Why you should keep an eye on Miley Cyrus’ new album, Endless Summer Vacation, as release approaches

Expectations may be running high for Miley Cyrus fans this week, as her eighth studio album finally drops on Friday, but for the former Hannah Montana actress, she might have a few other matters to tend to - should the current round of celebrity gossip prove to be correct.

Endless Summer Vacation is the long-awaited follow-up to Miley’s last studio album, Plastic Hearts in 2020. That album would mark her last contractually obligated release through RCA Records, having penned a new deal with Columbia Records for the release of the new work.

The release of the first single, ‘Flowers’ set the tone for Cyrus regarding the album’s future successes - it set several streaming records and reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks. It became Cyrus’s second song to reach number one on the chart and the song’s success translated internationally, topping charts in over 35 countries worldwide. It is also the reason for a potential lawsuit from Cyrus’ previous beau, Liam Hemsworth (more details below, we promise.)

There is also a persistent rumour that a release party is set to take place the evening before, with involvement from one of Cyrus’ most recent endorsements deals, Gucci, alongside a shortlist of names that may-or-may-not attend the event. This rumour has only added more hype towards its release, with a fashion house being involved in musical matters - one as prestigious if not omnipresent in celebrity circles as Gucci - a big deal for fans and media commentators.

Peopleworld takes a look at what to expect over the next few days in terms of the promotion of the album, the potential fallout from the album and how Cyrus has returned to her old stomping ground where she made her name - Disney.

Involvement from fashion house Gucci?

A consistent rumour so far, one that was reported by Variety and picked up by tea-spillers Deux Moi, is that a release party for Endless Summer Vacation is set to take place in association with fashion giant Gucci. That doesn’t seem too far-fetched, given Miley’s association with the brand and her involvement in their ‘Flora Fantasy’ campaign.

The release party, set for March 9 2023 (a day before the album drops), is meant to see the likes of Shawn Mendes, Sia, Sabrina Carpenter, SZA, Lil Nas X, Diplo and Brie Larson as some of the guests attending. Though no details about where the release party will take place - more than likely to avoid gatecrashers coming in like wrecking balls (pun intended.)

The release party also comes after a variety of listening parties across the world ahead of the album’s release, which one Twitter user in Switzerland documented on their timeline (hat tip to @MileyDynasty on Twitter)

Guest appearances by Sia and Brandi Carlile

We got excited looking at the track listing for Endless Summer Vacation, but then cooled off a little when we re-read and saw Brandi Carlile. Needless to say, given the collaborations Miley Cyrus has been involved with previously, especially with her work with the Happy Hippie Foundation, two appearances on the album seem like a conscious effort for the work to reflect Miley, not how Miley works with other musicians.

Having said that, several musicians worked behind the scenes in helping Cyrus with the songwriting for the record; not only is Sia guesting on a track, but she also has songwriting credits for ‘Violet Chemistry’ alongside another familiar name - British Electronic producer James Blake.

A possible lawsuit from Liam Hemsworth?

Much like when Taylor Swift drops a single that has analogies to relationships gone wrong (a frequent criticism Swift has endured throughout her career), Miley’s first single from the album, ‘Flowers,’ sparked rumours the song was penned about her former partner Liam Hemsworth, with lyrics such as the song’s opening verse (“We were good, we were gold/ Kinda dream that can’t be sold/ We were right ‘til we weren’t/ Built a home and watched it burn”) reinforcing the rumour.

Miley’s older sister Brandi talked about the single on her podcast Your Favorite Thing, not helping clear matters up by stating “the song did come out on his birthday — was that on purpose? I don’t know, can’t say. Genius though.”

That’s enough for Liam Hemsworth however; the latest gossip columns have indicated that Hemsworth’s legal team might go after Miley Cyrus for defamation of character, with sources claiming that the song nearly cost Hemsworth a role in the upcoming new series of Netflix’s The Witcher.

A multi-platform extravaganza

In an era where everyone is looking for the maximum amount of exposure in the sometimes saturated music scene, Miley Cyrus understands that simply promoting on social media, the odd interview and attending parties is not enough to sustain the attention of modern music fans.

So on Friday, alongside the release of the new album, a special concert will be screened on Disney+. Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions) is a concert film set at a house in Los Angeles, Cyrus performs 8 tracks of her new album, alongside the formidable, empowering classic ‘The Climb’ and a duet with Canadian singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, whilst discussing the creative process behind the album.

What is also interesting about this concert film is it also happens to be the first collaboration between Miley Cyrus and the House of Mouse since she became a household name with the series Hannah Montana. Could the concert film be a sign of Miley and Disney looking to work together with each other once again?

Endless Summer Vacation is released on all leading digital platforms from March 10 2023.