How Noah Cyrus Found Her Voice

SHE GREW UP IN THE SPOTLIGHT AND MADE IT THROUGH ‘A REALLY DARK TIME.’ NOW SHE’S CHARTING HER OWN COURSE IN COUNTRY MUSIC

- JEFF NELSON

Cyrus on July 25 at Megawatt Recording, where she created her new album I Want My Loved Ones to Go With Me.

Noah Cyrus was on a self-discovery journey when the singer-songwriter, who lives in Los Angeles, returned to her southern roots, literally and sonically. “I have been spending time in Nashville and getting reconnected to that part of myself,” she says from the control room of the L.A. recording studio where she created her new album I Want My Loved Ones to Go With Me (out now). Given her musical pedigree, it’s only natural that Cyrus—the daughter, 25, of “Achy Breaky Heart” singer Billy Ray, 64, and talent manager Tish, 58—deftly weaves country, folk and Americana into a sound all her own on the record. “Country music just feels like a part of me,” she adds. “This album did feel like coming home, but it also just felt like me.”

Since starting her career a decade ago, Noah has navigated stardom while facing addiction and mental health challenges, all with the glare of the spotlight on her famous family. Now, with the launch of this new album, she’s letting the world see the healthy and happy person she has become. “A lot of my career has been the journey of finding myself again,” says Noah, who will go on tour to promote her album on Sept. 12. “Now I know my sense of self. I made it out on a really positive side of a really dark time that I was going through.”