In a dazzling display of glamour, edge, and emotional rawness, Miley Cyrus made her red carpet entrance at the Tribeca Film Festival feel more like a punk-rock fashion show than a traditional movie premiere. Dressed in a sheer, beaded gown that shimmered under the lights, Cyrus was every bit the pop provocateur we’ve come to expect—except this time, there was a softer, more vulnerable undertone beneath the dazzle.
She wasn’t alone. Flanked by her creative team and family, including mom Tish Cyrus, Miley stood proudly in front of the Beacon Theatre, where she would debut her Something Beautiful visual album—an hour-long cinematic experience that fuses high-fashion music video aesthetics with deeply personal themes. Before stepping inside for the screening, she paused for photos and turned to her crew with a cheeky grin. “Everybody say ‘dysfunctional!’” she shouted, flashing that famous smile.
It was a moment of levity that revealed Cyrus’ current state of mind: playful, self-aware, and entirely in control of her narrative. While the world has watched her grow up—from Disney Channel sweetheart to pop rebel and now mature, genre-bending artist—Something Beautiful marks a new chapter for Cyrus: one rooted in self-possession and fearless emotional expression.
The event was one of the most buzzed-about premieres at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, which runs through June 15. Though the festival has often focused on indie auteurs and experimental projects, Miley’s presence brought a star-power jolt that electrified the red carpet and audience alike. She’s arguably the biggest contemporary pop star to premiere a full-length visual album at Tribeca, and judging by the sold-out theater packed with die-hard fans, it was a moment of both prestige and intimacy.
“This is a very intense amount of energy we’re sharing in this room,” Cyrus said after the screening, during a heartfelt audience Q&A. The room, already electric with excitement, lit up further when she led a spontaneous singalong of her 2009 breakout ballad, “The Climb”—a reminder of how far she’s come and how much her fans have grown with her.
At its core, Something Beautiful is not just a visual album; it’s an immersive emotional ride. Spanning 13 songs and equally striking video segments, the film is a testament to Cyrus’ evolving artistic vision. Shot over the course of just two weeks, the visuals are rich in texture, mood, and symbolism. There’s no filler here—every frame, every outfit, every lyric is deliberate.
From the dreamy pink clouds of “Golden Burning Sun” to the moody, blue-gray palette of “Reborn,” each song has its own distinct visual language. It’s part music video, part fashion editorial, part performance art. Throughout the film, Cyrus explores the themes of love, loss, growth, and power with both elegance and grit. She dances in fishnets, writhes in abandoned rooms, and commands the wind from her beloved industrial fan like a rock goddess in full bloom.
Speaking to USA Today on the red carpet, Cyrus shared that the record—and the accompanying film—was loosely inspired by Pink Floyd’s The Wall, the legendary 1979 concept album. But rather than adopting a linear narrative, Something Beautiful weaves together feelings and memories in a more abstract way. In particular, she noted that the album is tied to special moments with one of her brothers, suggesting that this project is not just a public statement, but a deeply personal journey.
“There’s nothing more beautiful on the planet than deep emotion,” she told the audience after the film. And true to that sentiment, Something Beautiful doesn’t shy away from raw feeling. It leans into it—embracing joy, pain, vulnerability, and strength as part of the same spectrum.
Perhaps what stands out most about the film is its refusal to be boxed in. One moment, Cyrus is an ethereal siren bathed in golden light; the next, she’s stomping down a grimy Los Angeles street at 2 a.m. in stiletto boots. In the video for “End of the World,” arguably the most infectious track on the album, Cyrus is visually arresting. With a club-ready beat pulsing beneath her vocals, she prowls the Hollywood Walk of Fame like a woman possessed—seductive, dangerous, and completely magnetic.
The video, she later revealed, was shot spontaneously on a trash-littered street in the middle of the night. “We had everything we needed … besides a broom,” she joked during the Q&A. As it turns out, the shoot led to Cyrus contracting a minor infection, a reminder that sometimes art really does demand sacrifice. But it was worth it—the resulting video is both gritty and glamorous, a kind of pop-noir fever dream that’s impossible to look away from.
One of the most talked-about segments in the film is a fiery collaboration with supermodel Naomi Campbell. In a moment that feels part music video, part runway showdown, Cyrus and Campbell trade powerful stares, body rolls, and confident struts in a high-octane duet. Dressed in black bodices and fishnets, the two icons ooze sensuality and command.
The song’s “pose” coda provides a fitting backdrop for their interaction, which feels like a celebration of fierce femininity. It’s not just sexy—it’s strong, subversive, and fun. The two women ultimately strut off together, laughing and exuding a kind of mutual admiration that’s hard to fake.
It’s girl power in its rawest, most stylish form.
While each segment of Something Beautiful offers a distinct visual and emotional tone, the film works as a cohesive whole thanks to Cyrus’ unwavering artistic direction. There’s a clear throughline of bold self-expression, unapologetic emotion, and artistic risk-taking.
Unlike traditional music video rollouts where artists cherry-pick a few singles for visual treatment, Cyrus treats every track as a centerpiece. The result is a cinematic collage that’s as unpredictable as it is emotionally honest. One moment you’re awash in pastel hues and dreamlike softness; the next, you’re hit with strobe lights, smoke machines, and the raw thump of bass.
But at every turn, Miley remains the anchor. Her gaze never falters. Whether she’s lying on the floor in sheer fabric or stomping through a storm of glitter, she commands the screen with a mix of defiance and vulnerability that few artists can match.
What makes Something Beautiful so significant is not just its aesthetic value, but what it represents in Cyrus’ career. After more than a decade in the spotlight—and nearly as many reinventions—she seems to have found a creative sweet spot that allows her to merge her showbiz polish with her wild-child soul.
Gone is the need to shock for shock’s sake. Instead, this version of Miley is more nuanced. She knows exactly what she wants to say and how to say it, and she’s using every tool in her kit—from music to fashion to visual art—to express it.
This isn’t a pop star begging for relevance. It’s a grown woman using her platform to create something genuinely beautiful, on her own terms.
For those who didn’t score a seat at Tribeca, there’s still a chance to catch the magic. Something Beautiful is set to hit theaters nationwide for a one-night-only screening on June 12. Given the overwhelmingly positive response from fans and critics alike, tickets are likely to sell out fast.
And that makes sense. This isn’t just an album or a concert film. It’s an experience—one that blends music, fashion, storytelling, and emotion into a single, powerful package.
Perhaps the most profound takeaway from Something Beautiful is that Miley Cyrus has found a way to make the chaos, contradictions, and complexities of life into art. She’s no longer trying to escape her past or reinvent her image. Instead, she’s embracing every version of herself—messy, glamorous, heartbroken, fierce—and putting it all on display.
And in doing so, she’s inviting us to do the same.
So yes, she yelled “dysfunctional!” on the red carpet. But make no mistake: Miley Cyrus is functioning just fine. In fact, she’s thriving—creatively, emotionally, and artistically. Something Beautiful is more than a title. It’s a statement. And it’s one that only she could make.