Miley Cyrus Opens Hollywood Bowl Run, Honors Dolly Parton — SkimNews
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- Miley Cyrus debuted four new songs from her newly released album "Bass Persuades" at the first of two sold-out Hollywood Bowl shows on Friday in Los Angeles — her first proper headlining show in about four years.
- Miley delivered a tearful dedication of "Jolene" to her late godmother Dolly Parton, recalling that the only time she had ever seen Parton perform was at the Hollywood Bowl, where Parton once invited her on stage.
- Miley surprised fans by bringing out Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne for "Karen Don't Be Sad" from their 2015 collaborative album "Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz," which she called "my favorite album that I've ever made."
- Miley's encore paired "Let's Get Married" — performed with partner Maxx Morando on drums — directly back-to-back with "Flowers," a sequence she framed as romance and self-possession on her own terms.
- Miley noted that Sunday's second show marked the 19-year anniversary of her first headlining tour; she has not embarked on a full-fledged trek since the Bangerz Tour in 2014.
- During her biggest older hits — "We Can't Stop," "Wrecking Ball," and "Party in the U.S.A." — Miley stepped back and let the audience carry the choruses.
Why it matters: After nearly a decade without a full tour and a four-year headlining gap, Miley is launching a new album cycle while leaning on her deepest personal ties — Parton as godmother, Coyne as a creative partner, Morando on stage — to anchor the comeback. Going mononymous and debuting unreleased material signals she's repositioning as an adult artist rather than coasting on nostalgia, though letting the crowd sing her megahits shows she's not abandoning the catalog that built her.
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