Miley Cyrus Just Dropped A Bombshell About Her ‘Bangerz’ Tour: ‘Didn’t Make A Dime’
September 6, 2023 by Carrie McCabe
Miley Cyrus‘ “Used to Be Young” TikTok video series keeps on delivering the true story behind many of her biggest hits and most public moments, and the latest revelation centers on her massive 2014 Bangerz tour.
The singer divulged that she was the one who funded most of the tour, stating in reference to the pushback she received from executives, “I said there’s no one I would rather invest in than myself. So I paid for it all to make it exactly what I thought I and the fans deserved.”
Miley’s Bangerz tour was her fourth concert tour, which launched in support of her fourth studio album, Bangerz (2013). The globe-trotting concert series featured dates in North and South America, Europe, and Oceania through five different tour legs from February 14th to October 23rd, 2014, and was the singers biggest tour of her career to date. The Bangerz tour famously featured rather sexual imagery, kicked off by her tongue-wagging, Robin Thicke-twerking appearance on the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.
The Bangerz tour received good notes from critics, who described it (positively) as “campy,” “surreal,” and “raunchy,” praising Miley‘s stage presence, singing, originality and quirky performance design. During an interview in July 2014, the “Flowers” singer said that her goal with the concert series was to make something “really fun,” “real,” and that had a “good energy about it.”
She added, "I think the best thing for an artist is to see people sing along to your songs, and also to have people participating in your show...this show is a really hard show to not want to get up and be involved...there's a feminist energy there, and if people enjoy taking a chance and coming to a show that's different, I really appreciate that. I hope my fans are kind of inspired by my show to take it to the next level."
Though it made $68.9 million at the box office and was the 16th highest-grossing concert tour of 2014, Miley recently said in her "Used to Be Young" video series on TikTok that she "didn't make a dime" from the Bangerz tour, because she "wanted it to be excellent."
Miley Cyrus Self-Funded Large Scale Bangerz Tour
"The Bangerz tour was an investment in myself. A lot of these ideas were kind of so outlandish that no one really wanted to support me in making these pieces," the multi-hyphenate said of the performance series, which featured a life-sized puppet of Big Sean, a massive show opening with Miley sliding down a giant slide in the shape of her own tongue, and even a giant flying hot dog. "So I had big puppets, oversized beds, I came out of my own face on my tongue...[executives asked me] 'Why are you doing this? You're going to do like 100 shows and not going to make any money.' I said, 'There's no one I would rather invest in than myself.' So I paid for it all to make it exactly what I thought I and the fans deserved."
The Black Mirror actress also shared the vision behind each performance's big ending, which saw Miley fly out of the performance on a humongous hot dog through clouds toward an "Exit" sign. "I wanted to end it in a Truman Show reference," she said, referencing the classic 1998 Jim Carrey movie about a man who finds out his life has all been one big reality show. "So I flew out on a giant hot dog, obviously, and I left through all the clouds and the exit sign, the way Jim Carrey does, because I felt like The Truman Show was really a reflection of my life." An apt comparison, considering the actress-singer grew up in front of us on television screens in Disney's Hannah Montana.
Miley's video discussing the Bangerz tour is the 30th part of her TikTok "Used to Be Young" series, where she has been sharing the backstories of famous images, songs, and moments from her life in the public eye. It's all in service of her latest single "Used to Be Young", in which she sings emotionally raw lyrics about the judgment she received in her very public youth and her being labelled a partier and wild child.
Of the song, the musician wrote, "This song is about honoring who we’ve been, loving who we are & celebrating who we will become. I feel proud when reflecting on my past and joyful when thinking about the future. I am grateful to my loyal fans who make my dreams a reality daily." She added, "I am sincerely thankful for the stability of your steadfast support. This song is for you."