Bass Persuades Out Now as Miley Drops Her Last Name

Miley Cyrus is changing the name on the marquee. The singer has dropped her last name and is now billed simply as Miley, and the rebrand arrived with her tenth studio album, Bass Persuades, which was released September 18 through Atlantic Records.

The first hint came earlier this month, when she stripped the last name from her social media accounts and appeared on a Los Angeles Times wraparound cover under her first name only. On September 2 she announced the album on Instagram, calling it a record about music that is powerful, vulnerable, sweet and strong, about a full heart and heartache and every part of life in between.

Bass Persuades is the first album she has released with Atlantic Records. She signed with the label in July, after two albums at Columbia Records, Endless Summer Vacation and Something Beautiful, the former of which produced the Grammy-winning hit "Flowers." The ten-track record includes rock band Model/Actriz on "Different Religion" and Miike Snow member Andrew Wyatt on "Neon Signs."

The campaign behind the new era has been quiet and visual. Alongside the newspaper cover, Miley changed her official website to match the single-name rollout, and promotional materials for Bass Persuades and the upcoming concerts use the mononym throughout. Neither Miley nor her representatives have offered a public explanation for the change, so whether it is a permanent stage name or a move tied to this album cycle is unconfirmed.

On release day, she told fans the album had come together quickly, calling it a reflection of everywhere she has been along the way and the peace that came with starting to slow down. After two decades in the public eye, much of it under her full name, the songs on Bass Persuades are her first project under the shortened billing.

A rare return to the stage

Miley also announced two shows at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on October 16 and 18, which will be her first headlining appearances at the venue. She has said the Bowl is her favorite place to watch live music, and that she has sat in its seats many times without ever taking the stage. Billboard Philippines reports that the two concerts are expected to feature Bass Persuades in full.

Model/Actriz will appear as special guests on both nights. Ticket sales rolled out through an American Express presale on September 8 and an artist presale on September 9 before the general sale on September 10, according to Pollstar. The trade publication notes that the shows are a rare live appearance for Miley, whose last headlining tour was in 2015; since then she has mostly played festivals and her New Year's Eve shows, and headlined a string of festival dates for what she called her Attention Tour supporting the album Plastic Hearts.

The sound of the new era

The ten tracks on Bass Persuades run from the title track through "Let's Get Married," "Orbit," "Aftermath," "Red Lights," "Neon Signs," "Innocent Ways" and "Snow," closing with a remix of the title song. In a recent Wonderland Magazine interview, Miley described the album as a love story, shaped by self-love and the emotional changes that come with personal growth. Earlier this year she told the magazine she thinks of a song as a feeling that can develop its own identity during the creative process, rather than just chords, melodies and lyrics.

The release came with a music video for "Let's Get Married," the standout single from Bass Persuades, directed by fashion photographer Mert Alas. According to POPSTAR!, it was filmed at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood and includes her fiance, musician Maxx Morando. The video pairs the song's romantic pull with the hotel's old-Hollywood backdrop, and it landed the same day as the album.

Bass Persuades is available now, and Miley plays the Hollywood Bowl on October 16 and 18. The album lands in a busy season for music news: Celine Dion is mounting a Paris residency comeback, gaming and pop are crossing over on GTA VI's 34-track album, and Styled by the Streets recently celebrated Black women in hip-hop fashion.