Miley Cyrus has always danced on the edge of chaos — sometimes with a wrecking ball, sometimes with rhinestones. With her latest single “End of the World,” the third chapter of her forthcoming concept album Something Beautiful, she leans into soft-rock serenity and disco-dusted doom, marrying glamor and dread in a way only she can.
Set against the backdrop of a retro-tinged video, Cyrus croons in a sequined green mini-dress, channeling ‘70s lounge singers and cosmic romantics alike. There’s a warmth in the track’s texture — think Fleetwood Mac-meets-Carly Simon — but it’s tinged with bittersweet resignation. “Let’s pretend it’s not the end of the world,” she sings, a lyric that could be read as either starry-eyed escapism or a whispered plea into the void.
“End of the World” continues the meticulous, conceptual world-building Cyrus promised with Something Beautiful, a self-described “pop opera” infused with fantasy and cultural reflection. If “Prelude” and the title track hinted at grandeur, this latest release crystallizes her vision: a sonic fever dream stitched together with sequins, sorrow, and soul.
Cyrus has compared the album to The Wall by Pink Floyd — a bold benchmark — but she’s reframing the epic concept album for a generation raised on TikTok, vinyl revivals, and emotional candor. “The Wall with a better wardrobe,” she teased. But the ambition runs deeper than fashion. Something Beautiful is a cultural salve, an attempt to treat a world that’s chronically overstimulated, overpoliticized, and emotionally exhausted.
With “End of the World,” Miley isn’t just delivering a song — she’s crafting an atmosphere. It’s the kind of track you’d play at the last slow dance before the lights come up or in the background of your most glamorous breakdown. And if the world really were ending, you’d want to go out in sequins — and singing.
