[15][16][17] In December 2019, Cyrus acknowledged that the musical direction of Younger Now "wasn't exactly the home for [her]" and credited Ronson with "[helping her] carve out [her] sound, where [she] could do everything that [she wanted], which is more modern.

[28] The following month, it was reported that Cyrus was undecided between updating the existing album that was completed before her divorce or scrapping that version of the record altogether.

[29] On October 20, it was speculated from Cyrus' Instagram Live video that the release date for the full-length album was scheduled for her birthday on November 23, 2019.

[35] With the release of the single "Midnight Sky" on August 14, Cyrus confirmed the cancellation of the She Is Here and She Is Everything EPs, citing that "this year has been extremely unexpected [and] I guess I was feeling like it didn't make sense for me to continue the next two projects.

[39] The album artwork for Plastic Hearts was photographed by Mick Rock, who is widely known for his work with artists including Joan Jett and Debbie Harry.

[41] Cyrus is pictured on the cover with a blonde mullet, wearing a Jean Paul Gaultier sleeveless black-and-white shirt with the word "censored" printed on it,[42] and accessorized with silver jewelry.

[45] She compared her work to Ronson for "rocked, modern Debbie Harry or Joan Jett", while her respective collaborations with Mike Will Made It and Wyatt brought elements of hip hop and alternative pop.

[46] Plastic Hearts' opening track "WTF Do I Know" was described by British Vogue as "a galloping rock stomper that recalls the stop-start rhythm of The Strokes with a tinge of glam rock",[47] with People magazine describing its lyrics as "Cyrus singing about the uncertainty of life and is a clear nod to Hemsworth, 30, who she split from last year."

[48] The title track "Plastic Hearts" "opts for a more jam-orientated rock flavour, slowly blooming out of a piano and percussion intro".

[54][53] Eighth track "High", co-produced by Mark Ronson and co-written with Caitlyn Smith, is a country ballad that "channels the rustic, singsong around the campfire varnished hurt of the A Star Is Born soundtrack".

The track has also been interpreted as a response to the negative press about Cyrus and a reflection on how the media attention surrounding her would suddenly become positive if she died.

It is a high-camp panto of '80s hard rock, which finds Cyrus and Jett trading one-liners over one of the record's few live drum tracks with the singer lightly playing with her own self-image ("I've always picked a giver 'cause I've always been the taker").

[47] Closing track "Golden G String", classified by many critics as the most complex, according to Cyrus, is "reflective of Donald Trump as president and the men hold all the cards -- and they ain't playing gin, and they determine your fate.

[55] Cyrus performed "Angels like You", "High", "Plastic Hearts" and "Golden G String" for an exclusive Backyard Sessions released on November 27, along her album on Apple Music.

She then performed "Plastic Hearts", "Midnight Sky", and "Prisoner" on the first episode of the Amazon Music Holiday Plays digital concert series on December 1, 2020.

The singer performed "Angels like You" for a special Rehearsal - Behind the Scenes YouTube video, of her Pre Super Bowl Show, on February 3, 2021.

She gave a performance consisting of the tracks "Plastic Hearts", "Midnight Sky", "Prisoner", "High", "Angels like You", "Bad Karma" and "Night Crawling" during the TikTok Tailgate pre-game concert before Super Bowl LV in Tampa, Florida on February 7, 2021.

[1] The music video for the song was released on March 8, 2021, was co-directed by Cyrus and Alana O'Herlihy and contains footage taken from singer's Super Bowl pre-game performance on February 7, 2021.

Cyrus has found the perfect balance of pushing her own musical boundaries whilst proving she's one of the strongest and bravest names in the constant celebrity whirlwind."

"[80] Claire Shaffer of Rolling Stone called the album a "karaoke night out that ends up being something more substantial" and pointed that Cyrus "knows exactly what kind of leather-jacket-and-combat-boot show she's putting on here, and her full embrace of rock at its most bombastic, artificial, hair-metal glory is refreshing to say the least".

[54] In a positive review, Shaad D'Souza from Pitchfork defined Plastic Hearts as a "genuinely pleasing, though sometimes hamfisted record that staves off the awkwardness and missteps that plagued her previous albums" and said the album's greatest success is that "for the first time in a long time, a Miley Cyrus record is music first, headlines second".

Cyrus stated that she and her team had not been informed of these expected distribution disruptions when selecting "the suggested [November 27] date", adding that she was "equally/if not more frustrated" than her fans.

[107] One year later, the aforementioned magazine cited Cyrus as one of the names who are "offering hope that rock music is slowly-but-surely returning to the centre of popular culture".

[108] MTV pointed Plastic Hearts as one of the main responsible for the return of nostalgia in pop culture, adding that with the record Cyrus "completely reinvented herself as a glam-rock icon, diving into the past as she cleared a path forward in the pop-rock sphere".