After Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz, Cyrus spent time reclaiming her once wholesome image in the run up to her new material, Younger Now. Prior to the album's release on September 29, 2017, Cyrus released "Malibu" as the lead single and "Inspired" a promotional single before unveiling the album's title track as the second single on August 18, 2017, along with its music video. It is a twangy pop song featuring one of her grade school portraits as the cover artwork.
Composition
The song is performed in the key of A major, with a moderately fast tempo of 122 beats per minute in common time. Cyrus vocals span from E3 to B4. Lyrically, Ben Kate of Consequence of Sound described the track as "a soaring reclamation of changes Cyrus experienced over the last several years, ending with a declaration she now is the best version of herself. 'I'm not afraid of who I used to be / No one stays the same,' she proclaims. 'Change is a thing you can count on / I feel so much younger now'".
Critical reception
USA Todays Maeve McDermott claimed "the song is infinitely more listenable than most of the music from her Dead Petz phase", but criticized Cyrus for "not offering much in the way of meaningful self-reflection on the song".
Track listing
The Remixes EP
"Younger Now" – 2:40
"Younger Now" – 3:44
"Younger Now" – 2:57
"Younger Now" – 4:23
"Younger Now" – 3:52
"Younger Now" – 3:23
Live performances
Cyrus first performed "Younger Now" at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards on August 27, featuring a varied array of senior citizen men and women, many of whom in their late eighties, as the main dancers, as well as several young children riding mini-motorcycles. On September 7, Cyrus performed the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She also performed "Younger Now" live for the third time in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, accompanied with other songs like "Malibu", "See You Again", "Party in the U.S.A." and a cover of Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", the following week.
Music video
Background and synopsis
Accompanying the song was a music video featuring a "mishmash" of 1950s-inspired imagery. In the video's most on-the-nose moment, one of the sideshow characters populating its carnival setting spins upside down on a stripper pole, as the words "No one stays the same" flash in front. Cyrus helped co-direct the video alongside her friend and collaborator Diane Martel. The video features Cyrus interacting with a puppet of her younger self and dancing with a group of senior citizens. As of December 2017, the video acquired over 50 million views on YouTube.
Reception
USA Today suggested the stripper scene is "a flashback to Cyrus grinding on Robin Thicke and twerking in the "We Can't Stop" video during her Bangerz years".
