Miley Cyrus

Sugar, spice and etc. is inclusive but Miley Cyrus seems keen to outgrow her kiddie image. Breakout is not a cutesy Hanna Montana singing about going to a movie premiere. Neither does it carry on from there. Breakout goes a bit easy on the sweet tooth and shows a young artist trying to come to terms with her immediate realities. Namely, fame, love, freedom and heartbreak. In Cyrus’s own words, ”˜Oh she is just being Miley.’

Breakout starts with a girl’s declaration of her right to party. “Till I hear the bell ring/ ‘Cause that’s the time when we’re gonna/ (time when we’re gonna/ Break out.” If that sounds pretty much the stuff of the pre-teen Hannah Montana wait till you hear songs like ‘Fly On the Wall’ that has echoes of Britney Spears’ ‘Why Don’t You Do Something’ and ‘Piece of Me’ put in a chaste blender and made suitable for under sixteen crowd with just a hint of risqué. Cyrus could be talking about an attractive stalker or she might as well be thinking of paparazzi while writing the song.

Cyrus has grown a bit hoarse but thankfully did not go the Ashlee Simpson La La way. A soft rock influence can be heard in her (since unrecognisable) rendition of Cindy Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.’ Even tracks like ‘These Four Walls’ and ‘Goodbye’ can be described as soft rock ballads. It’s only when you reach the end with ‘See You Again (Rock Mafia Remix)’ you hear a surprisingly adult pop princess promising to grow more sexual and stop talking about school.