Miley Cyrus Goes Viral For Covering Blondie's "Heart Of Glass" at the iHeart Radio Festival

At least she can sing, which a lot of these pop kweens can’t.

I actually don't mind her vocal style for this song. The screaming southern rocker thing weirdly works for Blondie songs.

Her band sounds good, but I'll stick with DH's original vocal. Miley's is way too aggressive for the tone of the song. I like her outfit, though. She looks good.

No. Just no.

If she weren't batshit, she wouldn't be all that bad.

I mean, she's no Debbie Harry, but there is a quality about both her singing and her performing that isn't terrible, especially compared to the likes of Ariana Grande and her ilk.

She does the disco/glam rock thing well. I like that direction for her career.

sorry, but i haven't seen or heard this much "butchering" since i last visited the grocery store.....

loud, annoying, screaming, and on and on..... that's talent? that's a singing voice?...

Atrocious

Please stop using "went viral" for just anything that goes on the Internet. This was intended to be seen by a large number of people.

She sounds like a chain-smoking East German female swimmer with a headcold

DAMN, THAT SOUNDED LIKE IT HURT! will she even be able to talk in a few years?!?!?!?

Really makes me appreciate Debbie's light touch. So many people now think singing has to be screaming at the top of your lungs with no nuance. Deb had a jazz singer's instincts.

She trying to turn it into a metal song and it doesn’t work.

That drummer is no Clem Burke.

Visually, awful haircut and awful, strangely unsexy outfit. Makes me appreciate the original song and video in every way.

[Quote] Miley's is way too aggressive for the tone of the song.

"Soon turned out to be a pain in the ass."

r13 Certainly looks better than Blondie ever did.

[Quote] Certainly looks better than Blondie ever did.

You smoke crack?

Miley kind of looks a lot like Cilla Black in that video.

She always starts out so hard and loud she doesn’t have anywhere to go.

She looks rough and I don’t like her get-up, like a cross between Jane Fonda in Klute and Rebecca Romijn in Femme Fatale. Sinéad O’Connor was right, put your clothes back on, Miley!

Debbie was almost 8 years older than Miley when she made her version.

Atrocious. DH sang with a combination of disdain and indifference. She was magic.

Miley just shouts her way through it. And drops the best lyric:

Once I had a love and it was a gas

Soon turned out to be a pain in the ass.

Right, starts out loud and stays loud with no nuance. She might as well be screaming a coke commercial.

I would have liked the outfit but it accentuated her flat ass. I like Miley for the most part, but this was not artful. The timing was off and there was no narrative of intensity. The whole effect was try hard, like she was intimidated to be singing it.

R15 Blondie is a band.

If you mean Cyrus is better looking than Deborah Harry, your tastes are in the minority.

The original. Blondie are the epitome of cool.

No. Blondie was subtle and suggestive. Not screaming

William Hung could have sung it with more nuance.

I think it would have been better if she'd altered the soundtrack away from disco, to suit the way frustrated and angsty way she delivers the vocals. Maybe another Blondie song would have been better for her to cover. This is Debbie's signature song.

Blondie sound and Debbie everything achieved a very chic louche. And that's practically an oxymoron but there were groups in the 70s 80s who could do it. Mick Jagger in his calmer moods did it. I can see why Miley wanted to do it because she is always trying louche but she's always failing.

You're not very familiar with Blondie if you think they had one aesthetic. "One Way or Another" is worlds apart from "Heart of Glass," and that includes vocal delivery.

Here

Miley should cover X-Offender.

MIley's version is very punk although she should've swallowed some of the words since her pronounciation sounds weird. Still, it's a different take on a classic. At least she's not trying to be Debbie Harry.

And she does have a great voice. I only now found out Dolly Parton is her godmother.

Miley Cyrus Goes Viral For Covering Blondie's "Heart Of Glass" at the iHeart Radio Festival What do we think?

—Anonymous 38 views5 posters

5 repliesan hour ago Miley Cyrus Goes Viral For Covering Blondie's "Heart Of Glass" at the iHeart Radio Festival 5 repliesan hour ago No need to bellow Miley

—MissDoug

reply 130 minutes ago That's a lot of look.

—Anonymous

reply 219 minutes ago I had high hopes but she's singing the shit out of a song which shouldn't be sung that way.

It's too much - too over the top. She needs to back up a bit.

—Anonymous

reply 319 minutes ago Rich kid bad ashes just make me laugh & Cyrus is the perfect example of that. No struggle, no realistic affection for having to defend her craft, no understanding of having to work to support a dream. She's the poster child of corporate entertainment all packaged up in free-spirited punk aggression toward the establishment. She'll never have to exist with the idea of losing anything because of the "rebellious" things she says or does. She performs "Heart Of Glass", and her cover of "Jolene" for that matter, with posed authority & understanding but has neither for either song. All show. She is the fabrication of planning, styling & accustomed indulgence.

Loved her "came in like a wrecking ball". This, not so much.

What the fuck are you doing, r34?

I might go to see her in concert if she's given up wearing strap ons and fake tits as a stage costume.

This is an abomination

I love her haircut. She’s giving off a Joan Jett vibe.

I think the singing is kind of excellent, but this is karaoke. Kind of a disappointment that Miley did not get more creative with the source material and give it a sound more of her own. Covering is something that Blondie did well. Hanging On the Telephone, Denis, The Tide Is High are all covers and are Blondie classics in their own right.

I've just watched these videos posted here and I have to say, she is a great singer. She's really transformed herself from Disney-pop kid. Maybe I'm not a big fan of the hairdo but she's definitely her own person- way better than the Morticia Adams hair that every other Hollywood woman wears. I also think if she sang Heart of Glass less aggressively everyone would complain that she was trying to copy Debbie Harry. In the infamous words of American Idol, she made it her own.

How is it karaoke when she's not singing at all like the original singer?

Is Denis hugely different to Denise?

Mixed feelings about Heart of Glass, but I will hand it to her: I like this cover of Maneater.

R43 It's a reversed sex version of the same song.

[Quote] It's a reversed sex version of the same song.

Of course. But is the arrangement worlds away from the original? Ditto "Hanging on the Telephone"?

R46 Well the original was Doo-wop and the Blondie version was Punk. So yes they were stylistically getting as far as you could get.

Miley was wearing Mugler for this performance.

The choice of a glam rock outfit to sing a punk rock song was confusing.

A few of her initial dance moves seemed a tribute to Harry.

Cyrus should be a rock singer, she's got the voice for it.

Only rock music in 2020 is like Gregorian Chants in 1980

She has good sense with covers - I really enjoy both her “Jolene” and “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” - but she attacked this one too much.

The original Denise was sung by the fabulously-named Randy and the Rainbows

In no way, is "Denis" by Blondie a punk record. Is Blondie's version of "I'm Gonna Love You Too" also punk?

"Heart of Glass" is a disco song.

It would be nice if she could keep in time with the music.

Blondie also recorded a more stripped down almost Raggae version of the song (I think they called it Once I Had a Love) and it accentuates DH's voice beautifully. I have to agree with rest of the comments that Miley's is way too strained, too much all at once and I generally like Miley.

Maybe should try One Way or Another or Hanging on the Telephone. Those are “screamier” songs.

Blondie handpicked their covers spryly, they chose lesser-known but good songs, polished them up and made them sound bigger somehow. It didn't hurt that they weren't a covers band and wrote their own biggest hits.

She did a cover of Wish You Were Here that made my ears bleed. She sounded like she was vibrating while singing it.

R56 Or Call Me.

It's Miley being her usual tryhard self. From her unnecessary caterwauling to her busted catsuit (Mugler at his tackiest) to her excess jewelry to her wig-like mullet, she's always been extra. I'm surprised she didn't stick out her tongue.

[quote]. . .but she's definitely her own person-

I disagree. If, like Madonna, you have to regularly sell a new persona (twerker, stoner, country girl, punk-lite, heavy metal screamer), you're hiding behind imagery, not being consistently yourself.

Something I noticed from Maneater and Heart of Glass video (aside from the fact she is REALLY channeling Debbie in both), is that Miley puts most of the effort into the first 2 minutes and can't sustain the intensity. She's a good singer and she should learn to conserve more of her energy for the rest of the performance.

I wanted to hate this. I couldn't.

I love Miley, I love that she's paying tribute to one of the best bands and best songs of all time. I also love her outfit, hair and makeup!

All of those things are "Fuck yeahs" in my book.

But honestly, I hate the vocals and wish they had done something original with the arrangement.

Debbie Harry's vocals were so sweet, smooth and ethereal. Given how intricate the wordplay is, I don't think Miley should "Janis Joplin" the shit out of them. Some of those stretched notes are really grating and off-key.

And I always want to hear original sounds and styles in covers. I guess that's asking too much. Nothing feels better than those power rock chords, though.

Yes, the vocals are too aggressive for dainty, tricky notes.

[quote] Is Blondie's version of "I'm Gonna Love You Too" also punk?

I'm Gonna Love You Too was meant to get some mileage out of a Buddy Holly revival that never really took off.

Miley said in an interview recently that she likes to sing and sing until she's worn-out and loses her voice.

If she wanted to screech and Janis Joplin the shit out of Blondie, she should have done "One Way or Another" or "Rip Her to Shreds.

Miley Shyrush, Heart of Glash!

That shong takesh me back to 54!

Yes it is, r43.

No it fucking isn't. They are both bouncy, pop renditions.

You can wear any outfit with any musical aesthetic, r49. I prefer the unexpected.

But if you insist, I'll have you know that punk rock and Blondie CAME from Glam Rock.

The New York Dolls are considered the ultimate, proto-punk band that influenced all later punks. And Joan Jett originally modeled herself after glam rockers — it was the press that labeled her "punk" and pointed her to the bandwagon she should ride.

And what does a "punk" song have to sound like in your tiny, little mind, r52?

Blondie's version sped up the tempo, changed the language and sang it with attitude. It's absolutely punk, because it was harkening back to roots rock instead of trying to overwhelm you like other 70s sounds.

I swear to God, if I read anymore TOTAL IGNORANCE and denigration of punk rock by prissy Dataloungers this year, I'm going to Rip Her to Shreds.

Well, "The Tide is High" is a cover, r55. And beautiful.

r70 is deaf.

Randy and the Rainbows are corny, formulaic doo-wop.

Blondie's version was completely fresh, fast and saucy with a soft smoothness. And singing French to an English audience is punk.

[Quote] And singing French to an English audience is punk.

r74 is Avril Lavigne.

Shakin' Stevens harkened back to roots rock. Is he punk too?

R57 it didn’t hurt that they had Chris Stein and Jimmy Destri, both excellent, but very different, songwriters.

It's a shame Gary Valentine got the boot.

All these covers seems really desperate. She fucking sucks.

I'd rather kill myself than listen to the entire thing.

Put on some Beverly Sills, r80.

Most pop musicians harken back to roots rock, r76.

But it has to be combined with other elements to qualify as punk, like Blondie does.

There's nothing rebellious, woke or counter culture about Shakin' Stevens.

Jimi Hendrix was a punk and he didn't know it? Is Millie Jackson punk?

SHE SURE AS HELL IS NOT A SINGER! a singer is a storyteller, they tell the story of the song with nuance, and so on.. miley is UTTERLY DEVOID of this! she could be singing about ANYTHING and it would sound alike!.....

she's 'american idol" on steroids...

R78 Gary was cute!

She sounds like a vibrating, chain-smoking chipmunk. And her pronunciation is contrived as hell.

Do you think she takes singing lessons? Cyrus reminds me of Christina Aquilera -- good voice, questionable taste and screamy technique, too stubborn to take direction.

Unrelatedly, the only people who thought the bandwagon jumping New York Dolls were ultimate proto punk were...their NYC stans.

All society needs is another Deborah Harry clone.

R88 Lucky for you Cyrus isn’t even close.

It seems like Harry/Blondie was literally a one in ten million fluke to break out in the 70s. So beautiful as well as an excellent songwriter and musician. It happened organically. She wasn't groomed for superstardom and her parents wern't famous.

Glam Rock Miley isn't even that contrived by today's standards. Miley does have some talent, a famous surname, and an army of helping hands behind the scenes. Wrecking Ball had two producers and six different songwriters...

It didn't happen organically. Debbie had been on the scene a long time. She's even referred to the "Blondie character." She'd been in a Mamas & Papas rip off (Wind In the Willows) and a girl group (The Stilettos) before she and Chris Stein put Blondie together. Both were very savvy.

It's not like either of her previous bands were fantastically successful though. Blondie came up playing grubby clubs like every other CBGB-era band in NY. They just happened on a formula that worked this time & was in sync with the budding punk movement.

I hate it

Blondie recently sold all the future royalty rights of their music to a hedge fund, so that will probably mean a lot more Blondie covers. The deal may have something to do with the complicated way Harry and Stein got ripped off by so many terrible business deals in their careers.

[Quote] They just happened on a formula that worked this time & was in sync with the budding punk movement.

And yet who midwifed their success? Richard Gottehrer and Mike Chapman, both POP producers...

Cyrus’ voice is rougher than Harry’s but it’s great to hear someone cover the song

If Blondie were ripped off, why did Debbie stay with Chrysalis for her solo career?

Oh, NO!

Does anyone know where she got that outfit? I wanna wear it for Halloween.

Watch the video I lasted fifty seconds. You weren't kidding when you said she was just shouting.

Miley looks very cheap.

R97 Debbie signed with Geffen in 1985 (Cher's label) and then with Sire in 1987 (Madonna's label) in the US after her break from music. She stayed with Chrysalis internationally and the UK to distribute her, probably out of loyalty and because they had been good to her.

Deborah refused to work manically as Blondie had done, and her solo records did not fly together in the studio with ease, so only one solo record every 4 years as opposed to a new record every year with Blondie, she became an expensive artist for them to keep financing.

There was also the drugs...

Some of Debbie's solo work was very charming and is still fresh sounding today.

"Strike Me Pink" has aged better than "I Can See Clearly."

I think Blondie got ripped off by their manager, not their record company (think Pebbles and TLC).

Allan Klein?

Miley should quit trying to make her voice sound anything other than what it is...country . Its her strength ,I dont know why she doesnt just roll with it. Id have been far more interested in this had she given it a country angle. I like Miley and I think shes a good performer .Thats an important distinction,shes more a performer than a vocal talent.

I think the manager was called Peter Leeds. They had to give him a huge chunk of their sales just to get rid of him.

Country is niche. Miley will eventually return to it when her pop career is truly over.

She is a great role model. I like her openness

R109 These pissing pics make me want fuck her pussy, lol.

Miley fan here. I quite enjoyed this. OP's video cuts off partway through, so here's the whole thing.

Where’s the disco ?

I think it’s a respectable and a respectful cover. The clip of Cyrus covering Dolly Patton’s Jolene is excellent (the keyboardist is distracting in his handsomeness).

Deborah Harry’s giant face was so beautiful and she was extremely engaging as a performer. She didn’t really know how to move on stage, and just sort of twitched, shuffled and hopped, but that is part of her appeal.

Miley pushes her voice so hard. She might need to go off to an island and stay silent for a month like Annie Lenox did, or have surgery like Adele. She’s talented, but I wonder how her voice will hold up over time. She must be a smoker, right?

Patton is meant to spell “Parton”.

R113 I think she already had surgery

That sounded better in the first, shorter clip. In the full length video at r111, the song gets away from her.

Is she warm enough in that outfit?

That was shit.

Debbie Harry should get on twitter and tell Miley to stay away from her song book.

Heart of Glass is a great song, not surprised people connected to it, too bad they had to listen to that screaming over an amazing track.

IMO Miley's cover of Heart Of Glass rocks.

Covering Pink Floyd

Miley and Ariana

You ancient, dusty queens are something else.

That was fucking EPIC!

R121 Know Your Place, whore.

[quote] That was shit. Debbie Harry should get on twitter and tell Miley to stay away from her song book.

Debbie Harry would never air grievances on twitter. She always loves and supports the little popettes at least publicly. I would dearly love to know what she thinks of them in private though.

R121: Pffft! The words of someone whose ideas of art and talent are limited to his own generation. Hon, it’s all been done before and done better.

How is Miley even close to epic when she’s turned into a screaming cover singer?

SHE EPIC DUDE WOOHOO

....

[quote] The words of someone whose ideas of art and talent are limited to his own generation.

I think that sentence is in the dictionary next to "Baby Boomer," though.

as a old fart myself, not sure, but is the iHEART radio festival exclusive millennials in the audience? if so, how many would have known of the hit that was "heart of glass"?...

Peter Leeds

A friend went into a record store in a supposedly cultured major city to inquire if they had any Early Music in stock, and the adorable clerk responded, uhhh do you mean Motown?

r123 On the BBC America show Killing Eve the character Villanelle played by Jodie Comer sings a bit of One Way Or Another in one of the episodes in season 2. Debbie Harry tweeted her appreciation and support right after it aired.

So far nothing from Debbie on Miley eh?

r121 being ancient and dusty means we are used to hearing real talent. It means our introduction to music included the icons these younger singers wish to emulate. We are used to originals not poor copies.

r53 it's a reggae song.

r1 that's not a live mike to my ears.

R131 Debbie’s simply jealous

Deborah Harry is used to young artists copying and covering her band. I’m sure she appreciates their reverence.

Rock version beats a disco version every time, ok ?

Well, if you have to ask...

Rock beats disco. Period.

I will CUT you R137 !

Rock is dead. Long live Disco!

Disco is so 70s. Rock is eternal

Rock is retrograde.

Miley has such a really annoying voice, a kind of prison warden's voice.

I don’t know what Liam saw in her except the money

His cock, most likely.

R144 ???

Miley unfortunately has a rather mundane voice that she desperate to somehow make interesting

R146 I think her voice sounds good here, especially the talking parts.

Oh honey, she went viral a long time ago.

This hooker was also performing with autotune plus a supporting lead vocal. Talent, my ass. And put your mosquito bites away, we've seen them too many times already.

Miley Virus is my Corona Drag Name.

I wonder if she is ever going to fix her ugly gremlin-like mouth.

R149 - is there another lead vocal blended into Miley in Heart of Glass? Is there a moment in the song I can hear it?

R151 fix it how??

R153 Korean plastic surgery

Her grill HAS been fixded, fank u.

R155 still too teethy....before she looked really inbred.

I didn't like her version at all.