Miley Cyrus On Why She's Releasing Something Beautiful In Theaters—and How Harrison Ford Talked Her Out of Touring in the Forest

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May 22

Ahead of the Tribeca premiere, the Grammy winner opens up about cinematic storytelling, career sustainability, and finding beauty offstage

As Miley Cyrus prepares to debut her new visual album film Something Beautiful at the Tribeca Film Festival, she’s opening up about her evolving relationship with performance, the pressures of touring, and why her next creative chapter is unfolding on the big screen. More than a music video collection or behind-the-scenes doc, Something Beautifulrepresents a bold reimagining of what an album experience can look and feel like.

In a wide-ranging conversation with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Cyrus reflected on her desire to return to a communal listening experience—something she feels the digital age has diluted. “I wanted to have that experience [of bringing community back to music] for my fans,” she said. “That’s why I really wanted to have something where you don’t just, like, lay in your bed and say, ‘We’re gonna put that Miley thing on.’ I wanted it to be in a theater... to go, ‘I’m here now, I’m invested, and this is my focus.’”

The film, co-directed by Cyrus, Jacob Bixenman, and Brendan Walter, and produced alongside Panos Cosmatos and others, accompanies her ninth studio album of the same name, out May 30. The theatrical release is not just a rollout strategy—it’s a replacement for a traditional tour. And for Cyrus, that pivot is as personal as it is professional.

The pop star, who hasn't embarked on a full tour in over a decade, had originally planned an intimate, experiential series called Somewhere Beautiful, where she’d perform in breathtaking and often logistically improbable settings—forests, cathedrals, pyramids. But that concept was scrapped after a conversation with actor Harrison Ford during the 2024 Disney Legends event, where Cyrus was honored as the youngest inductee in history. “I show him my idea for ‘Somewhere Beautiful,’ which is performing in all these forests and iconic places,” she said. “And Harrison’s like, ‘You really wanna go and set up in a forest, and do what?’ He’s like, ‘You gonna bring a crew?’ He said, ‘Looks expensive.’ I came back to the trailer and told the team, ‘We’re not performing in the forest anymore. Harrison Ford made a lot of sense.’”

From that moment, Cyrus shifted her vision inward, deciding to focus on a film that could deliver all the immersive magic of a concert without the physical toll or complex logistics of touring. “That’s why I want to create this film,” she explained. “The film is my way of touring. It’s something you can watch night after night and still discover something new. You get to feel like you're a part of the performance, but I don’t have to tax myself in that way.”

There’s also a medical reason behind her avoidance of the stage: Cyrus lives with Reinke’s edema, a rare condition that affects her vocal cords and is responsible for her signature husky voice. “I don’t lip-synch. I sing live,” she said. “And these songs are big. I put a tour together every other week in my head because I want to do it, but it would have to be in a way that is sustainable for me in all the ways—physically, mentally, creatively.”

Something Beautiful, described as a “pop opera,” features 13 original songs and blends performance art, narrative storytelling, and cinematic visuals. The project, she says, is about allowing fans to slow down and be present in an era of endless distractions. Drawing comparisons to the mind-shifting mechanics of the show Severance, Cyrus added, “There’s something about walking into a theater... your brain changes. I don’t hope to sever anyone’s mind—only a little—but I do want people to walk in and feel different. To feel like this is a moment they’re part of.”

The Tribeca premiere will not only launch the visual album but may also spark new conversations about how artists can creatively redefine their relationships with audiences. In a world that’s constantly pushing for more content, more exposure, more touring, Cyrus’s approach is refreshingly intentional—crafted for depth rather than volume.

With Something Beautiful, Miley Cyrus invites us into a space that feels cinematic, vulnerable, and artistically unbound. It’s not about spectacle or scale—it’s about being seen, heard, and felt. And by stepping off the stage, she’s creating a new kind of closeness with her fans—one that lives not in arenas, but in moments of focus, intention, and reflection.

The film’s release is aligned with the arrival of Miley Cyrus’s ninth studio album, Something Beautiful, which drops May 30 under Columbia Records. The project includes 13 original tracks and features guest appearances from supermodel Naomi Campbell and Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes, adding both sonic and cultural range to the album’s palette.

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Described by the team behind the film as a genre-bending "pop opera," Something Beautiful blurs the line between cinematic storytelling and live performance. The songs and visuals work in tandem to deliver a surreal, emotionally immersive journey through identity, beauty, and chaos.

In a previous interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Cyrus framed the album as a pop-infused social commentary. She likened her artistic vision to making "The Wall," reimagined through a more fashion-forward, culture-saturated lens. “It’s a concept album designed to treat some of the societal sicknesses we’re all grappling with—through the language of music and style,” she said.