My night with Miley Cyrus: Inside the listening party for the singer's new album, 'Something Beautiful'
LOS ANGELES — If Miley Cyrus's album listening party at the Chateau Marmont starts at 6 p.m. sharp, do not leave your apartment with only 18 minutes to spare. It's L.A. Always account for traffic.
By the time I arrived, it was 6:07 p.m. As much as I'd like to blame congestion on Sunset Boulevard for my lateness, I admittedly had decision paralysis about, well, what to wear.
This was an exclusive listening party for Miley's forthcoming ninth studio album, Something Beautiful, held for superfans, known as 'Smilers,' at the historic hotel. If there was any chance Miley herself would catch even a glimpse of me, I had to look my best.
So I did what any reasonable fangirl would do: I wore my favorite floor-length, herringbone-print coat with fur sleeves in 74-degree weather. It was the chicest item in my closet. 'Beauty is pain,' my mom used to tell me. For Miley, I could take the heat.
In my seven years of living in Los Angeles, I had never stepped foot onto the Chateau Marmont's premises. That is, until now.
After confirming that I was on the list and getting my wristband, I headed into the hotel and up the steps, where I was ushered into a dimly lit room packed with people. At the front, there was a makeshift stage setup, with a microphone stand in the center, a guitar leaning against the wall, a drum set to the left and a piano to the right.
Fans were seated in front of the stage, packed in tight as they soaked in Something Beautiful's tracks ahead of the album's May 30 release date, swaying back and forth to Miley's voice played on the sound system.
I overheard fans around me describe Something Beautiful as Miley's 'most experimental album yet.' I was familiar with the album's singles, like the title track, 'Prelude,' 'End of the World' and 'More to Lose.' But the unreleased songs maintained the same energy as its singles: introspective lyrics layered over an amalgamation of genres, like pop, rock, soul, disco and electronic.
I immediately noticed Brandi Cyrus, Miley's older sister, sitting on one of the many Victorian-era-looking armchairs off to the side of the stage. Tish Cyrus, Brandi and Miley's mom, quietly joined her daughter. I made my way toward an unoccupied couch with a Smiler in hopes of snagging some seats.
We were quickly turned away by someone from Miley's team, who told us the area was reserved. I found a spot right behind the couch instead.
As I settled in, a glaring reality hit me: I was hot. I regretted wearing my chic coat — but I kept it on anyway. The heat was testing me, but I'd be damned if I let it win.
Moments later, a woman with her platinum blonde hair pulled neatly into a low bun brushed past me in her white fur coat and took a seat on the reserved couch. She turned her head to the right, and I knew in an instant who she was: Anya Taylor-Joy.
She was glamorous and gracious, smiling at fans and keeping to herself. She was accompanied by her husband, Malcolm McRae, and a friend who snapped photos with a digital camera. A server swung by to give the trio what appeared to be Coca-Cola in tall glasses. After that, Taylor-Joy was served a cup of tea. How British.
While I continued to sweat in place, I befriended a music publicist next to me. As insiders, we were clued into a surprise that many of the Smilers were presumably not aware of: Miley would be showing up.
'Do you think they know?' we asked one another in hushed tones.
About an hour into the event, Brandi took the mic and asked the crowd what they thought of Something Beautiful. A few fans asked what her favorite track was, but she couldn't pick just one. Then, Brandi shared that Miley would be performing.
The crowd erupted in shrieks. All eyes darted to the back of the room. She had arrived.
I clamored for my phone and recorded Miley walking toward the stage in a shimmering, low-back mini dress with tiers of crystals hanging off like teardrops. As Miley maneuvered her way between the chairs, couches and fans, she paused at one point, shaking her body and showing off her dress to roars of applause.
'You like your style, and you love mine,' she quipped.
When she got to the mic, Miley greeted the room. She was joined by her boyfriend, Maxx Morando, who was seated at the drum set. Her guitarist, Jonathan Rado, stood behind her, and her longtime collaborator, Michael Pollack, was seated at the piano.
She launched into 'More to Lose,' an emotional ballad off the new album, followed by her latest single, 'Easy Lover.' She then serenaded fans with a rendition of her 2023 hit song 'Flowers.'
'This is the first time that I've performed here at the Chateau Marmont for anyone new with these new songs,' she said. 'Making the album, and fully realizing it all, and watching it kind of become this butterfly and have this metamorphosis is so reflective of my life and everything that I'm experiencing.'
Then came shouts from the crowd to hear 'The Climb,' her hit from 2009's Hannah Montana: The Movie.
"We're not singing 'The Climb,' but I could," Miley told the crowd. Then, she caved as she launched into the song's first verse.
'Is that the right word?' she asked the crowd before hesitating ahead of the chorus, wondering if she and Pollack, accompanying her on the piano, should 'stop while we're ahead.' Ultimately, though, she knew fans were 'not gonna have that' and sang the chorus too.
Together, the room joined her to sing about uphill battles and wanting to make mountains move. Even Taylor-Joy pulled out her phone to record the moment.
Before closing out her set with 'End of the World,' Miley thanked all of her fans for their support.
'Just being with you all in one place, knowing how much we've really grown and changed,' she said. 'As we start to grow, and we start to even outgrow ourselves, there's things that we gain but things we also leave behind. And I never wanted that to be you. I never wanted that to be my fans, everyone I grew up with. As I started to go deeper on my own personal journey, it's always been my hope and vision that you all come with me. It's always greatly appreciated when you do, and you always do.'
For two fans, the listening party marked the start of forever. Soon after Miley finished singing, a man, who appeared to be in his 30s, stood up and addressed the singer, telling her of the impact she had on his life. Before we knew it, he dropped down on one knee and proposed to his partner, who was standing next to him. Nearly everyone in the room gasped, including Miley. I later learned from one of the event's organizers that they'd only caught word of the proposal as the listening party was kicking off.
After he said yes and they kissed, Miley told the couple to 'get a room,' which she offered to pay for.
'If you want a bed, I'll charge it to my card,' she declared.
Once the commotion died down, groups of fans flocked to have Miley sign their albums, bodies and just about anything they had on hand before her security team whisked her away.
Fans clutched their autographed items tightly as they filed out behind her. I asked them what they thought of being in such close proximity to Miley.
'I think I ascended at some point,' one fan named Cassie, 27, told me as we walked toward the designated section of the hotel to pick up our goodie bags: a Something Beautiful tote, shirt and water bottle.
Anthony, 24, told me that seeing Miley was 'transformative,' adding, 'I do think I'm a different person.'
'I started tearing up as soon as she started singing. She's been my idol since I was a little kid. And this was the most full-circle moment of my entire life. This is peak,' Nicole, 28, told me as we made our way to the valet, where we waited for our respective rides.
'I'm in love with her. I love Miley Cyrus,' Michael, 21, who traveled from Florida to be at the event, told me. 'She's just her authentic self. This album shows that she does what she wants. It's experimental. It might not be for the charts, but it's for the art.'
Michael's friend, Ashlynn, 21, even got Miley to autograph the area beneath her left breast. She intends to get the signature permanently tattooed before flying home.
'I need to find a tattoo parlor,' she said, scrolling on her phone.
When I finally exited the hotel, I was surrounded by a slew of Smilers figuring out their next stop. One fan, who recognized me from inside, invited me to the afterparty for Miley stans that was taking place at a nearby rooftop bar.
'Are you going to Harriet's?' he asked me. 'All the stans are meeting there for some food and drinks. You should come!'
I smiled but politely declined. I still had L.A. traffic to navigate.
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Miley Cyrus' ‘Something Beautiful' Album: All 13 Tracks Ranked
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She'll be the first to say that she only got to this moment thanks to a public life of highs and lows – but as this project proves, there's beauty in it all. She also only arrived at this moment thanks to knowing herself well enough to put her own wants and needs first. As she joked at a listening event for fans earlier in the week: 'I love making music with everybody on this carpet – I don't do stages now,' a nod to news that she has no desire to tour again. It was on the same carpet, in an intimate room at Los Angeles' Chateau Marmont, that Cyrus workshopped the songs that became Something Beautiful. As she said, 'Watching [the album] become this butterfly and have this metamorphosis and evolution, it's so reflective of my life and everything I'm experiencing.' The album will be followed with a short film of the same name. 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The fact that this 14-second instrumental bit is positioned in between 'More to Lose' and 'Easy Lover' is no coincidence – after singing about the end of a relationship and sharing after-the-fact reflections, that time stuck in between could be likened to a racing mind, trying to outrun one's own thoughts – and in the case of a superstar like Cyrus, the thoughts of everyone else too. This mostly spoken-word opening transitions from a twinkling, dazzling introduction to an aching, almost ominous entry point. Miley draws the listener in with just the right amount of intrigue, suspense and above all else, trust. 'Like walking alone through a lucid dream,' she says slowly, as the production swells. 'The beauty one finds alone is a prayer that wants to be shared,' she later says, underscoring the entire mission of this project. 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