Miley Cyrus' been a bad girl

Miley Cyrus' been a bad girl

The plight of the child star turned wild child has been well-documented.

But none have had the cheek to attribute their bad behaviour to a higher cause - making history.

Until Miley Cyrus.

The 20-year-old US actress-singer memorably gave the world's most unappetising stripper dance on the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) stage two weeks ago with the help of Blurred Lines singer Robin Thicke.

In the aftermath, she kept mum while everyone and their mother - including Thicke's - said their piece. "I can never unsee it," said Mama Thicke - real name Gloria Loring - echoing the thoughts of millions.

Well, apparently that's exactly how Cyrus wants it.

"I don't pay attention to the negative because I've seen this play out so many times," she told MTV News last week. "Madonna's done it. Britney's done it. Every VMA performance, that's what you're looking for; you're wanting to make history. "Me and Robin, the whole time, said, 'You know you are about to make history right now?'"

Wait, so using foam hand as a sexual prop was no young person's cry for attention, but part of a larger plan to erase the memory of her Disney alter ego Hannah Montana and enter the larger pop music - and not just VMA - hall of fame?

Apparently so.

Cyrus broke up with her longtime label Hollywood Records - which counts Disney stars Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato and Bridgit Mendler as part of its roster - to make her upcoming album Bangerz.

To be released on Oct 4, it contains her new ballad Wrecking Ball, which will be out this week, and a collaboration with none other than fellow VMA hallof- famer, good Disney girl turned ball of dysfunction turned Smurf-loving mum Britney Spears, 31.

The track, whose title has not been released, has been described by its producer Sean Garrett - who also produced Usher's Yeah! and Pussycat Dolls' Buttons - as "iconic", which we take to mean that it's totally in line with Cyrus' history-making ideals.

Like Madonna passing the bad girl torch to Spears and Christina Aguilera via mouthto- mouth at the VMAs exactly 10 years ago, Spears' appearance on Cyrus' new album could be a sign that she's anointing the latter as mainstream pop's new bad girl.

The two are friends - with Cyrus even alluding to the fact that Spears has been a role model and mentor to her.

"It's good to have that one person in my life who gets it," Cyrus told Huffington Post last month, referring to having Spears give her advice on handling media pressure.

Spears has tweeted her support for Cyrus' controversial music video for the single We Can't Stop, playfully asking the latter to teach her how to twerk.

Said Cyrus of Spears' support: "I just think it's never blaming you or making you feel like, 'You've got all this going for you,' ... It's like she knows."

And others in the know seem to believe in her wholeheartedly.

Music producer and songwriter Pharrell Williams - who featured on two songs of the summer, Blurred Lines and Daft Punk's Get Lucky, and will be producing some tracks on Bangerz - is certain everyone will be blown away by Cyrus' latest effort.

"When you hear this album, you guys are gonna be like, 'Ah damn, we thought we knew'," he said in a red carpet interview last week. "Keep in mind, dude, she was born in Nashville, her dad is Billy Ray Cyrus and her godmother is Dolly Parton. There's a whole other side that you guys are about to hear."

In case those references made you wonder whether Bangerz will showcase some of that musical pedigree, Cyrus herself has set the record straight.

She told MTV News: "We Can't Stop was just the beginning ... things are about to get really crazy." Nobody's doubting that.


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