Miley Cyrus unveils next chapter after changing her famous name

Miley Cyrus has shared a glimpse of her next chapter after taking the leap and changing her name in a move that stunned her legion of fans.

The 33-year-old posted a clip of her newest single, “Bass Persuades”, on social media on Thursday, which saw the pop star dressed in black underwear paired with black pantyhose and a black leather jacket. Her blonde locks flowed in the wind as she sang along to the music.

The music video featured Miley and a group of dancers on a moonlit city street as they danced to the track, with their moves seemingly reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video.

The singer’s fans couldn’t get enough of the new look, with one writing: “Oh this is everythinggggg,” while another added: “Obsessed.” A third chimed in: “Oh my god this is all I have ever wanted,” while another said: “The vibe is unreal. Miley never misses.”

Miley’s name change

Miley shocked her fans when she debuted her new stage name on August 30, revealing that she had dropped Cyrus from her name and was going by a single moniker, much like Cher, Shakira or Beyoncé.

She changed her Instagram handle to @miley in line with her new era, and simply captioned a photo from her album “MILEY”. The blonde beauty’s famous father, Billy Ray Cyrus, revealed his thoughts on Miley’s name change and explained that he was all for the major move.

“Family means more than ever now. I always called my little girl Miley. Just…Miley. Just like I always called my little boy Braison,” he wrote on Instagram, alongside a throwback photo of him with Miley and her brother, Braison.

“Bet you didn’t know…I was just CYRUS before Achy Breaky Heart came out in 92. All of my swag and t-shirts only read CYRUS…I told @miley yesterday I felt good about her going with her first name.”

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He went on to list other single-name stars like Elvis and Prince, before sharing that the move was “a natural progression for an iconic superstar legend”.

“Looking forward to the new album,” he concluded. “Now…if only Mercury/Polygram would have just not insisted on the ‘Billy Ray’ part and just let me be CYRUS…I could have done something!!! Ha ha !!! All good.”

Revealing her true moniker

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This name change is not the first time that Miley has switched things up; in fact, her birth name is actually Destiny Hope Cyrus, and she earned the nickname Miley thanks to her sunny demeanor. 

“Billy Ray came up with that [the nickname],” said Miley’s mother, Tish Cyrus, on the Tea Time with Raven & Miranda podcast. “She always smiled when she was little, so we would call her smiley Miley, and it just stuck.”

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Billy Ray previously spoke to Us Weekly about the meaning behind Miley’s real name and its significance. “She’s a giver. She believes that we’re all put here for a reason, and that’s to give back to our fellow man,” he explained.

“I’m real proud of her. That’s why we named her Destiny Hope. Destiny Hope Cyrus is her name – at least it used to be [before she legally changed it].”

“But no matter what you call her, she still is Destiny Hope,” he added. “She is a ray of sunshine. She is a special human being. She’s got a great heart.”