Miley Cyrus recently recounted her experience of recording Party in the USA in the same week that Michael Jackson died. The revelation came in a recent episode of Spotify's Every Single Album, where she gave fans insight into the atmosphere surrounding the creation of her song and her emotional state at the time.
Released on August 11, 2009, Party in the USA is an infectiously upbeat track by Miley Cyrus. It was part of her debut EP, Time of Our Lives. The strong sense of optimism in the song gave listeners a chance to forget their everyday concerns and the heaviness of the time. The song peaked at number two on the charts in the United States, and through its success, it helped Miley climb up the ranks in the music industry.
Miley Cyrus narrates her experience of recording Party in the USA
While admitting that the backdrop of national mourning had affected the recording, Miley Cyrus narrated the incident on the podcast in a lighthearted manner, in which she said:
"I was cutting 'Party in the USA' while I was filming a movie because I was doing The Last Song, and I remember cutting 'Party in the USA' because it was the week that Michael Jackson had died. So the whole was like... It was a weird feeling everywhere. It was the weirdest day. It was not giving 'Party in the USA' energy."
She then went on to joke:
"Everyone's so mad at America all the time, but then again, they're like, run it."
Cyrus was also busy juggling her gruelling schedule at the time, as she was also filming the movie The Last Song at the time. In the podcast hosted by Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard, she also opened up about the rigors of the schedule.
"That was one of the times where I was thinking, 'This is a lot,' because I was really enjoying doing The Last Song. Because that's where I met Liam, who I would go on to marry and write a ton of — most of my songs about. So I really wanted to like, hang out with him on the weekend, and I had to go instead, hang out with Dr. Luke and sing Jessie J songs, which I also altered to fit me."
She then went on to express her happiness at going through with the plan:
"I'm glad that I did it, obviously. I love it because of the life that it gives. It was really hard to sing. It's the hardest song to sing in my entire set."
2009 was a time of transition in the music industry, yet Party in the USA became an instant hit amongst the masses. During her performance at the O2 Arena in 2009, Miley Cyrus gave a touching tribute to the King of Pop by changing the lyrics to include Michael Jackson. When reminded of the incident by the hosts, Cyrus said:
"That's so weird. That actually is like very strange. I must have done that on purpose, I guess, but that's all I would have been listening to at the time because of the timing."
2009 was an important time for her musical journey, and after the song came out, she progressed from being a Disney idol to a successful pop singer. With the revelation that Party in the USA was recorded at the time of Michael Jackson’s death, the meaning behind the song becomes much more powerful.