Miley Cyrus pushed back against online critics during her second sold-out concert at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday, revealing to the audience that negative reactions to her previous show almost prompted her to skip the performance entirely.
The two-night engagement marked the 33-year-old singer’s first live concerts in four years. However, her return on Friday drew complaints across social media platforms, where some attendees accused her of demonstrating low energy and relying too heavily on audience sing-alongs during major hits such as “Flowers” and “Party in the USA.”
Addressing the criticism directly on Sunday night, Cyrus defended her artistic commitment in fan-recorded videos circulated online, according to Variety and the Daily Mail. She dismissed the negative reviews as commentary designed to attract views.
“I’ve never heard that I don’t put my heart into something,” Cyrus told the crowd. “I don’t know if any of you heard that somebody was doing commentary to get clickbait on their video talking about my show on Friday night, but I’m a lot of things and we’re not even going to entertain that.”
Hesitation Backstage
Cyrus openly admitted that returning to live performances has presented personal challenges, explaining that standing on stage “does not come as natural as it once did.” The singer confessed she nearly walked away just moments before her Sunday set began.
“Before I came out for ‘Orbit,’ I already told myself I wasn’t going to come on stage, I was going to run away,” Cyrus said, as reported by Variety. “But never would I leave you all sitting in these seats, unfulfilled from a show. So I can take a lot, but one thing I will not stand is any question about where my heart is when I’m on the stage. I am fully present.”
Cyrus also used her setlist to offer sarcastic rebuttals. While singing “Bass Persuades,” the title track from her newest project, Cyrus quipped into the microphone, “Oh, I forgot I’m supposed to sing every fucking line!”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the singer also told attendees that the physical demands of singing live prevented her from doing cartwheels across the stage.
A Complicated Relationship With Touring
Online concert reviews following Friday’s opening night included videos from TikTok commentators who claimed they left dissatisfied, with some users stating they departed early or felt the singer appeared detached from her catalogue. Conversely, other attendees and reviewers noted that while Cyrus appeared distant on certain chart-topping pop singles, her live vocal deliveries were strong, especially during lesser-known selections.
Cyrus has previously spoken candidly about her reluctance to embark on traditional tours. She has not mounted a full-scale concert tour since 2014 and has avoided extended live runs since 2022. In a 2023 interview with British Vogue, the pop star explained that singing to arena-sized audiences lacked the personal connection she preferred and reiterated on social media that she did not want to sleep on a tour bus again.
Physical vocal strain has also shaped her live schedule. Cyrus has previously disclosed that she deals with vocal cord polyps and Reinke’s edema, a condition involving swelling in the vocal cords.
Emotional Tributes and Collaborations
Despite the backlash, the Hollywood Bowl shows featured several unique moments. Cyrus brought her fiancé, Maxx Morando, on stage during both nights to perform the track “Let’s Get Married,” and she teamed up with Wayne Coyne, frontman of The Flaming Lips, for two songs, Vulture reported.
Cyrus also paid an emotional tribute to her late godmother, country music icon Dolly Parton, who died on Aug. 25. Before singing Parton’s classic hit “Jolene,” Cyrus displayed images of Parton and shared memories of seeing her perform at the Hollywood Bowl, telling fans she felt Parton’s presence beside her every day, according to OK! Magazine.
The weekend concerts followed a volatile commercial trajectory for her new studio album, “Bass Persuades,” released earlier this year by Atlantic Records. After opening at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, the album plunged to No. 157 in its second frame before dropping off the ranking entirely, marking a historic chart slide for a female artist.
Cyrus has not announced further tour dates, leaving it unclear whether the two-night California run was an isolated engagement or the start of a broader return to the stage.
