# Easy Lover (Miley Cyrus song)
"Easy Lover" is a song by the American singer [Miley Cyrus](https://www.edgepedia.org/miley-cyrus) from her ninth studio album, *Something Beautiful* (2025), released on May 30, 2025 through [Columbia Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-records) under license from MCEO Inc.[1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI18XWXHxB0) It appears as track six on the album, placed between two instrumental interludes.[2](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/song/573986-easy-lover/) • [3](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/article/2025/05/30/with-something-beautiful-miley-cyrus-balances-dance-fervor-and-overly-stylized-pop_6741824_30.html) Despite sharing its title with the 1984 [Phil Collins](https://www.edgepedia.org/phil-collins) and Philip Bailey hit, the song is unrelated to it.[4](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/review/2025/05/30/miley-cyrus-something-beautiful-review-like-bangerz-without-the-bangers-or-flowers-without-the-bloom/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist / album | Miley Cyrus, *Something Beautiful* (her ninth studio album), track 6[2](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/song/573986-easy-lover/) |
| Release | May 30, 2025, Columbia Records / MCEO Inc.; official video published May 29, 2025[1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI18XWXHxB0) |
| Writers | Miley Cyrus, Michael Pollack, Ryan Tedder, and Omer Fedi[5](https://pitchfork.com/news/miley-cyrus-releases-new-album-something-beautiful-listen-and-read-the-full-credits/) |
| Producers | Miley Cyrus, Shawn Everett, Michael Pollack, and Jonathan Rado[5](https://pitchfork.com/news/miley-cyrus-releases-new-album-something-beautiful-listen-and-read-the-full-credits/) |
| Notable performer | Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes on electric guitar[5](https://pitchfork.com/news/miley-cyrus-releases-new-album-something-beautiful-listen-and-read-the-full-credits/) |
## Background and development
Years later, Beyoncé asked Cyrus to collaborate on her country album *Cowboy Carter* (2024). Cyrus sent demos of "Easy Lover" and "[II Most Wanted](https://www.edgepedia.org/ii-most-wanted)", the latter originally titled "Shotgun Rider". NME reported that Cyrus said she wrote the song with *Cowboy Carter* in mind, and that it recalls her country-flecked 2017 album *Younger Now*.[6](https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/miley-cyrus-something-beautiful-review-3865945)
Before releasing *Something Beautiful*, Cyrus reimagined the song for the album.
## Composition and production
The album credits list Cyrus, Michael Pollack, Ryan Tedder, and [Omer Fedi](https://www.edgepedia.org/omer-fedi) as writers, with production by Cyrus, Shawn Everett, Michael Pollack, and Jonathan Rado.[5](https://pitchfork.com/news/miley-cyrus-releases-new-album-something-beautiful-listen-and-read-the-full-credits/) Justin Brown plays drums, [Pino Palladino](https://www.edgepedia.org/pino-palladino) bass, Sara Watkins fiddle, Matt Pynn pedal steel guitar, and Michael Pollack Wurlitzer 200a and stomps; Everett handled mixing, mastering, string synths, and programming.[5](https://pitchfork.com/news/miley-cyrus-releases-new-album-something-beautiful-listen-and-read-the-full-credits/) • [1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI18XWXHxB0)
Critics placed the song in different stylistic traditions. *Le Monde* described a love song with a soul-rock groove reminiscent of [Macy Gray](https://www.edgepedia.org/macy-gray), layered with [Wurlitzer](https://www.edgepedia.org/wurlitzer) and strings.[3](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/article/2025/05/30/with-something-beautiful-miley-cyrus-balances-dance-fervor-and-overly-stylized-pop_6741824_30.html) The *Irish Times* heard "lightly disco-laced soft rock" with a [Grace Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/grace-jones)-like "disco-apocalypse energy".[4](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/review/2025/05/30/miley-cyrus-something-beautiful-review-like-bangerz-without-the-bangers-or-flowers-without-the-bloom/) *The New Yorker* called it a funky, Prince-esque track.[7](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/pop-music/miley-cyrus-captivating-voice) The Associated Press grouped it with the album's blend of pop, rock, electronic, disco, and funk, calling it the album's "soulful, heartache anthem".[8](https://apnews.com/article/910ba15be0ac937225bf7a8b8d064b68)
The opening verse addresses a turbulent romance: "You're my baby, you're the only one / You drive me crazy, oh, but I still miss you when you're gone ... I love to hate ya, uh, but I can't stand it when you're gone / So I call you once every hour."[9](https://www.culledculture.com/miley-cyrus-easy-lover-video/) Lyndsey Havens of *Billboard* read the title as a double entendre: the partner is difficult to love, and yet Cyrus does it easily.
## Music video
The music video was directed by Cyrus, Jacob Bixenman, and Brendan Walter, and premiered in parallel with the album. *The Daily Beast* described it as a playful undressing and redressing sequence and noted it appeared to be one of the segments of the companion film shot on celluloid.[10](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/miley-cyrus-latest-career-stunt-something-beautiful-is-unnecessary/)
## Critical reception
Reception was divided. *The New Yorker* called "Easy Lover" easily the catchiest song on the record, praising Cyrus's yawps and yelps over Howard's bright, bluesy guitar riffs.[7](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/pop-music/miley-cyrus-captivating-voice) A Sputnikmusic review called it an effortless dancefloor-filler on which Cyrus sounds like a true 1980s rockstar, extending the word "Easy" into ten funky syllables.[11](https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/89863/Miley-Cyrus-Something-Beautiful/) *The Independent* noted Howard's electric guitar contribution to the track.[12](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/miley-cyrus-something-beautiful-review-naomi-campbell-b2760585.html)
Negative assessments came from Pitchfork, where Madison Bloom dubbed it "another Bruno Mars castoff", with a walking bassline, stomping beat, and chirping "ooh-ooh-ooh-oohs", and described it as "referential, uninspired, and really just a rearrangement of pieces that don't quite fit in their new configuration".[13](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/miley-cyrus-something-beautiful/) *Le Monde* found the track oddly wedged between two dispensable instrumental interludes.[3](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/article/2025/05/30/with-something-beautiful-miley-cyrus-balances-dance-fervor-and-overly-stylized-pop_6741824_30.html) *The Irish Times* welcomed the song while regretting that it had nothing to do with Phil Collins.[4](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/review/2025/05/30/miley-cyrus-something-beautiful-review-like-bangerz-without-the-bangers-or-flowers-without-the-bloom/) Some commentary also noted the title collision with [Ellie Goulding](https://www.edgepedia.org/ellie-goulding)'s 2023 song of the same name.[9](https://www.culledculture.com/miley-cyrus-easy-lover-video/)
## References
1. [Miley Cyrus - Easy Lover (audio) on YouTube, Columbia Records](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI18XWXHxB0)
2. [Easy Lover - Song Ratings, Album of the Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/song/573986-easy-lover/)
3. [With 'Something Beautiful,' Miley Cyrus balances dance fervor and overly stylized pop, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/article/2025/05/30/with-something-beautiful-miley-cyrus-balances-dance-fervor-and-overly-stylized-pop_6741824_30.html)
4. [Miley Cyrus: Something Beautiful review, The Irish Times](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/review/2025/05/30/miley-cyrus-something-beautiful-review-like-bangerz-without-the-bangers-or-flowers-without-the-bloom/)
5. [Miley Cyrus Releases New Album Something Beautiful: Listen and Read the Full Credits, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/news/miley-cyrus-releases-new-album-something-beautiful-listen-and-read-the-full-credits/)
6. [Miley Cyrus - 'Something Beautiful' review, NME](https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/miley-cyrus-something-beautiful-review-3865945)
7. [Miley Cyrus Finally Makes an Album Worthy of Her Voice, The New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/pop-music/miley-cyrus-captivating-voice)
8. [Music Review: Miley Cyrus' 'Something Beautiful' is a return to form, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/910ba15be0ac937225bf7a8b8d064b68)
9. [The Hard Truth: Ellie Goulding Already Did Miley Cyrus' "Easy Lover", Culled Culture](https://www.culledculture.com/miley-cyrus-easy-lover-video/)
10. [Miley Cyrus' Latest Experimental Career Stunt Is 'Beautiful' But Unnecessary, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/miley-cyrus-latest-career-stunt-something-beautiful-is-unnecessary/)
11. [Miley Cyrus - Something Beautiful album review, Sputnikmusic](https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/89863/Miley-Cyrus-Something-Beautiful/)
12. [Miley Cyrus review, Something Beautiful, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/miley-cyrus-something-beautiful-review-naomi-campbell-b2760585.html)
13. [Miley Cyrus: Something Beautiful Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/miley-cyrus-something-beautiful/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Pop songs › Pop songs of the 2020s › 2024 and 2025 songs › 2025 pop songs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license