Miley Cyrus’ latest album, “Plastic Hearts,” is a rousing return to form, but just as exciting is the awesome covers album she’s apparently releasing on the installment plan via various radio and video guest appearances as well as the occasional official release.
The latest in a long string of well-curated covers — ranging from Hall & Oates’ “Maneater” to Hole’s “Doll Parts,” from Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” to Billie Eilish’s “My Future” — comes a fiery version of Mazzy Star’s 1993 song “Fade Into You.” While the original version of the song is performed in a languid style by singer Hope Sandoval and guitarist-cowriter David Roback (who passed away last year), Cyrus plays it straight on the verses but ramps up the intensity dramatically at the end of the chorus, belting out the “Ain’t it strange you never knew” closing line. She wears a big floppy hat, fake-fur coat, big sunglasses, lace pants and a zebra-pattern vest, the first three of which she doffs after the first song.
Performing on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, Cyrus customized the show’s concept like a song she was covering, performing inside a small-scale model of a teen-style bedroom, complete with a pink duvet, a small guitar and purple bed and bureau. She follows the cover with two songs from TK, the finale of which, prisoner, the camera pulls out to reveal her band playing alongside the tiny bedroom — masked, natch.
Earlier this week, the NFL announced that Cyrus will headline the NFL TikTok Tailgate at Super Bowl LV in Tampa Bay on February 7. According to the announcement, the Tailgate will be the on-site pregame hospitality event exclusively for the 7,500 vaccinated health care heroes the NFL invited to attend Super Bowl LV. The league announced last week that around 22,000 fans will be admitted to attend the game — around one-third of the 66,000 capacity of Raymond James Stadium. The Weeknd is headlining the Super Bowl halftime show.