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Listen: Mazzy Star’s ‘Fade Into You’ Reimagined As an Angry Breakup Song by Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus proved she’s continually one of the most innovative pop stars around with this surprising rendition of “Fade Into You”.

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Miley Cyrus has easily become one of the most innovative pop stars to survive the Disney Factory, and with each performance, she proves that her artistic vision is constantly evolving. In 2021, she put on a Tiny Desk concert to rival all Tiny Desks, for starters, because NPR had shifted to an at-home set at the time.

Cyrus’ Tiny Desk (Home) Concert featured an elaborate backdrop designed to look like a teenage girl’s bedroom. Pink bedspread, posters on the purple walls, a guitar in the corner, and so on. But when Cyrus settled in to perform her stripped-back rendition of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You”, it became clear that there was something strange about the room.

Lounging on the bed in a fur coat and sunglasses, Cyrus looked huge in the purposely small room. By using perspective and design, Cyrus created a statement about her teen idol days. Something along the lines of growing up and out of her childhood. Or even the opposite, that her immature persona of those days had since become too small for her.

Miley Cyrus Reimagined ‘Fade Into You’ With Furious Longing Instead of Hopeful Yearning

Mazzy Star’s hit song “Fade Into You” appeared on their 1993 album So Tonight That I Must See. It was, and still is, the perfect song for teenage yearning, hopeful longing, and lingering glances at the high school house party. It’s a song that conjures images of passing the best friend you fell in love with in the hallway. Really, it’s great at reminding many of us what it felt like to have an overwhelming crush on someone.

So for Miley Cyrus to use just her vocals to turn it into a post-breakup, angry lover song is intriguing. Again, proving she has the vision and the chops to execute it. She expands and warbles her voice on the chorus, pushing the sound out like it’s almost a struggle. Like she doesn’t want to be saying these things to whoever she’s saying them to. But, they desperately need to be said.

On the last line of the chorus, however, she leans into it fully, almost yelling the final sentiment: “I think it’s strange you never knew.” Here, the song really takes on new meaning. It feels like Cyrus had been holding a fury in the back of her throat throughout the first verse, letting the words slip past it with breathy exhales. Then, forcing the first part of the chorus through.

But here, the fury bursts forth like a howl. She gives in to it completely, letting her voice go smoky and raspy. And then, with the emotion momentarily expelled, she returns to softness. But not for long, and the song jerks back and forth between these two conflicting voices. It’s a powerhouse performance that you might expect during a live show. But Miley Cyrus did it for a Tiny Desk, in a tiny room, and she filled the space with her voice and attitude until it couldn’t contain her anymore.

Photo by Gilles Mingasson via Getty Images

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