Miley Cyrus can buy herself flowers and hold her own hand, but a little respect from the industry sure doesn't hurt.
In a new interview published on Monday, Cyrus opened up to W magazine about becoming a first-time Grammy winner in February, nearly two decades into her career.
"No shade," Cyrus said, "but I've been doing this for 20 years, and this is my first time actually being taken seriously at the Grammys?"
"I've had a hard time figuring out what the measurement is there, because if we want to talk stats and numbers, then where the fuck was I?" she continued. "And if you want to talk, like, impact on culture, then where the fuck was I? This is not about arrogance. I am proud of myself."
At the 66th annual Grammy Awards, Cyrus won best pop solo performance and record of the year for her hit song "Flowers." Before that night, her music had only been nominated once before: best pop vocal album for "Bangerz" in 2015. (She also received a nomination in 2022 for being featured on Lil Nas X's album "Montero.")
Many fans felt the recognition was long overdue. Cyrus has been a famous singer since 2006, when the first season of "Hannah Montana" premiered on Disney Channel. At 13, she was cast as the titular pop star and went on to release a soundtrack album for each of the show's four seasons, plus a feature film.
Cyrus has also been making music under her own name since 2007, when "Meet Miley Cyrus" was released as the companion to "Hannah Montana 2."
Now 31, Cyrus has eight studio albums, three live albums, and a slew of hit songs under her belt, from "7 Things" and "Party in the USA" to "Wrecking Ball" and "II Most Wanted," her recent collaboration with Beyoncé.
"Flowers" was released as the lead single from Cyrus' latest album "Endless Summer Vacation." It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained atop the chart for eight weeks total.
In addition to winning two awards out of six nominations, Cyrus took the stage at the Grammys to perform a delightful Tina Turner-inspired rendition of "Flowers." In the middle of the song, she exclaimed, "I just won my first Grammy!"
"I really wanted 'Flowers' to be a celebration of bravery, because I perform out of fear," Cyrus told W.
"I didn't always have the fear of performing that I have now. But going from spending two years alone and seeing no more than one person a day during lockdown to knowing that millions of people watch the Grammys is a big shock to the nervous system," she continued. "Anyone who's ever put themselves in a position to be observed or judged is brave."
