Miley Cyrus on achieving "Something Beautiful"
Miley Cyrus has been in the public eye for most of her life, and while you might know her music, don't think you really know her.
Asked what it's like to go through life and have strangers think they know her, Cyrus replied, "I love my life, so I don't ever really have – I haven't made too much of a list of the things that are negative about it, 'cause there's so many great things. But I would say one of the things that I don't love and don't appreciate so much is when you meet somebody and they go, 'Wow, you're like, so cool. You're so smart. You're nothing like I thought you would be.' So yeah, that's a tough one."
Miley Cyrus filming the music video for "Secrets," from her "Something Beautiful" album.
CBS News
Her ninth album might not be what you'd expect, either. In "Something Beautiful," Cyrus stretches herself artistically. As one critic put it, the album takes her from pop princess to legacy artist. That's quite a leap, even for someone with music in their blood.
Miley's mom, Tish Cyrus Purcell, is a producer. Dad is country star Billy Ray Cyrus. Her godmother? Dolly Parton.
Miley Cyrus.
CBS News
Miley Cyrus lived with showbiz royalty, and that raspy voice, all her life: "I've sounded like this since I was little. My dad used to have all the country singers come over to the house, and George Jones would, you know, joke that I had smoked cigarettes or been up all night, you know, even when I was four years old."
At age 13, she was suddenly famous after being cast as "Hannah Montana," in the Disney Channel series about a girl who was a typical teen by day and a pop star by night. It's a role she's still proud of: "I love her. She's everything. I would have nothing, none of this – I mean, maybe I could've figured it out, maybe I could've gotten myself from Nashville, Tennessee, to Los Angeles. I don't know. But she did it a lot faster, and better, and set me up for the life that I have now. So love her, gratitude, all of that."
The years after "Hannah Montana" were a bit less wholesome. Her 2013 MTV Music Video Awards performance was met with shock and outrage, especially among moms of young kids who had grown up watching her as a Disney star.
I asked, "There were moms that were trying to, I guess, cancel you?"
"Yeah. I was the first person to maybe ever be canceled, I guess."
"How would you describe that time in your life?"
"Well, you know, I didn't know until I was older actually how brutal it really was," Cyrus said. "It was very, I guess, you know, challenging for other people. But for me it was a good time. It looked fun, and it was fun."
Eventually it was all a little too much fun. Cyrus says she's been sober for a few years now.
"How has sobriety affected you?" I asked.
"Well, I like showing up 100%, 100% of the time," Cyrus replied. "The hardest part about balancing, you know, any sort of substance use or drinking when you want to do what I do is you're going, 'Okay, well, now I have to get sober for this thing, 'cause I wanna show up my best.' And now, I get to trim out so much of the preparation of getting yourself into the right place mentally and physically. I'm just always ready."
Something she was ready for: "Flowers," the biggest pop single of 2023, and her biggest record to date.
Miley Cyrus - Flowers (Official Video) by MileyCyrusVEVO on YouTube
She was also ready for this: Her first two Grammys, for best pop solo performance and record of the year, for "Flowers." Accepting the Grammy she said, "This award is amazing, but I hope it doesn't change anything, because my life was beautiful yesterday."
For Miley Cyrus, today is looking good as well.
"Sunday Morning" joined her this summer at L.A.'s Million Dollar Theatre, where she was shooting a music video for the deluxe version of "Something Beautiful." The song is "Secrets," and if you think it sounds a bit like Fleetwood Mac, you're right: you can hear drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham on the track.
Miley sings about a white flag of surrender, and her outfit is basically a white flag in itself. She told us the song is meant as a peace offering to her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus. They'd been estranged since her parents' divorce in 2022.
Miley Cyrus - Secrets (Official Video) ft. Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood by MileyCyrusVEVO on YouTube
Asked how he reacted when she gave him the song, Miley replied, "My dad cried. You know, you don't see your dad cry a lot. But with me and my dad, we just have always communicated better through music with each other."
"And you're at peace now with each other?"
"Yeah."
And at 32, it seems Miley Cyrus is at peace with herself.
"I think the authentic joy of doing what I want to do has always eclipsed the negatives for me," she said. "I feel really good. And I really like who I am, and I like what I'm doing with my life. And I think if I was outside of myself, I would want to be a part of what I'm doing in any way that I could be. 'Cause I think what I'm doing is cool. So, that actually feels good. I like what I do. I like who I am."
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Extended interview - Miley Cyrus (Video)
You can stream the Miley Cyrus album "Something Beautiful" by clicking on the embed below (Free Spotify registration required to hear the tracks in full):
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Story produced by John D'Amelio. Editor: Steven Tyler.
Tracy Smith is an award-winning correspondent for "CBS News Sunday Morning" and "48 Hours," who joined CBS News in 2000. Smith has covered a wide range of subjects, producing revealing interviews with news-making artists to moving, in-depth reporting.
