Can't Be Tamed by Miley Cyrus
Can't Be Tamed is the third studio album by American singer Miley Cyrus. It was released on June 18, 2010, by Hollywood Records, and was her final album with the label; she signed with RCA Records in early 2013. Cyrus wrote and began recording the project in late 2009, while traveling internationally for her Wonder World Tour, and completed it in early 2010. Described by Cyrus as a "good to blast in your car", Can't Be Tamed represents a musical departure from her earlier work, which she had grown to feel uninspired by. The efforts resulted in a primarily dance-pop record, which Cyrus' record label acknowledged differed from the original plans for the project. Its lyrical themes revolve largely around breaking free of constraints and expectations, which are largely mentioned in the context of romantic relationships. Most of the album was produced by Rock Mafia and John Shanks. Cyrus co-wrote eleven out of twelve songs on the album, with the only one not being written by her being a cover of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by American band Poison. Upon its release, Can't Be Tamed received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who were ambivalent toward perceived lack of musical focus and a failure to fully establish Cyrus' maturing public image; additional criticism was placed on her vocals sounding over-processed and lacking emotional depth. It was unable to replicate the success of her earlier work, debuting at number three on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 102,000 copies. The album has sold over 350,000 copies in the United States. Can't Be Tamed charted moderately on record charts in internationally, reaching the top-ten in countries including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Two singles were released from Can't Be Tamed. Its title track "Can't Be Tamed" was released on May 3, 2010, and peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100, and performed moderately worldwide. "Who Owns My Heart" was released on October 22, 2010, as the second single. Promotional efforts for Can't Be Tamed began to associate Cyrus with an increasingly provocative image, an effort continued with her fourth studio album Bangerz (2013). The record was primarily promoted through a series of television appearances and Cyrus' headlining Gypsy Heart Tour in 2011.
Hannah Montana fans (and their parents) knew this was coming. Miley Cyrus was on the verge of adulthood and anxious to shed her bubbly Disney persona—but she wasn’t quite there yet. Despite the title, 2010’s <i>Can’t Be Tamed</i> is relatively, well, <i>tame</i>, especially for the artist who would soon be stirring up controversy twerking on stage, stripping naked on video and collaborating with psych-rock subversives The Flaming Lips. But for her third album, Cyrus was still 17, still on the Disney-owned Hollywood Records, and still trying to unshackle herself from the TV-teen image. She was also still buzzing from the success of 2009’s “Party In the U.S.A.” and priming to prove her standing in the pop world. “Not a prisoner anymore,” she proclaims on the party-starting opener “Liberty Walk”, as she weaves sassy, Kesha-inspired raps through glittery synths. At the start of the 2010s, “TiK ToK” dominated the charts—and so did Auto-Tune—and Miley uses both as a jumping-off point, wrapping her newfound defiance in polished dance-pop hooks and digitised vocal effects. In the dizzying “Permanent December”, she orders, “Don’t call me a Lolita”, and on the disco-fied “Robot,” she makes a bold declaration of independence: “Stop tellin’ me I’m part of the big machine. I’m breakin’ free.” Another way Cyrus steps out of her child-star shadow is by talking about love, whether she’s flirting on the dance floor (the club bouncer “Who Owns My Heart”), lamenting her loneliness (the sweeping ballad “Stay”), or taking on a classic power ballad (Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”). But the biggest glimpse into the future Miley comes on the fizzy electro title track. “For those who don’t know me, I can get a bit crazy,” she announces at the top, later confessing, “I wanna be a part of something I don’t know.” That latter line is prescient—Miley’s career would be defined by taking big risks and continually challenging the public’s expectations. Cyrus co-wrote all 11 original tracks on <i>Can’t Be Tamed</i>, but she already knew this would hardly be her defining statement. During the recording, she expressed that this would be her “last pop record”. Miley, the chameleonic provocateur, was about to be unleashed.
