It is the lead single from Endless Summer Vacation, her eighth studio album, which is released today and poised to usher in another imperial phase for the singer. "I can love me better than you can," she sings on the wistful chorus of this sun-dappled disco track, which has topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the last seven weeks. Cyrus and subtlety haven't always gone hand in hand – she quite literally rode a wrecking ball in the video for her 2013 chart-topper Wrecking Ball – but Flowers is notable for its vocal and musical restraint. Now, the 30-year-old singer, actress and cultural lightning rod is enjoying one of her biggest ever hits with Flowers, a breezy paean to self-love that contains echoes of Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive. Since Cyrus launched her recording career 17 years ago, when she played a fictional pop star in the hit Disney series Hannah Montana, she has released everything from peppy pop-rock to risqué R&B, and reflective folk-pop to spangly country-disco. – Is it time to reconsider Britney's legacy? The consummate modern pop star, she has taken advantage of blurred genre boundaries at a time when eclectic Spotify playlists hold more sway with listeners than traditional (and generally more genre-prescriptive) radio playlists. But Miley Cyrus has baked shapeshifting into her personal brand in a particularly 21st-Century fashion. David Bowie and Madonna are the two most famous who spring to mind. Across decades of pop music, numerous performers have been lauded for their chameleon-like quality – a preternatural ability to switch up their image and sound without sacrificing their artistic identity.
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