With the premiere of Miley Cyrus’ “pop opera,” Something Beautiful for one night only in select theaters throughout the U.S. and Europe in June, it’s obvious she’s ready to roll out more excerpts from the visual album (for Cyrus isn’t one to deny being influenced by Beyoncé) so as to increase the number of people who will see what she nearly sacrificed her life for (thanks to a brutal knee infection she incurred while writhing around on the Hollywood Walk of Fame).
Thus, the video from it that she’s opted to unleash next is none other than “Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved” featuring Naomi Campbell. An obvious choice for the next single (even if only in video form, rather than for the purposes of radio airplay) as it’s one of the tracks from Something Beautiful that most succinctly captures its aura of “fabulosity.” For, needless to say, Cyrus is going for grandness and opulence with this record, doing her best to single-handedly bring glamor back to a world that has become content in its lusterlessness (though that’s mainly because most everyone is a broke ass now).
As for Campbell’s contribution, she recorded her part in September of ‘24, and joined in for the video’s production in January of ‘25. And while the video might look simple enough—nothing more than fans (no, not the human kind) and some good lighting, really—there is much that went into putting it together, particularly on the styling front. Where Naomi’s look was concerned, fashion stylist and consultant Patti Wilson was brought in to coordinate her ensemble with Cyrus’ apparently strict “Thierry Mugler only” fashion policy for Something Beautiful. The overall effect giving off a certain “secret agent” vibe, starting from the moment Cyrus essentially catwalks into the space (this done as the words “Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved” flash onto the screen individually, in the style of Charli XCX’s performance screens during the Brat Tour).
Indeed, there’s something Janet Jackson (think: the bare bones video for “Pleasure Principle”) meets Flashdance about the entire setup, with Cyrus’ dance moves designed to be highlighted against the sparse backdrop of a dark (or “cool blue”) warehouse. And yet, it’s Madonna who is all over the track. This including the incorporation of Naomi, who was infamously featured in the Queen of Pop’s 1992 Sex book, in an image (among several) that saw her and Big Daddy Kane going to town on M. So yes, whether Cyrus is fully aware of it or not, the Madonna intertext of the track goes deep (no sexual pun intended). And that much is especially evident in the musical breakdown at the end of the song that is patently inspired by “Vogue” (along with Campbell saying, “Pose” over and over again).
In any case, apart from Cyrus bopping around as she gives her all to be “seen” by the object of her affection (“Don’t you want me, baby?”—as the Human League once asked), the height of the “action” in the video stems mostly from the rapid movement of the shadows cast by the industrial-sized fans. And when Campbell makes her first appearance at the two-minute-fifty-five-second mark, the energy shifts to one of calm iciness as she stands there in her black, ankle-length trench to deliver the verse, “She never wears a watch, still she’s never late/She’s got that kind of grace/Did Botticelli paint her face?/She has the perfect scent/She speaks the perfect French/She can dance the night away/And still she’ll never break a sweat.” As to whether or not these highly specific lines truly are aimed at Dua Lipa, well, only Miley can know for sure.
From there, Campbell then delves into her repetition of “pose” as the fan blows her hair extensions effortlessly in the breeze (per the behind-the-scenes footage, even a leaf blower is wielded at one point to create the breeze effect on both Campbell and Cyrus). This done in between Cyrus obeying her command and striking various poses. Clearly, this is where Stephen Galloway, the “movement director” (a.k.a. choreographer), had most of his work cut out for him.
Once again directed by Jacob Bixenman and Brendan Walter (and Cyrus herself), this particular segment of the Something Beautiful film differs from the likes of the title track, “End of the World” and “More to Lose” in that it’s much more playful in its self-seriousness (not to mention the color palette finally deviates from the warm tones of “Something Beautiful” and “End of the World”—because, as Cyrus herself says in this song, “I give you every single color/That there is in a flame that’s burning with desire”).
And though it might be deemed “plain” by those without a discerning eye, let one not forget that Naomi doesn’t defrost for just any old music video, mentioning in the behind-the-scenes that she vowed to stop doing them long ago (even though she did fairly recently appear in the video for Beyoncé’s “Brown Skin Girl”—because the Bey-Miley connection just keeps fortifying this year). And yet, she couldn’t pass up the chance to strut with her arm slung over the back of Cyrus’ shoulder in matching Mugler getups, effectively rendering this pair into the “II Most Wanted.”
