vulture lists

Every Miley Cyrus Cover, Ranked

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

Miley Cyrus, Disney star turned perennial headline-maker, has long recognized the power of a good cover. And she has the voice to back it up — one that can effortlessly traverse pop, stone, country, and soul. While she's been recording covers since the late aughts, she made them a more than intentional staple of her repertoire with her Lawn Sessions YouTube serial, which commencement debuted with three fan-favorite covers in 2012 and returned by popular need in 2015 with fifty-fifty more than, along with some guests. She's found success in other venues, also, from the BBC Radio one's "Live Lounge" to the stage of The This night Testify to tributes and covers compilations. (Non to mention her live shows, where she regularly busts out new covers in the proper name of fan service.) In 2020, Cyrus's covers were back in the spotlight thanks to a new embrace of Blondie'south "Heart of Glass" hitting streaming (in one case once again, by fan demand) and another revival of the Backyard Sessions as an MTV Unplugged special. She used her encompass skills while promoting her 2020 album Plastic Heartsouth, sprinkling in new renditions at stages from her NPR Tiny Desk to her Super Basin LV pre-show on TikTok to an entire Pride concert special. Her latest projection, a live album called Attention (released on Apr 1), featured fifty-fifty more than new covers she's performed over the past twelvemonth on stage.

That makes it the perfect time to accept a expect back at the highs and lows of Cyrus's covers discography. (In the proper name of setting boundaries, we're sticking to officially released covers, meaning no live bootlegs.) It'due south hard to consistently pinpoint what makes a Cyrus cover slap-up. Sometimes, it'due south picking the perfect song for the moment; others, information technology's 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 phonation; others, it's bending songs that just shouldn't work to her will. Only a big swing can't always be a striking. Many of Cyrus's misses often accept the makings of her great covers and end up unpleasing for the reasons the others succeeded: a vocal performance played besides straightforward or too outside the lines; a song pick that sets her up to disappoint or ends up ringing empty. Regardless, her best and worst covers alike are rarely not interesting. Here is every Miley Cyrus cover song, ranked.

76. "Lucy in the Heaven with Diamonds" (the Beatles) with the Flaming Lips and Moby, With a Little Help from My Fwends
The Flaming Lips' frenetic Beatles covers album is chaotic, and Cyrus'due south participation barely has anything to do with that. This fuzzed-out take on the song sounds simply terrible, with Cyrus giving the most absent-minded vocal performance she's ever sung.

75. "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" (Vocal of the South), Disneymania 4
Few things have fabricated me happier that Cyrus eventually left Disney than her terrible cover of the big hit from one of the company's most racist films.

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

Doing a popular cover with a strings section is a gimmick on its own; singing well-nigh "vibin'" while you lot're only backed by a strings section is just silly.

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

Done well, this one-hit wonder by the Turtles is lighthearted and buoyant. Cyrus makes it the opposite with another checked-out, virtually mournful vocal — along with ditching that crawly horn part.

72. "Girls Merely Wanna Have Fun" (Robert Hazard), Breakout
Perchance Cyrus could pull off a better cover of this Cyndi Lauper hit today, merely 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 comprehend a topical song, simply this option — which, on its face, fit her Happy Hippy Foundation well — backfired. Joan Jett's original performance is tepid enough, and the lyrics make for a pretty thin anthem ("Expect, they treat you rough, merely y'all're tough enough, and nosotros're all dissimilar"). Going audio-visual declaws the song the rest of the manner, even if Cyrus is still trying to sing it similar a full-force rock song.

seventy. "Why'd You Just Call Me when You're Loftier?" (Arctic Monkeys), MTV Unplugged 2014

Doing a straightforward audio-visual cover of this song just reveals that, sorry, information technology'southward a piddling boring. Points awarded for Cyrus playing upward 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 Stone and Ringlet Hall of Fame Induction
Information technology was probably a adept 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. Notwithstanding, information technology's sweet to see Cyrus testify up for her icon, Joan Jett.

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

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

Certain, Cyrus doesn't add much to this comprehend, but she did give Grace the platform for an of import bulletin. Cyrus has always had a bang-up sense of when to step forwards and when to footstep dorsum when she performs with others, and this is a great instance of the latter.

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

Without the Brothers Osborne, it could've been a about-perfect Cyrus cover, sitting in her '80s power ballad sweetness spot and suiting her raspy voice perfectly. With a different song option, it could've been a celebratory moment shortly after TJ Osborne'due south celebrated coming out, pairing up the country star with a bonafide queer icon. But every bit information technology stands, information technology's simply disappointing — TJ'south smooth baritone gets washed 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), Lawn Sessions 2012

Cyrus does a fine functioning of her godmother'due south torch song, but without any large vocal moments and with the ring leading her at times, information technology's the weakest of her three original Backyard Sessions covers. She was a bit looser when she joined Dolly Parton for the song at a 2010 Hallmark outcome and finally gave the song the belt information technology deserved with Parton at her 2019 Grammys tribute, only oddly, Cyrus'southward all-around best functioning only might've been with Parton and Pentatonix on The Vocalization in 2016.

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

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

62. "Freedom '90" (George Michael), Stand up past You
Afterward a dark full of largely faithful, run-of-the-manufactory renditions of pop hits, Cyrus decides that she'due south going to put a bit of a spin on her finale number, and it'south likewise much too late. The means she messes with the song's phrasing simply don't make sense, and instead comes off as Cyrus being off-rhythm. The simply peaks in the song come courtesy of the backup singers, who salve the performance from devolving into a mess.

61. "A Day in the Life" (the Beatles) with the Flaming Lips and New Fumes, With a Little Help from My Fwends
This Beatles encompass is less obnoxious than Cyrus'due south other Flaming Lips squad-up, fifty-fifty tolerable when information technology comes to her span. She adds just a bit of humanity, something the rest of the cover is sorely lacking.

60. "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" (Toxicant), Tin't Be Tamed
Cyrus gives her all singing this power ballad, only the drum runway and stiff guitar solo behind her brand the whole matter audio sappy — hardly fitting for an album called Can't Be Tamed.

59. "Blindside Bang (My Baby Shot Me Downwards)" (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 just a few confined here, before segueing into a performance of one of her own songs, "Encounter You Again." A bit of a shot in the foot.

58. "Mickey" (Toni Basil), Super Bowl LV #TikTokTailgate
Cyrus clearly didn't perform "Mickey" for the song itself, but more so to just enter her Super Bowl pre-bear witness to a "Hey Miley!" dirge. It'south not a shocker out the gate, and she's clearly warming upward, simply the vocal'south playfulness suits her well and makes this embrace hard to flat-out hate.

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 album thought it was an original, and it sure sounds similar something she'd make, doesn't information technology? Her countrified version surprisingly works, but she doesn't quite inject it with equally much attitude as John's original. If Cyrus had written the affair, it'd be more disappointing, simply as a cover, it's all the same pretty fun.

56. "Don't Cease Me Now" (Queen), NCAA Last Four
55. "We Will Stone You" (Queen), NCAA Concluding Four
Afterwards Cyrus's Super Basin tailgate functioning proved she could thrive at sporting events, it was only a affair of time before she pulled out a "We Will Rock You" embrace. It was perfect fare for the opening of her NCAA Final Four functioning, broadcast on CBS. Simply her faithful vocal performance couldn't match the energy of that downright epic opening interpolation of "We Are the Champions" — and as curious as I was to hear Cyrus's take on "Don't Stop Me Now" continue, it only served equally a lead-in to a hard-rocking performance of "We Can't Terminate."

54. "Part of Your Globe" (The Footling 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 bound to have, it'due south fun and playful, a delectable trivial hint at where she'd somewhen get next.

53. "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When Y'all Get" (Bob Dylan) with Johnzo West, Chimes of Liberty: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International
Cyrus polishes up this Bob Dylan comprehend and sneaks in a few big notes in the process, but otherwise plays information technology fairly direct. It'due south not a memorable cover (especially when it comes to Dylan), but it'due south a nonetheless committed performance of the vocal.

52. "Truthful Colors" (Cyndi Lauper) with Niggling Big Boondocks, Stand up past You
Cyrus kicked off a run of on-the-nose song choices for her pride special with Cyndi Lauper's ballad-turned-queer-anthem. Information technology's a song that tin pull right on your heartstrings when done correct or come off equally melodramatic when done incorrect, but the matter about Cyrus's cover with Fiddling Big Town is it only doesn't go much of anywhere. The notes become hit, and goose egg nigh information technology sounds bad, but it all feels like a bit of a chore.

51. "Wish Y'all Were Here" (Pink Floyd), Saturday Nighttime Live

This Pink Floyd cover is a Rorschach test for your thoughts on the ring itself. Honey them? You'll be into Cyrus'south faithful rendition of a ballad fitting for the middle of pandemic lockdown. Hate them? You'll recollect it'due south a dragging take on one of their simpler songs.

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

49. "Middle of Drinking glass" (Blondie), single
In that location's virtually a hypnotic quality to Debbie Harry'southward original performance of Blondie's first and best hit — her forceful whisper fabricated "Heart of Glass" such a feat of a crossover, bridging the disparate worlds of punk and disco with i intricately constructed song. Cyrus throws disco out the window for her raw operation of the song, released on streaming by pop demand afterwards she debuted it at a fanless iHeart Music Festival. To me, her screaming in the verses shatters the wonder of the song, even if it stands as 1 of Cyrus'due south spunkiest performances ever. That's the thing: She could've washed justice to a bigger Blondie song (I know she tin can scorch "One Way or Another"), and she has the voice for a traditional "Heart of Drinking glass" cover also, but she remains hell-aptitude on staying original. It's hard to error her for it.

48. "Cowboy Accept Me Away" (the Chicks) with Orville Peck, Stand by You
This performance flirts into the aforementioned issues every bit Cyrus'southward cover of "Nosotros Belong" with Brothers Osborne from before in the prove: It's a perfect solo Miley selection, dragged downwardly past a duet partner whose vox doesn't quite fit. But "Cowboy Take Me Abroad" has more than going for information technology, from Orville Peck's comfort on that stage and flirty chemistry with Cyrus to the sheer fact of it being a stronger Cyrus vocal performance. Information technology doesn't quite take us abroad, merely at least information technology goes somewhere.

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

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

46. "Advice" (the Cardigans), MTV Unplugged Lawn Sessions

Start of all, points to Cyrus for surprising once again here and not choosing "Lovefool" similar many assumed when she teased a Cardigans cover. That said, that song would've been a welcome upbeat plow at this signal in her Unplugged special. Instead, her "Communication" cover drags at points, every bit much of a song tour de force as it is.

45. "I'll Stand up by You" (the Pretenders), Stand by You
The namesake ballad is undeniably Cyrus's biggest performance of her Peacock pride special, and it's hard to debate it's bad. But the song could benefit from a more controlled version by Cyrus, who goes for her belting-without-carelessness approach hither rather than the dull build that makes her best ballads glimmer.

44. "Maneater" (Hall & Oates), The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Cyrus could non take chosen a more perfectly on-the-nose song, keeping with the '80s influences of her latest unmarried "Midnight Sky," and which she dedicated to her "future ex-husband" weeks subsequently she confirmed her breakup with Cody Simpson. Otherwise, it'due south a good run-through of a playful song that gets a little carried away at the stop.

43. "Believe" (Cher), Stand by You
Cyrus took fans right to queer church, and then sky, 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 withal being good, merely isn't in that location something queer well-nigh that? The functioning loses points, though, for Cyrus's vocals — she tin't determine whether she wants to apply her twang at the beginning (thank god she ditches it for this 1), and deploys some random speak-singing to kick off that huge bridge. Still, it'due south extremely difficult to detest.

42. "Caput Similar a Pigsty" (Ix Inch Nails), Black Mirror
It can be hard to tell how good we're supposed to recall a TV music performance actually is: Is Cyrus but covering Nine Inch Nails on her Blackness Mirror episode for the bit, or did she really want united states of america to savour this? Just if her song as Ashley O charted, then permit'southward requite this performance its due, too. Cyrus puts a punk spin on "Head Like a Hole" to nice event, and after she pulled out some great difficult-stone covers on her Bangerz tour, it's corking to hear her snarl again.

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

This is the perfect cover to prepare the scene of Cyrus's predictable Backyard Sessions special considering, well, it'southward weird. Britney Spears's "Gimme More" is the straight contrary of a country-rock barnstormer, but that's exactly what Cyrus turns information technology into. It'south not a song with much room to belt, but Cyrus finds it anyway, although she cuts her abbreviated takeoff right when things kickoff going through the roof. Uh, requite us more!

40. "Don't Permit the Sun Go Down on Me" (Elton John), Revamp: The Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin
The bar is loftier for i of Elton John'south best songs, which experienced a second life 15 years after its release thanks to a cover duet by George Michael. It's a vocal mammoth and a lyrical masterpiece; Cyrus steps up to the challenge, giving equally big and poignant a performance as she can muster. Like Michael's performance, I'm sure it would be a stunner live, simply here, the backing feels just a flake too artificial and schmaltzy.

39. "Rebel Girl" (Bikini Kill), Super Bowl LV #TikTokTailgate
"Rebel Girl" feels tailor-made for Miley Cyrus to cover, from sound to history to bulletin. Her decidedly unpretty take (especially confronting that neon-pink stage) fits the vocal, merely feels a bit brackish — at this point, it's cipher we haven't heard Cyrus practice before. It's missing the big moment almost of her covers build toward.

38. "American Woman" (the Guess Who), NCAA Final Four
I'll never not be a sucker for Cyrus covering a testosterone-fueled rock number, and the "American Woman" cover that airtight her NCAA Concluding Four performance was a direct hit to that spot. Her bankroll band sounds absolutely chaotic here, but that growl can yet cut through.

37. "Dancing Queen" (ABBA) with Maren Morris, Stand by Y'all
Let'southward be honest: Almost of the covers from Stand past Yous 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 every bit hell. But karaoke can withal be expert! And that's what happens when Maren Morris, a country star who's perennially down for annihilation, joins Cyrus for a karaoke classic, "Dancing Queen." It's great fun, from Cyrus's playful barrack to Morris's, er, endearing dance moves. And like with any expert karaoke functioning, the pair give their all to the song itself. They too prove to be some of the better duet partners of the night, striking sweet harmonies in the choruses.

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

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

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

One of Cyrus's strengths as an creative person is channeling the emotion of a moment into an off-the-cuff reaction, similar this cover, performed just days afterward Tom Fiddling's death. What starts as a fairly subdued take on this simple Footling ballad turns into a poignant free autumn as Cyrus taps into her belt. Having her father on backing only sweetens the whole moment.

34. "Boys Don't Cry" (the Cure), Save Our Stages Fest
Cyrus's cover of "Zombie" was the clear takeaway from her three-song set at an empty Whisky a Get Go, only don't count out her opening encompass of another moody, punk-inflected rock song. She dives into i of the Cure's signature songs smoothly and performs a faithful take on the song, never laying on too much rasp. Forgive her if information technology's a bit rushed, though — she was just building upwards to the existent treat that came subsequently.

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

When Cyrus finally gets her moment to perform with John himself, she doesn't take it for granted. She's fittingly theatrical aslope the bonafide showman, and her phonation makes up for the range that John's lost after fifty years of performing. Yet she doesn't overshadow him, instead accentuating his best parts for a loving tribute.

32. "Aught Compares two U" (Sinead O'Connor), Attention: Miley Alive

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

31. "Kicking and Screaming" (Ashlee Simpson), The Time of Our Lives
It's both a good and a bad thing that Cyrus'due south comprehend of this cut from Ashlee Simpson'due south I Am Me sounds almost exactly similar the original. The bad: Cyrus has shown u.s. that she has a skill for taking a song and spinning information technology into her own. The adept: This was the best bear witness at the time of that stone growl she kept hiding nether her Disney star sheen, the one that'd go on to be the signature flourish of her singing.

30. "New York State of Mind" (Billy Joel) with Billy Joel, The This night Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Does information technology veer on too much at times? Yes. Is it damn impressive? Also yes.

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

28. "These Iv Walls" (Cheyenne Kimball), Breakout
Cyrus had one dandy cover under her belt before she even turned 16, while she was however tied to Disney and Hannah Montana. It was impressive at the time, and all the more than now given how well information technology still holds up to the remainder of her catalogue.

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

She already proved she could friction match Eddie Vedder'south guttural growl when Cyrus pummeled her performance of "Say Hello 2 Sky" with Temple of the Dog at a 2019 Chris Cornell tribute concert. So always going for breadth, she chose Pearl Jam's breakout carol for her Unplugged. In one case again, her phonation matches Vedder's well, with Cyrus digging deeper than his original have, calculation some more growls, and leaving little to complain nigh.

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

Miley Cyrus won't pass up a chance to talk nearly her friend and hero Joan Jett — "Anytime anybody comes to i of my shows and they leave maxim, 'What's wrong for her?' The explanation is she listened to a lot of Joan Jett growing upward," she joked between songs during Jett's appearance at her Super Basin pre-prove. Different some of her previous Jett duets (even the swell, subdued Plastic Hearts outing "Bad Karma," which they performed right before) these songs actually convey the seize with teeth of Jett'south music that Cyrus has always seemed drawn to. It may not be a huge performance, but it'due south great to hear them finally operating at 100% alongside each other, with their growls intertwining perfectly. The shorter cut helps "Bad Reputation" pack only a little more dial.

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

Don't dare forget that Ms. Miley Cyrus can act. And male child does she play up her performance of the signature song from O Brother, Where Fine art Thou?, one of George Clooney'due south more cool and beloved credits, at the American Movie Institute'southward tribute to the star. She's costumed, she's owning the stage, she's joking with the audience, and she'southward selling that song better than the Soggy Bottom Boys ever did. Clooney eats information technology all up, too.

23. "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" (Paul Simon), Backyard Sessions 2015

Paul Simon wrote this song every bit a fun, low-stakes romp, and Cyrus plays it up in her encompass, giving it that twangy swing that she tin can effortlessly add to a functioning. It's even more exciting in front end of an audition (including Simon himself) for Sat Nighttime Live's 40th-anniversary special — Cyrus shows off blatant vocals, growls, and belts, all in just three minutes.

22. "Like a Prayer" (Madonna), Stand by Yous
21. "Music" (Madonna), Stand by You
xx. "Express Yourself" (Madonna), Stand by You
For a queer icon, Cyrus has waited a criminally long time to requite the world her take on Madonna. But when she finally did — where else but on her pride special? — it was worth the wait. Cyrus's vox can overpower some pop songs, but her roughness around the edges fabricated for an interesting take on the Queen of Popular. She turned "Music" into a nice vocal showcase without losing the song's playfulness, but that just proved to be a warmup for her take on "Express Yourself," the stiff, celebrating, out-and-proud-but-not-cheesily-so high point of the whole show. "Like a Prayer" could've done with a softer opening from Cyrus, only everything clicked into place by the climax, when information technology really needed to.

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

18. "Baby I'k in the Mood for You" (Bob Dylan) with the Roots, The This evening Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Cyrus has never made belting audio equally effortless as she does roofing Dylan with the Roots. One second she'due south grooving with the band, then she's moaning out that whole chorus, then she's making small talk with the audience similar it was aught — only to practise it all again for the ending.

17. "Fade Into You" (Mazzy Star), NPR Tiny Desk (Dwelling) Concert

Mazzy Star sure isn't known for being loud, but did y'all think Miley Cyrus would keep this song tranquility? She simply belts a few lines, only keeps us guessing as to when, making each big note a delightful surprise. Her cover of "Sweetness Jane" feels smoother and has a flake more heart, but on the whole, cowboy dream-popular is one of Cyrus'due south sweetest spots. Tin we get that album next?

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

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

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

Without Cyrus, this little-known Dido vocal would've stayed a soft-spoken breakup song. Merely she made it her canvas when she dedicated her Backyard Sessions operation to Leelah Alcorn, a transgender teenager who died by suicide the yr before. For that performance, she made the song into a gentle, heartfelt elegy, letting the simple chorus speak for itself. When she revisited it in 2017 on The This evening Show, the twenty-four hours after the Route 91 Harvest festival shooting, she turned it into a passionate telephone call to action — yous can hear equal parts anguish and frustration in her voice.

14. "I Got Then 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 get the sisters to share a stage. Their duet of Noah'southward twangy "I Got So High That I Saw Jesus" has me wondering what other wonderful moments we've missed in those 4 years. Certain, the vocal fits Miley's vocalization wonderfully, but she mostly steps aside to let her twenty-year-old sister shine. Noah reaches bigger than she did on her studio have of the song, proving she tin concur her own just fine against Miley.

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

At that place's a similar fuck-it 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 amid Del Rey's early material as ane of her more dynamic, merely Cyrus multiplied its peaks and valleys, emotionally and sonically. And who else would dare to blow that span upwards like that?

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

The Cranberries rocked harder than many requite them credit for, and Cyrus reminds the states of that past spinning "Zombie" into i of her darkest, heaviest covers. In the chorus, the guitars alloy into a wall that could be impenetrable, but Cyrus's vocalization crashes right through. Similar her "Heart of Glass" cover, it's another instance of Cyrus taking a (somewhat) polished rock song and roughing information technology upwardly — just with a more than fitting song option this time. And so when do nosotros become this one as a single?

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

Cyrus already performed a great cover of this vocal in 2012, so much then that Melanie herself joined Backyard Sessions for its next iteration. And so she took it miles further the 2d time, singing similar the words had taken on new pregnant to her in the intervening three years. Only Melanie being there keeps things from getting besides serious; she pulls out a verse in French, making Cyrus giggle like no other duet partner.

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

I truly cannot stress Cyrus's strength at embrace-song selection enough. Not simply is Courtney Love one of the best women to ever scream in rock music, "Doll Parts" marries her central fascinations with glory and the way society chews women up before spitting them out. Y'all tin't get much more on point than that for Miley. She drags her voice like she's pulling the lyrics through gravel, gives the chorus more of a melodic touch, and builds it all toward that final refrain, when everything she has left comes spilling out.

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

Cowboy Junkies' muted, folky take of "Sweet Jane" might be the officially sanctioned cover of one of the Velvet Secret's last and best hurrahs, boasting an endorsement by Lou Reed himself. Smartly, Cyrus chose to perform a cover of that cover, taking the song to still another new place. She keeps the arrangement with her unplugged band, but recalls Reed's wild vocals with her chugalug: always unpredictable, but never out of control. About corking covers can exist chalked up to genius, skill, or emotion; Cyrus's is a rewarding mix of all three.

8. "The Offset Fourth dimension E'er I Saw Your Face" (Roberta Flack), BBC Radio 1 "Live Lounge"

When choosing covers, Cyrus doesn't become for the notoriously huge singers, like Whitney Houston or Aretha Franklin. She is an undisputed old soul though, meaning her Roberta Flack cover both fits perfectly and is the almost daunting vocal she'due south ever taken on. Cyrus keeps the song as delicate equally Flack intended, singing deliberately as if the whole song would crumble if 1 note were off-key. It's a treat to hear her voice tremble in parts of this performance, simply when she goes big on the finale, information technology'due south a reminder that she'due south however the same confident Miley Cyrus.

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

The Backyard Sessions have of this encompass is the definition of casual, with Cyrus and Ariana Grande wearing onesies and hanging out like longtime friends, talking during the instrumental break and flubbing their lines. Their chemical science is solitary is like a shot of serotonin. They're a skillful match musically, too: Grande's silky vocals balance out Cyrus's smokier tone. When they revived the cover at Grande's "One Love Manchester" concert, it took on new meaning every bit a song of resilience, fifty-fifty equally information technology provided a much-needed moment of levity.

half dozen. "Androgynous" (the Replacements) with Laura Jane Grace and Joan Jett, Lawn Sessions 2015

She doesn't have a poesy or chorus for herself, but Cyrus is the mucilage that holds together this embrace, of 1 of the better songs always written. Her joy is infectious as she harmonizes with two of her heroes, rock icon Joan Jett and Against Me!'s Laura Jane Grace. Eventually, Cyrus turns to passionate shouting that should make Paul Westerberg proud; a month later, when she came out as gender-fluid, fans would know what the words truly meant to her.

5. "Peradventure" (Janis Joplin), Attending: Miley Live
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 own right. All the same she'd steered articulate of roofing Joplin until recently, when she began performing "Maybe" live — which actually isn't even a Joplin original, but a cover of a '50s early girl-group hit past the Chantels. Joplin's 1969 performance is the definitive version, a vocal workout that strikes her signature blues-stone blend. And somehow, Cyrus'due south cover sounds even more similar Joplin: it's louder, rougher, funkier, faster, softer, snarlier, and grander. Joplin's take had been a showstopper, and Cyrus's is only as well.

4. "Light of a Articulate Blue Morning" (Dolly Parton), Saturday Nighttime Live 2021

This is it: The simply stellar, striking-it-out-of-the-park Dolly Parton encompass that's been missing from Cyrus'due south catalogue. For Sabbatum Night Alive'south Mother'due south Day cold open, Cyrus scuffs upward her own godmother'southward glowing, inspirational ballad just enough to make information technology definitively her ain, without sacrificing any of the emotional dial — i she doesn't take to say lands harder later more than than a year of distance between family and loved ones for some. On its own, Cyrus's performance is pitch-perfect, hitting big notes right where they ought to be and letting some of Parton'south best lyrics (that simple, glorious chorus, for starters) speak for themselves. But information technology's nearly impossible to separate the embrace from the residuum of the common cold open — possibly I'm merely a sucker for mom content, but the cut-ins with SNL cast members and their moms but makes the performance more affecting. Go from laughing to crying to chuckle-sobbing, all in less than 7 minutes.

3. "Lilac Wine" (standard), Lawn Sessions 2012

Cyrus wasn't even old plenty to drink when she delivered what may well exist the definitive take of this then-62-yr-old standard — outdoing Eartha Kitt and Nina Simone. Her voice is as entrancing as the elixir she's singing near, but she performs with unmatched control, pushing and pulling the notes toward a huge, stunning finale.

2. "my futurity" (Billie Eilish), BBC Radio ane "Live Lounge"

Condolences to Billie Eilish, because not only did Cyrus sing this song like she wrote it, she turned it into a master class in restraint. Her raspy belt makes the song sound bigger than you ever idea it could, before she reigns her vocalisation back in for smooth runs that string you forth. The conviction she brings to each line allows Cyrus to make Eilish's anthem for a generation at a crossroads into her ain, turning it into a statement from an oft-misunderstood artist inbound the next stage of her career.

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

You can see in Cyrus's face just how excited she is to exist singing with Melanie, a '60s folk icon she first covered dorsum in 2012. Or you can hear it after the second chorus of "Peace Will Come," when Cyrus sings with a religious fervor that she's never quite matched before or since. That's the standout moment of this performance, but hearing Cyrus and Melanie gently land the song is impressive in its own right, equally their voices meld like the intergenerational soul sisters they are. Listening to it is experiencing a perfect infinitesimal of the peace they're singing most.

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

Every Miley Cyrus Cover, Ranked