Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” Takes the Sologamy Message of “thank u, next” To A New Level

At the beginning of 2019, Ariana Grande was coming out of a whirlwind romance (complete with an engagement) to Pete Davidson. No one was all that upset about the breakup. After all, it had yielded an iconic meme involving a lollipop and, then, as Arianators were to find out, the best album of her discography. Called thank u, next, the eponymous first single took a candid, clear look at her relationships past, listing out the men by name as follows: “Thought I’d end up with Sean/But he wasn’t a match/Wrote some songs about Ricky/Now I listen and laugh/Even almost got married/And for Pete, I’m so thankful/Wish I could say ‘thank you’ to Malcolm/‘Cause he was an angel.” Obviously, not “angel” enough to make it worth it for Ari to stick around and endure his drug addiction, but hey, one can’t speak of ill of the dead. The point is, “thank u, next” was not only the sonic equivalent of Lindsay Lohan’s “fuck list,” it was also a slow unveiling of Grande’s revelation about how the relationship one has with herself is ultimately the greatest love affair of all.

As far as societal messages geared toward hetero women go, this has always been deemed extremely dangerous (which is why it still remains rare). With every fairy tale and rom-com peddled, women are repeatedly told that, sure, you can pretend to be “content” with singledom for a while—have your fun on the dance floor, relish random one-night stands, etc.—but, eventually, you’re going to equate your self-worth and value with “finding a man.” In short, “it” follows. That ever-lingering, deep-seated mantra that goes: fall in “love,” get married and have kids. When someone like Grande—all “cute” and mainstream—briefly appeared to be quashing that mantra, it was a momentous occasion in pop culture. For, although she could have made yet another breakup with a man who couldn’t “get the job done” (least of all intellectually) come across as “heartbreaking,” she decided to render the single into a joyful celebration of the self. This being most manifest in the lyrics, “Plus, I met someone else/We havin’ better discussions/I know they say I move on too fast/But this one gon’ last ‘cause her name is Ari/And I’m so good with that.” Yes, that’s right—Grande effectively declared herself as her lifelong soul mate (Lana Del Rey once did the same, albeit in a tweet). Britney Spears has lately done something similar on her Instagram account by dressing in a wedding down and declaring she’s married herself… despite being married to the hologram known as Sam Asghari. In short, sologamy has become less and less of a “joke” (as Carrie Bradshaw sort of made it so that she could get her friend to replace her Manolo Blahniks by establishing her “gift registry” at said store). Instead, it’s starting to make all the sense in the world.

Alas, that message felt a bit hollow when Grande married Dalton Gomez two years after “thank u, next” (yes, she really does move on fast). So now, Miley Cyrus has come along to pick up the slack and more confidently walk her talk. All while continuing to shade former flame/husband, Liam Hemsworth (e.g., “We were right ’til we weren’t/Built a home and watched it burn”). What’s more, it is absolutely no coincidence that Miley chose to drop the single and video for “Flowers” on Hemsworth’s thirty-third birthday. For those wondering how or why Cyrus could still be so “petty” by continuing to reference Hemsworth in her music (he being the dominant “muse” for the last few years), know this: women don’t forget their romantic slights. Their Love Is A Battlefield wounds. They can talk about it for the rest of their life (especially if it’s profitable), spend ages dissecting what went wrong or what caused the about-face in a man’s attitude toward her. Taylor Swift has created arguably the most enduring career out of it. And the obvious answer to “what went wrong,” of course, is that the girl in question “got too comfortable.” Was made to believe that she could ever truly be accepted without some form of veneer. But men, whether “cognizant” of it or not, need the veneers they swear mean nothing in order to stay “interested.” Miley is done playing that game, providing the first single from Endless Summer Vacation (a Del Rey-sounding project, to be sure) that firmly plants her in the sologamy camp. Indeed, she’s planned the release perfectly not only to shade Hemsworth, but for the imminence of Valentine’s Day a.k.a. Singles Awareness Day. Cue the tie-ins of various flower companies playing the song.

And yet, with the video that Cyrus has made for “Flowers,” she’s essentially building on what Red Hot Chili Peppers said long ago: “Sometimes I feel like I don’t have a partner/Sometimes I feel like my only friend/Is the city I live in/The City of Angels.” Her tone, naturally, is far more jubilant as we see her strutting through the streets (and bridges) of L.A. (because, as she stated, Endless Summer Vacation is a “love letter” to that city). To help capture the sun-soaked isolation of Los Angeles, Cyrus secured model-turned-creative director Jacob Bixenman to helm the video. And, despite formerly loving Troye Sivan (another Ariana Grande favorite), Bixenman can still clearly appreciate the female form as he proceeds to showcase Miley swimming in her backyard and then performing some of the intense workout methods that have clearly given her the toned body we see before us. Indeed, some of her very deliberate positions (no Ari allusion intended) come across as a direct taunt at anyone who would ever dare to leave her and/or force her to leave them by treating her “less than.”

From the series of backyard exercises to the tranquil shower session, it’s evident that all these blatant forms of self-care are a means to emphasize to the viewer that what Miley says is true: no one will ever be able to take care of you (nay, give as much of a shit about you) as well as you can. Especially if you have millions of dollars to aid with that care. Emerging from the shower in what can only be called a power suit (complete with dramatic shoulder pads) with no shirt on underneath, Miley then whole-heartedly confirms she can take herself dancing as she engages in some solo choreography inside her house that reminds one of Cameron Diaz’s moves as Amanda in The Holiday.

By the end, as Miley finds herself on her roof with a helicopter looming above (again, it’s L.A.), she’s proven herself to be the new Queen of/Spokeswoman for Sologamy. Because, no, Ari didn’t much stick to her guns with the underlying message of “thank u, next” (she is, in the end, a self-proclaimed “needy” person a.k.a. a Cancer). But if anyone could stay consistent on this front, perhaps it’s Miley. Maybe she’ll end up truly being the exemplar of sologamy…rendering it no longer billable as the symptom of a “sad, ‘old’ cat lady,” but a hot puta who knows her worth and isn’t willing to compromise it for the so-called sake of not being “alone.”