25 For '25: Bangerz - Miley Cyrus
The chaos, the classics, and the cultural reset that was Miley’s most unhinged era (yet).
Miley Cyrus is a generational talent and one of the most recognizable voices of Gen Z. Last week, she dropped her ninth studio album, Something Beautiful (more on that later), but right now feels like the perfect time to look back at Bangerz, which came out twelve years ago and lands at #22 on our 25 for 25 list. When it dropped in 2013, it really felt like a reset. Miley had been trying to shake the Hannah Montana image for a while, but Bangerz is when it finally stuck. From the moment she released “We Can’t Stop” and twerked her way into the VMAs, it was clear she was done playing it safe.
The album was loud, messy, emotional, fun, and completely her. It blended trap beats with big pop ballads, with features from Future and Britney Spears, and somehow all the chaos came together. One minute you’re punched in the gut on the way to soccer practice from “Wrecking Ball,” the next you’re dancing to “Love Money Party.” It was pop music that wasn’t trying to be perfect, just honest and exciting.
At the time, Miley had stepped back from music after Can’t Be Tamed in 2010 and tried acting for a bit. Movies like LOL and So Undercover didn’t take off, and by 2013, she was ready to make music again. This time, it was without Disney or Hollywood Records in the mix. No one knew what to expect, and Bangerz surprised everyone.
Looking back, Bangerz marked a turning point. Just two years later, she dropped Younger Now, which was much more toned-down and country-influenced. It felt like she was trying to connect with a different audience, maybe even some of the people who didn’t vibe with Bangerz. That kind of pivot has become something Miley does often. She jumps into each era fully, then quickly distances herself from it.
Many people have criticized the Bangerz era for appropriation, and that criticism is fair. Miley leaned heavily into hip-hop culture, through fashion, sound, and collaborators, and then moved on from it pretty fast. From the VMA performance to songs like “23,” the aesthetics were rooted in Black culture, which rubbed many people the wrong way. That said, some of the folks she worked with on Bangerz stuck around. Mike Will Made-It, who played a huge role in shaping the album’s sound, kept working with her on later albums. Big Sean also came back for more. Miley once said she loved Mike Will’s producer tags because they made her feel like she was “stepping into a designer outfit.” That kind of collaboration and mutual respect is worth noting, even if it doesn’t change the larger conversation. Still, it’s hard not to notice that other white artists like Post Malone have done similar things without catching nearly as much heat.
It’s also important to remember how young she was. Miley was only 20 when this all happened, and the public was pretty brutal. People expected her to have it all figured out when she was just figuring herself out in real time. She made mistakes, tried stuff out, and didn’t hide from the mess. That honesty, even when it was chaotic, is part of why Bangerz connected with so many people.
The team behind Bangerz was stacked. Mike Will Made-It shaped much of the sound, alongside Pharrell and Dr. Luke. With features from artists like Future, Nelly, Big Sean, French Montana, Ludacris, and Britney Spears, it felt like Miley was stepping into a new world—and fully owning it. What’s more, this wasn’t just a paycheck for her collaborators; they didn’t just phone it in. All of these features (except maybe Britney’s) are strong and clearly show the effort they put in to help Miley bring to life the vision she and Mike Will were crafting.
The album also gave us two of her biggest songs ever: “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball.” Those two, along with “The Climb” and “Party in the USA,” pretty much make up the Mount Rushmore of Miley tracks. Flowers is great, but the top four are hard to beat. These songs show how she can jump between moods and styles while still making something that sticks.
Is Bangerz her best album? Probably not. But it might be the most iconic. It’s wild, emotional, unpredictable, and unforgettable. It changed how people saw Miley and showed that she wasn’t afraid to take risks or be a little weird. That’s what made it special.
“We Can’t Stop” became a massive anthem in the 2010s. A party song that also felt kind of rebellious. And more than that, Bangerz became a full-on internet moment. There were memes, thinkpieces, parodies, stan wars. It was everywhere. For Gen Z, especially those coming into their own during that time, it was a pop culture milestone.
Even if it felt messy at the time, looking back now, Bangerz helped pave the way for today’s pop stars. It made space for artists to be unfiltered, experimental, and offbeat. Say what you want, but Miley helped open that door.
Album Superlatives
Best Song: It’s a close one, but we’re giving it to Wrecking Ball. It just has that extra edge that makes it feel a little more iconic than We Can’t Stop. The song is powerful and instantly transports you back to a very specific moment in pop culture history. Not many artists could pull this track off, but it sounds so perfectly Miley—raw, emotional, and unapologetically dramatic. (Fun fact: it was originally written for Beyoncé.) Her signature vocal fry actually works beautifully here, giving it a gritty, aching quality. And paired with that unforgettable music video? It’s the one that made it into the history books.
Song That Deserved Better: #GETITRIGHT is absolutely a slept-on banger from Bangerz—a flirty, sun-soaked, no-skips track that totally deserved a full summer rollout. If it had dropped during the TikTok era, it would’ve gone viral instantly for the vibe alone. It’s honestly criminal it wasn’t released as a single—it had “song of the summer” written all over it. With a catchy whistle and Pharrell’s bright, bouncy production, Miley’s delivery is cheeky yet breezy, like she’s winking through the mic. The track perfectly captures the Bangerz spirit, but in a cleaner, more polished way than it gets credit for. It’s fun, it’s confident, and it gets it right.
Most WTF Moment: The Britney Spears feature on SMS (Bangerz) is so wildly random. Not in a bad way—but one of those “what is even happening right now?” moments. The song itself is chaotic and glitchy, and then Britney suddenly pops in like it’s normal. It’s unexpected, a little messy, and kind of genius? It ends up feeling like a cool torch-passing moment—two of the most iconic and recognizable pop stars of the millennium colliding in a way that’s more vibe than structure. It doesn’t make a ton of sense musically, but that’s what makes it so Bangerz.
Best Lyric: “Driving so fast, 'bout to piss on myself, driving so fast, 'bout to piss on myself”– from 4x4
This line is unhinged in the best way possible. It’s chaotic, it’s unexpected, and it’s very Miley. The fact that she repeats it, like she knows it’s ridiculous and leans in, makes it even better. It perfectly captures the energy of 4x4—a wild, genre-bending country-pop-trap mashup featuring Nelly (yes, really), that somehow works in the most unexplainable way.