Midnight Sky

"Midnight Sky" is a song by American singer Miley Cyrus, released on August 14, 2020, by RCA Records as the lead single from her seventh studio album Plastic Hearts.

The single was written by Cyrus, Ali Tamposi, Ilsey Juber and Jon Bellion with song's producers: Louis Bell and Andrew Watt.

A preview of "Midnight Sky" was released to coincide with the launch of Instagram Reels, a video-sharing service similar to TikTok, on August 6, 2020.

[7] "Midnight Sky" is a disco[8][9][10] and pop[8][9][11] song with "raw arena rock vocals and the pristinely glossy production", as described by Rolling Stone.

Its lyrics are inspired by Cyrus' divorce from Liam Hemsworth and relationships with Kaitlynn Carter and Cody Simpson, and show the singer "tak[ing] back her narrative" and being confident in herself.

[17][18] She also revealed in an interview in Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy podcast that her desire was for the song to be an anthem that normalized pansexuality and provided visibility for those living in fear of rejection over their authentic selves.

[7] Cyrus opens the song with the declaration that "it's been a long time since I felt this good on my own" and she later sings "I don't need to be loved by you", the moment is a personal one, exploring independence in the wake of her divorce from Liam Hemsworth.

With the release of the song, Cyrus wanted to speak directly to her fans, and to have more control over an identity that's been shaped by a lifetime in the public eye.

[21] Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone believed "the 27-year-old Disney darling-turned-pop provocateur has returned with yet another bold reinvention, looking to the raw arena rock vocals and the pristinely glossy production of the era for her new single".

"[24] Similarly, Michael Cragg of The Guardian called the song a "disco-tinged, post-divorce banger", commenting that it "sounds suitably refreshed after the double-meh of 2017's country singer rebirth and last year's, erm, 'Cattitude', 'Midnight Sky' is everything all that wasn't: impassioned, energised and delivered by someone brave enough to sport a platinum-blonde mullet".

[25] Mike Wass of Idolator described it as a "dreamy disco anthem"; he praised the personal lyrics stating that "the first taste of MC7 is a deeply autobiographical account of the pop star's emotional journey post-divorce".

The single debuted at number three on Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart after only Cardi B's "WAP" with Megan Thee Stallion and Morgan Wallen's "7 Summers", another release of the week.

[43] On June 20, 2022, PPL reported that "Midnight Sky" was United Kingdom's 9th most played track in 2021 and also the only solo song by a female artist in the top 10.

She's even more specific and studied when she talks about the acid-trip theme of the video: "You went to a Blondie show at CBGB with a hit of acid for later [in tow], head to an afterparty at Indochine, and pop the tab when you know you'll be at Studio 54," she says.

[50] According to Lauren Valenti of Vogue, the music video shows Cyrus ushering in a new aesthetic era that harks back to the glamour and rebellion of the late 1970s.

"It's a dizzying display of self-expression all Cyrus's own, though she did work off the right blueprints, drawing inspiration for her sparkling short from her female rock icons Joan Jett, Debbie Harry, and Stevie Nicks" pointed Valenti.

"[52]In a radio interview with Chris Kelly for Toronto's KiSS 92.5, Cyrus said the bubble gum in the video represents "[her] being lost in the bubblegum pop scene" and the disco ball reflected that "it's this kind of broken pieces that were put back together to make something whole again".

[62] Cyrus again performed the "Edge of Midnight" along with "Party in the U.S.A." and "Prisoner" on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest in Times Square on December 31.