Miley Cyrus ditches bad-girl image

LOS ANGELES • Miley Cyrus says she is steering away from marijuana, alcohol and nipple pasties and rolling out a new sound that could help people take her more seriously, after she was dubbed one of pop music's bad girls.

Speaking to Billboard Magazine in an interview published on Wednesday, the 24-year-old former Disney star said she wanted to be "super clear and sharp" and focus on a new collection of songs that takes her back to her country music roots.

"I haven't smoked weed in three weeks, which is the longest I've ever. I'm not doing drugs, I'm not drinking, I'm completely clean right now! That was just something that I wanted to do," she said.

She will release a new single, Malibu, next Thursday, which Billboard said was a love song inspired by her fiance, actor Liam Hemsworth, with whom she reunited last year after a break-up in 2013.

Miley Cyrus will release a new single, Malibu, next Thursday. PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/ MILEY CYRUS

Cyrus, who rose to fame on the Disney Channel show Hannah Montana, ditched her innocent image in 2013, admitting to drug use and appearing scantily clad in public and in music videos.

She made headlines when she twerked on stage with R&B singer Robin Thicke at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.

Her upcoming album will feature more acoustic songs and melodies written by herself and will include a song for Mrs Hillary Clinton, whom she supported in last year's presidential election, and another anthem dedicated to women in the workplace, Billboard said.

Discussing politics, Cyrus, who is a judge on the NBC reality singing show The Voice, said she wanted to reach out to her more conservative fans.

"I like talking to people that don't agree with me, but I don't think I can do that in an aggressive way," she said. "I don't think those people are going to listen to me when I'm sitting there in nipple pasties, you know?"

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 06, 2017, with the headline Miley Cyrus ditches bad-girl image. Subscribe