After years and years of breaking up, getting back together, pushing back the wedding date, and finally calling it quits with Liam Hemsworth, Miley Cyrus erupted back in the music industry with a different aura. No longer the country girl, the party girl, the Disney star, nor the punk rock icon, Cyrus branded her self-love motto.
This first came about with her single, “Flowers,” which was released on Jan. 12, 2023 prior to the release of her newest album, Endless Summer Vacation. The song acts as Cyrus’ self-love anthem and an ode to herself, emphasized by the chorus and repeating final line of the chorus:
I can buy myself flowers
Write my name in the sand
Talk to myself for hours
Say things you don’t understand
I can take myself dancing
And I can hold my own hand
Yeah, I can love me better than you can
As a pop star known for being eccentric and “crazy,” Cyrus often felt her light being dimmed by others around her. Her energy and excitement, though, was something she never wanted to contain and always wanted to show the world exactly who she was at that given moment in time. Regardless of criticism, Cyrus has always been nothing short of herself.
And “Flowers” is the prime example of this. Instead of relying on others around her, especially her partner, to fill her with love, the single is a reminder to herself and other women that the love you need is right inside of you. Being your true, authentic self never fails you regardless of what others think.
Self-love is often something many women, especially young women, struggle with. In the modern age of social media, women are flooded with images of “the ideal” and are quick to judge themselves if they deter off from this, likely, unrealistic standard. Likewise, if their personality is “too much” or “not enough,” women are put down and told to conform. But what is “normal” or “ideal” when people should be prided on their individuality?
Having role models, like Cyrus, allows women to stay in tune with themselves as they are reminded that no love, praise, or attention is worth more than the love, praise, and attention you give yourself.
Through hard work, dedication, and self-focus, Cyrus was able to reach the heights she knew she was capable of. With the self-love anthem, she was awarded her first (and eventually second that same evening) Grammy for Record Of The Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.
After holding her first golden trophy in her career, Cyrus sang her heart out to “Flowers” on the stage. She announced in pure and utter excitement during the middle of her performance, “I just won my first Grammy!” before jumping around on the stage to celebrate herself and her accomplishments both as an artist and as a person.
While self-love is a journey, and often a difficult one, women from all sorts of lives can look up to Cyrus, turn up “Flowers,” and be reminded that “I can love me better than you can.”
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