Miley Cyrus Would Rather Live for Nostalgia in ‘End of the World’ Video

Miley Cyrus is leaving behind her anxieties and choosing optimism instead. On Thursday, the pop queen released her nostalgia-inducing new single “End of the World,” accompanied by a sexy and retro performance video.

The “End of the World” visual opens with Cyrus performing on a soundstage reminiscent of her now-iconic 2024 Grammys performance. The video flashes between different shots of the singer lying in front of a drum set wearing an emerald green minidress as she feels herself.

“Let’s spend the dollars you’ve been savin’ on a Mercedes-Benz/And throw a party like McCartney with some help from my friends,” sings Cyrus in the second verse. “Yeah, let’s go down to Malibu and watch the sun fade out once more/Show me how you’d hold me if tomorrow wasn’t comin’ for sure.”

The video, which she directed with Jacob Bixenman and Brendan Walter, captures Cyrus as an Eighties starlet as she repeats the hook: “Let’s pretend it’s not the end of the world.”

Earlier this week, Cyrus released the title track of her new concept album, Something Beautiful. She also dropped the spoken word “Prelude.” The album is the follow-up to 2023’s Endless Summer Vacation, which yielded the smash “Flowers” and earned Cyrus her belated first Grammy recognition.

Something Beautiful will also be accompanied by a feature film set to be released in June. A synopsis of the project describes it as “a unique visual experience, fueled by fantasy, including 13 original songs from the upcoming album. A one-of-a-kind pop opera from the mind of Miley Cyrus.”

“We really leaned in,” Cyrus said last year, teasing the then-under-wraps album with comparisons to Pink Floyd. “And so I have this heart-first attachment to it. My idea was making The Wall, but with a better wardrobe and more glamorous and filled with pop culture.”

From Rolling Stone US.