She Is Coming (stylized in all caps) is the second extended play (EP) by American singer Miley Cyrus. It was released on May 31, 2019, by RCA Records. She Is Coming was intended to be the first of three EPs that would comprise Cyrus' seventh studio album She Is Miley Cyrus, however, the other two EPs were never released. Her completed seventh studio album Plastic Hearts (2020) includes some songs from these recording sessions.
She Is Coming is described as a pop project with hip hop, R&B, rock, and trap influences.[2]Andrew Wyatt and John Cunningam produced most of the EP. She also collaborated with producers Mike Will Made It, Mark Ronson. Featured artists include Ghostface Killah, RuPaul, and Swae Lee. The EP received positive reviews from music critics. It debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200. The lead single "Mother's Daughter" was released on June 7. To promote the EP, Cyrus performed at several European music festivals during spring and summer 2019. On August 16, 2019, Cyrus released the second single "Slide Away", which was included on the digital edition of the EP.
Background
Cyrus collaborated with producers including Mike Will Made It, Mark Ronson, and Andrew Wyatt for her then-untitled seventh studio album, which was completed between fall 2017 and May 2019.[3] The first track from these recording sessions, the Ronson-produced "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" for his own album Late Night Feelings (2019), was released on November 29, 2018; it peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and number 43 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[4][5] Cyrus described the sound of the song to be a "nice introduction" to and "heavier" than her own record.[6]
Cyrus first used the phrase "She Is Coming" on social media in anticipation of the Met Gala on May 6, 2019.[7] On May 9, she used the phrase to announce that new music would be released on May 30.[8] On May 27, it was announced that She Is Coming would be released as a multi-track extended play, instead of a lead single on its own, on May 31. Consequently, it is Cyrus' first EP since The Time of Our Lives (2009).[9]
The cover artwork, photographed by Gray Sorrenti, was revealed that day; the black-and-white picture sees Cyrus standing over the camera dressed in a crop top reading "never mind the bollocks", making reference to the 1977 album by the Sex Pistols.[10]
Upon its release, Cyrus revealed that She Is Coming was the first of three EPs that tell "different [chapters] to a trilogy" that would together form the full-length record that was confirmed to be titled She Is Miley Cyrus.[11] However, the project was ultimately scrapped, and Cyrus announced that Plastic Hearts would be the new album title in October 2020. It was released on November 27, 2020.
Composition
She Is Coming is a pop project with hip hop, rock and trap influences and R&B elements.[1][12][13] Cyrus described the three EPs to be "seasonal" in nature, and related She Is Coming to "[wanting to feel] light and feel the warmth" of early summer compared to She Is Here and She Is Everything being "colder and a little darker" as the release cycle was planned to extend into the fall.[14] However, the planned EP trilogy was cancelled, due to major recent changes in her life that did not fit the essence of the project, including Cyrus' divorce from Liam Hemsworth, and the burning of the couple's house during the Woolsey Fire in California.[15], as well as the singer's vocal cord surgery. Cyrus ended up using some of the recorded material for her next project Plastic Hearts,[citation needed] released in late 2020.
Sam Keywanfar, founder of the media buying company MilkMoney, acknowledged that Cyrus conceptualized much of the marketing campaign for She Is Coming. Cyrus launched the hotline 1-833-SHE-IS-MC, which randomly plays messages prerecorded by Cyrus and prompts callers to leave a message, to coincide with the release of She Is Coming.[16] International versions of the phone number were launched in Australia, Canada, Peru, Poland, Singapore, Spain, and the United Kingdom.[17] The American hotline phone number appeared on out-of-home advertisements in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York City, and London for four weeks following the release of the EP.[17] It is a motif on several pieces of merchandise from her online store, including a condom being sold for USD$20 that was particularly discussed.[18]
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the EP received an average score of 64 indicating "generally positive reviews".[30] Aimee Cliff from The Guardian felt that She Is Coming successfully blended musical influences from Cyrus' previous releases "without resorting to extreme stereotypes" in terms of promotion, and complimented Cyrus for "making some of the best pop songs she has made in years."[1] Mike Neid from Idolator described the EP as "certainly enough to net the hitmaker yet another win", but described Ghostface Killah's verse on "D.R.E.A.M." as "vibe-killing" and "Cattitude" as the "most glaring stumble."[36] Mikael Wood from the Los Angeles Times described the EP "as a means of keeping up with the kids" that have emerged in the industry since Cyrus' last project, and complimented it for possessing "a daffy energy that reminds you why it was fun to pay attention to Cyrus in the first place."[33]
Commercial performance
She Is Coming debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 with 36,000 album-equivalent units, of which 12,000 were pure album sales. It is Cyrus' 12th top-ten entry on the chart.
As of July, 2023, the extended version of the EP was streamed more than 800 million times on Spotify.
[37][38]
^"Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 23.Týden 2019 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
