct before) these songs actually convey the bite of Jett's music that Cyrus has always seemed drawn to. Information technology may not be a huge operation, but information technology's neat to hear them finally operating at 100% alongside each other, with their growls intertwining perfectly. The shorter cut helps "Bad Reputation" pack but a little more punch.

24. "Human of Constant Sorrow" (Soggy Bottom Boys), AFI Life Achievement Accolade: A Tribute to George Clooney

Don't cartel forget that Ms. Miley Cyrus tin act. And male child does she play up her performance of the signature song from O Brother, Where Fine art Thou?, i of George Clooney's more than absurd and beloved credits, at the American Picture show Institute'south tribute to the star. She's costumed, she's owning the stage, she'due south joking with the audition, and she'southward selling that song better than the Soggy Lesser Boys always did. Clooney eats it all up, besides.

23. "l Ways to Leave Your Lover" (Paul Simon), Backyard Sessions 2015

Paul Simon wrote this song equally a fun, low-stakes romp, and Cyrus plays it up in her cover, giving it that twangy swing that she tin can effortlessly add to a operation. Information technology's even more exciting in front of an audience (including Simon himself) for Saturday Night Live's 40th-anniversary special — Cyrus shows off breathy vocals, growls, and belts, all in just three minutes.

22. "Like a Prayer" (Madonna), Stand up by You
21. "Music" (Madonna), Stand by You
20. "Express Yourself" (Madonna), Stand past Y'all
For a queer icon, Cyrus has waited a criminally long fourth dimension to give the globe her accept on Madonna. But when she finally did — where else but on her pride special? — it was worth the wait. Cyrus'due south voice tin can overpower some popular songs, simply her roughness effectually the edges fabricated for an interesting take on the Queen of Pop. She turned "Music" into a nice vocal showcase without losing the vocal's playfulness, but that only proved to exist a warmup for her have on "Express Yourself," the stiff, jubilant, out-and-proud-simply-not-cheesily-then high point of the whole show. "Like a Prayer" could've washed with a softer opening from Cyrus, but everything clicked into place by the climax, when it really needed to.

19. "Happy Xmas (State of war Is Over)" with Marking Ronson and Sean Ono Lennon, single
Cyrus'south voice draws out everything somber and grieving from one of the saddest Christmas songs e'er written, and that ending features 1 of her finest wails. I'm just begging for her and Sean Ono Lennon to get a chance to perform it complimentary from Mark Ronson and his synthesizers just once.

xviii. "Baby I'chiliad in the Mood for Y'all" (Bob Dylan) with the Roots, The Tonight Prove Starring Jimmy Fallon
Cyrus has never made belting sound as effortless as she does covering Dylan with the Roots. One 2d she'south grooving with the ring, then she'due south moaning out that whole chorus, then she's making pocket-sized talk with the audience like it was nothing — just to do information technology all again for the ending.

17. "Fade Into You" (Mazzy Star), NPR Tiny Desk-bound (Home) Concert

Mazzy Star certain isn't known for being loud, but did yous call up Miley Cyrus would go along this vocal quiet? She simply belts a few lines, but keeps us guessing as to when, making each big note a delightful surprise. Her encompass of "Sugariness Jane" feels smoother and has a bit more heart, but on the whole, cowboy dream-pop is one of Cyrus's sweetest spots. Can nosotros get that album adjacent?

16. "Take It to the Limit" (the Eagles), BBC Radio 1 "Live Lounge"

Are the Eagles supposed to sound this emotional? Regardless of your feelings on the band, it'due south pretty hard to deny that Cyrus turned this song into a special moment, in tribute to her grandmother, who died only days before. She builds it into a powerful rock carol that sounds simply as archetype equally the original, backed past one of her band's finer arrangements and performances.

15. "No Liberty" (Dido), Backyard Sessions 2015

Without Cyrus, this little-known Dido song would've stayed a soft-spoken breakup song. But she made it her sheet when she dedicated her Backyard Sessions operation to Leelah Alcorn, a transgender teenager who died by suicide the twelvemonth before. For that operation, she fabricated the song into a gentle, heartfelt elegy, letting the simple chorus speak for itself. When she revisited it in 2017 on The Tonight Bear witness, the day after the Route 91 Harvest festival shooting, she turned information technology into a passionate call to action — you tin can hear equal parts anguish and frustration in her voice.

14. "I Got So Loftier That I Saw Jesus" (Noah Cyrus) with Noah Cyrus, MTV Unplugged Backyard Sessions

Noah Cyrus, younger sister to Miley, has been putting out music since 2016, yet information technology took until 2020 to become the sisters to share a stage. Their duet of Noah's twangy "I Got So Loftier That I Saw Jesus" has me wondering what other wonderful moments nosotros've missed in those four years. Certain, the song fits Miley'southward vocalization wonderfully, but she mostly steps bated to let her 20-year-one-time sis shine. Noah reaches bigger than she did on her studio take of the song, proving she can agree her own only fine against Miley.

13. "Summer Sadness" (Lana Del Rey), BBC Radio 1 "Live Lounge"

There'due south a similar fuck-information technology attitude between Bangerz-era Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey's early-'10s persona, which makes this cover feel like it was concocted in a lab. The song already stood out among Del Rey's early material as one of her more than dynamic, but Cyrus multiplied its peaks and valleys, emotionally and sonically. And who else would dare to blow that bridge upward like that?

12. "Zombie" (the Cranberries), Save Our Stages Fest

The Cranberries rocked harder than many give them credit for, and Cyrus reminds us of that by spinning "Zombie" into i of her darkest, heaviest covers. In the chorus, the guitars alloy into a wall that could be impenetrable, but Cyrus'southward vocalism crashes correct through. Like her "Heart of Drinking glass" comprehend, it's another example of Cyrus taking a (somewhat) polished rock vocal and roughing it up — only with a more than plumbing fixtures song selection this time. So when do nosotros go this 1 as a single?

xi. "Look What They've Done to My Song" (Melanie), Backyard Sessions 2012; with Melanie Safka, Backyard Sessions 2015

Cyrus already performed a neat embrace of this song in 2012, and then much so that Melanie herself joined Backyard Sessions for its next iteration. So she took it miles further the second time, singing similar the words had taken on new meaning to her in the intervening three years. But Melanie being there keeps things from getting too serious; she pulls out a poetry in French, making Cyrus giggle like no other duet partner.

10. "Doll Parts" (Pigsty), Howard Stern Show

I truly cannot stress Cyrus'due south forcefulness at comprehend-vocal selection enough. Non only is Courtney Dear 1 of the all-time women to always scream in rock music, "Doll Parts" marries her central fascinations with glory and the way social club chews women upwards before spitting them out. Y'all tin can't get much more on point than that for Miley. She drags her voice similar she's pulling the lyrics through gravel, gives the chorus more than of a melodic touch, and builds it all toward that final refrain, when everything she has left comes spilling out.

9. "Sweet Jane" (Velvet Clandestine), MTV Unplugged Lawn Sessions

Cowboy Junkies' muted, folky take of "Sweet Jane" might be the officially sanctioned cover of i of the Velvet Surreptitious's last and best hurrahs, boasting an endorsement past Lou Reed himself. Smartly, Cyrus chose to perform a embrace of that embrace, taking the vocal to yet some other new place. She keeps the organisation with her unplugged band, but recalls Reed's wild vocals with her chugalug: always unpredictable, but never out of control. Most neat covers can be chalked upwards to genius, skill, or emotion; Cyrus's is a rewarding mix of all iii.

viii. "The Kickoff Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (Roberta Flack), BBC Radio 1 "Live Lounge"

When choosing covers, Cyrus doesn't go for the notoriously huge singers, similar Whitney Houston or Aretha Franklin. She is an undisputed old soul though, meaning her Roberta Flack cover both fits perfectly and is the virtually daunting song she's ever taken on. Cyrus keeps the song as fragile as Flack intended, singing deliberately equally if the whole vocal would crumble if one note were off-central. It's a care for to hear her phonation tremble in parts of this functioning, but when she goes big on the finale, information technology's a reminder that she's still the same confident Miley Cyrus.

7. "Don't Dream Information technology's Over" (Crowded House) with Ariana Grande, Backyard Sessions 2015

The Backyard Sessions take of this embrace is the definition of casual, with Cyrus and Ariana Grande wearing onesies and hanging out similar longtime friends, talking during the instrumental interruption and flubbing their lines. Their chemistry is alone is like a shot of serotonin. They're a good match musically, besides: Grande's silky vocals balance out Cyrus'southward smokier tone. When they revived the cover at Grande's "One Love Manchester" concert, it took on new meaning as a song of resilience, even equally information technology provided a much-needed moment of levity.

6. "Androgynous" (the Replacements) with Laura Jane Grace and Joan Jett, Backyard Sessions 2015

She doesn't accept a verse or chorus for herself, but Cyrus is the glue that holds together this cover, of ane of the better songs e'er written. Her joy is infectious every bit she harmonizes with two of her heroes, stone icon Joan Jett and Against Me!'s Laura Jane Grace. Somewhen, Cyrus turns to passionate shouting that should brand Paul Westerberg proud; a month later, when she came out equally gender-fluid, fans would know what the words truly meant to her.

5. "Maybe" (Janis Joplin), Attention: Miley Alive
Cyrus has no closer musical analogue than Janis Joplin, the raspy-voiced rock star who worked a phase with blowing and was her a master of covers in her ain correct. Even so she'd steered clear of covering Joplin until recently, when she began performing "Maybe" live — which really isn't even a Joplin original, but a comprehend of a '50s early girl-group hit past the Chantels. Joplin'due south 1969 performance is the definitive version, a vocal workout that strikes her signature dejection-rock blend. And somehow, Cyrus's comprehend sounds fifty-fifty more like Joplin: it'south louder, rougher, funkier, faster, softer, snarlier, and grander. Joplin's take had been a showstopper, and Cyrus's is just as well.

four. "Light of a Clear Blue Forenoon" (Dolly Parton), Saturday Night Alive 2021

This is information technology: The simply stellar, striking-it-out-of-the-park Dolly Parton cover that's been missing from Cyrus'southward catalogue. For Saturday Night Live's Mother'due south Solar day common cold open up, Cyrus scuffs upward her ain godmother'southward glowing, inspirational ballad merely enough to make it definitively her ain, without sacrificing any of the emotional punch — 1 she doesn't take to say lands harder after more than a year of distance between family unit and loved ones for some. On its own, Cyrus'south performance is pitch-perfect, hitting big notes right where they ought to be and letting some of Parton's best lyrics (that simple, glorious chorus, for starters) speak for themselves. But it's nearly incommunicable to carve up the cover from the rest of the cold open — possibly I'chiliad just a sucker for mom content, but the cut-ins with SNL cast members and their moms only makes the performance more than affecting. Go from laughing to crying to chuckle-sobbing, all in less than seven minutes.

iii. "Lilac Wine" (standard), Backyard Sessions 2012

Cyrus wasn't even old enough to drink when she delivered what may well be the definitive accept of this then-62-twelvemonth-onetime standard — outdoing Eartha Kitt and Nina Simone. Her voice is as entrancing as the elixir she's singing most, but she performs with unmatched command, pushing and pulling the notes toward a huge, stunning finale.

2. "my time to come" (Billie Eilish), BBC Radio 1 "Live Lounge"

Condolences to Billie Eilish, because not only did Cyrus sing this vocal like she wrote information technology, she turned information technology into a master form in restraint. Her raspy belt makes the song sound bigger than you ever idea it could, before she reigns her voice back in for polish runs that cord y'all forth. The confidence she brings to each line allows Cyrus to make Eilish's anthem for a generation at a crossroads into her own, turning it into a statement from an oft-misunderstood artist entering the next stage of her career.

1. "Peace Will Come (According to Plan)" (Melanie) with Melanie Safka, Backyard Sessions 2015

You can see in Cyrus's face simply how excited she is to be singing with Melanie, a '60s folk icon she start covered back in 2012. Or yous can hear it later on the 2nd chorus of "Peace Will Come," when Cyrus sings with a religious fervor that she'south never quite matched before or since. That'due south the standout moment of this performance, simply hearing Cyrus and Melanie gently land the vocal is impressive in its own right, as their voices meld like the intergenerational soul sisters they are. Listening to information technology is experiencing a perfect infinitesimal of the peace they're singing well-nigh.

*A version of this article appears in the October 12, 2020, issue ofNew York Magazine. Subscribe Now!

Every Miley Cyrus Cover, Ranked