base talk Is Olivia Rodrigo a reincarnation of classic Miley?

[wish]

I'm talking OG 2007-09 teen pop-rock princess & America's sweetheart Miley Cyrus

 

 

As time passes, I realize that Olivia seems to be occupying the same space that Miley held in her early career.

 

- The most popular Disney ex-act of their respective era

- Pop-rock, but make it teen-friendly and accessible for the GP

- Very similar aesthetics with bright colors, patterns, plaid skirts, Converse, family-friendly but still punky

- Very public relationships with their Disney co-stars

- Media trained, well-spoken role models for young girlies 

- Hit songs written about their publicized love triangles, heavily speculated by young stans

 

 

 

And with GUTS being heavily inspired by 2000s pop-rock as a whole, we've seen numerous reports of Olivia songs sounding similar to Miley. Vampire inspired by See You Again (and Angels Like You), All American B*tch inspired by Start All Over

 

 

Olivia's previous Taylor inspiration has been well-speculated, but is it time we ALSO recognize Miley as a main influence?

 

DISCUSS.

 

 

[Post Malone]

yes but better

[byzantium]

Not really.

[thatsmydemi]

Not really. Olivia's music is good. Miley's Disney rock albums are trash besides the singles. 

[Walk_Away21]

Miley sweetie I'm SO sorry.

 

[Walk_Away21]

7 minutes ago, thatsmydemi said:

Not really. Olivia's music is good. Miley's Disney rock albums are trash besides the singles. 

Quote

thatsmydemi

[thatsmydemi]

Just now, Walk_Away21 said:

[gatito]

olivia sweetie i'm so sorry

 

miley always made kiddie music up until the moment she stripped naked  

[liquiddiamonds]

Hmm i think olivia is just cooler with her rock influences and has more interesting production than early-Miley. The guitars are way crunchier and she is not afraid to go noisier with her pop/rock stuff. Miley’s stuff was highly sanitized pop/rock and lacked bite. Olivia also has the advantage that she can write with no attachment to her OG Disney audience and Miley was stuck with stuff like 7 things

[Aaron]

Yes, love this comparison  

also it’s crazy how much the Disney framing affects people’s perceptions (everyone in this thread saying miley’s music was childish until Bangerz). obviously kids and tweens were her target audience but an album like Breakout really doesn’t feel *that* much more immature than Sour.

Edited September 8, 2023 by Aaron

[wish]

15 minutes ago, thatsmydemi said:

Not really. Olivia's music is good. Miley's Disney rock albums are trash besides the singles. 

Olivia is an accomplished songwriter for sure - I'm not talking about the quality of their albums, Miley was only 13-14 when she recorded her first album!

 

I'm talking about their overall aesthetic, presence, and the place they fill within pop music. Olivia is clearly following both Taylor and Miley's footsteps imo, I don't get why people are hesitant to credit Miley when she undoubtedly paved the way for the other Disney girls

[liquiddiamonds]

Just now, wish said:

Olivia is clearly following both Taylor and Miley's footsteps imo, I don't get why people are hesitant to credit Miley when she undoubtedly paved the way for the other Disney girls

This I agree. I do think she’s the mix between these two and a tad of Lorde in terms of representation in today’s pop landscape

[thatsmydemi]

1 minute ago, wish said:

Olivia is an accomplished songwriter for sure - I'm not talking about the quality of their albums, Miley was only 13-14 when she recorded her first album!

 

I'm talking about their overall aesthetic, presence, and the place they fill within pop music. Olivia is clearly following both Taylor and Miley's footsteps imo, I don't get why people are hesitant to credit Miley when she undoubtedly paved the way for the other Disney girls

gotta be honest, didn't read the OP. Now that I've done it, there are some questionable arguments. Like the one of "biggest disney act of their era". Olivia has no competition really. The last great Disney era was Miley/Selena/Demi/JB. The rest can be applied to any other Disney artist or teen artist in general so idk (especially from the 00s-late 00s since they were all doing pop/rock). 

[Alex]

maybe, but the downgrade is crazy. olivia gets all the acclaim with a fraction of the talent  

[Scars]

56 minutes ago, liquiddiamonds said:

Hmm i think olivia is just cooler with her rock influences and has more interesting production than early-Miley. The guitars are way crunchier and she is not afraid to go noisier with her pop/rock stuff. Miley’s stuff was highly sanitized pop/rock and lacked bite. Olivia also has the advantage that she can write with no attachment to her OG Disney audience and Miley was stuck with stuff like 7 things

Miley was only 14 years old when she released Meet Miley Cyrus and 15 years old during Breakout. The "sanitized music"/"kiddo music!" takes doesn't make much sense because, well, Miley was a child. By the time SOUR debuted, Olivia was already 18 and she's a literal adult now. There's a relevant age difference here.

 

You have a point when it comes to production, Rock Mafia was a mess, but aside from that, and taking the age factor into consideration, I don't really think that Miley's storytelling on Breakout and Can't Be Tamed is losing to what Olivia has done on SOUR and GUTS as some people seem to think. Not only she was able to write about first heartbreak in a range that went beyond 7 Things (The Driveway, Full Circle, My Heart Beats for Love and Stay), but, unlike Olivia on SOUR, she was also able to explore other topics as a teenage songwriter, such as female empowerment and freedom. There's more to these albums than it's singles.

Edited September 8, 2023 by Scars

[bliaz]

Miley

 

[DeepEnd]

She's the reincarnation of Satan. 

[wish]

58 minutes ago, liquiddiamonds said:

This I agree. I do think she’s the mix between these two and a tad of Lorde in terms of representation in today’s pop landscape

Yes, thank you! Olivia is totally filling that same spot that Miley and Taylor filled in the late 00s/early 10s.

 

She has the "storytelling songwriter" appeal of Taylor, and the "punky teen-friendly popstar" appeal of young Miley. Not to mention all 3 had hit songs about their publicized relationships, highly speculated by the GP. 

[Walk_Away21]

3 minutes ago, DeepEnd said:

She's the reincarnation of Satan. 

i-

 

[Scars]

Great thread. Miley's presence in pop culture felt so ubiquitous at the time, but yeah, the musical and image similarities are definitely there. It's interesting when you put it that way because Olivia's persona and brand feels much closer to 15 year-old Miley than early Taylor and Lorde, which she always claims as her biggest influences. 

 

I really think Miley had to walk so Olivia could run. Middle America and media gave Miley a hard time while she was growing up, which not only prevented her from musically experiment more, but she also had to endure critics being *much* more harsher towards her compared to Olivia and the current it girls. Read any SOUR critical review and you'll see that Olivia's young age usually come up as some sort of sincere understandment to the current range of her singing, songwriting and storytelling abilities. Back in the day, younger female artists certainly weren't treated with that empathy and kindness.

 

It's bittersweet, but I'm happy that Olivia is able to flourish in a much more safe environment for former teen female acts.

Edited September 8, 2023 by Scars

[wish]

13 minutes ago, Scars said:

Great thread. Miley's presence in pop culture felt so ubiquitous at the time, but yeah, the musical and image similarities are definitely there. It's interesting when you put it that way because Olivia's persona and brand feels much closer to 15 year-old Miley than early Taylor and Lorde, which she always claims as her biggest influences. 

Yep, it's very interesting how Miley's influence is downplayed here. She has a HUGE blueprint and impact on the teen popstar archetype.

 

Miley absolutely walked so Olivia could run. Times have changed & the media doesn't destroy young artists anymore. Olivia has so much more freedom to explore than Miley did at the time. But their brands are still very similar.

[crf13]

Miley, sweetie, I’m so sorry 

[BILLIONAIRE✘BOY]

[Alex]

not the Banned dsjnkdsnkjnjsdns 

[slobro]

Olivia sweetie

 

Drivers license alone clears Miley