After more than two decades of making music, Miley Cyrus is finally getting her flowers. As she continues to become more comfortable with herself, the world at large has no choice but to take her seriously. Earlier this year, everyone saw evidence of that when she took home the Grammy for Record of the Year. Somehow, it was her first win.
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Recently, Cyrus sat down with W Magazine to talk about her ever-evolving career, her connections with iconic artists, and more. During the conversation, she revealed that she has developed a fear of performing.
[RELATED: Miley Cyrus Reveals the Sweet Fax She Received from Dolly Parton: “It Gets Me Choked Up”]
Mylie Cyrus Details Her Fear of Performing
“I really wanted ‘Flowers’ to be a celebration of bravery because I perform out of fear,” she revealed during the interview. “I didn’t’ always have the fear of performing that I have now. But, going from spending two years along and seeing no more than one person a day during lockdown to knowing that millions of people watch the Grammys is a big shock to the nervous system,” she added.
“Before I went onstage, right as the curtain was about to lift, I was screaming at the top of my lungs, ‘I am free!’” she recalled. “When I was 20 or 21, it might have sounded more like ‘I don’t give a f— what people think. I’m just being me.”
Cyrus on Her Connection to Dolly Parton
Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton have collaborated and performed together several times. However, working together is a very small part of their relationship. Parton is famously Cyrus’ godmother and she takes the role seriously.
“Dolly’s been like a mother to me,” Cyrus told the publication. “I was just reading this fax she sent me two Mother’s Days ago,” she added. “Dolly wrote me to say, ‘How much do I love you? As much as my heart can hold and as far as my arms can reach.’ It gets me choked up. I just love her so much.”
Miley Cyrus Texts Beyoncé
Cyrus recently appeared on Beyoncé’s country album Cowboy Carter. She wrote “II Most Wanted” and recorded it with the megastar. Much like her relationship with Parton, though, the work is only a small part of their relationship.
“Sometimes I forget to talk about things that are a normal part of my day-to-day, like texting with Beyoncé,” Cyrus said. “I think it’s a really cute part of our relationship because over the past couple of years I’ve really locked down on my privacy and on what I share with the public. She’s the same way. Part of our relationship is the safety between us,” she added. “The songwriting or the work is just a small part of my relationship with her—or with Dolly, or with anyone. Our personas have a relationship, but then we have a relationship. I love that.”
Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
