Miley Cyrus says her duet with Dua Lipa didn’t quite fit the sound of her Plastic Hearts album

Miley Cyrus has opened up about her 2020 collaboration with Dua Lipa, Prisoner, revealing that while she holds no ill feelings towards the track or her fellow pop star, the song ultimately didn’t align with the overall direction of her Plastic Hearts album.

Speaking candidly about the creative process behind the record, Cyrus admitted that Prisoner felt somewhat disconnected from the cohesive sonic identity she was building at the time. While the duet was a commercial success and brought together two of pop’s biggest names, she now reflects that the track stood apart from the rock-influenced aesthetic that defined the rest of the album.

“There’s no shade at all to Dua,” Cyrus clarified, acknowledging the excitement that surrounded the collaboration. “She’s brilliant. But when I listen back, Prisoner just doesn’t really sit in the same world as the rest of Plastic Hearts. It doesn’t fully represent where I was sonically or emotionally during that era.”

The Plastic Hearts album marked a significant shift for Cyrus, who leaned heavily into glam rock and 1980s influences, enlisting artists like Billy Idol and Joan Jett for standout collaborations. The album was widely praised for its confident reinvention and cohesive vision—a departure from the genre-hopping that characterised some of her earlier work.

By contrast, Prisoner, with its electro-pop production and club-ready energy, arguably felt more in line with Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia era than with the gritty guitar-driven soundscape Cyrus was exploring. While the track reached audiences globally and became a fan favourite, it stood out as a stylistic outlier.

Miley’s reflections now shed light on how artists often grapple with maintaining a clear creative identity while also embracing exciting collaborations. In today’s streaming-driven music industry, high-profile features are common, but they don’t always align with an artist’s deeper vision for a project.

Still, Cyrus is quick to acknowledge the positives. “It was fun, and it gave the album some extra reach,” she said. “I think sometimes a song can serve a different purpose than fitting perfectly into the narrative. It can just be a moment—and that’s okay too.”

This latest insight from Cyrus comes amid growing anticipation about her next era. After winning her first Grammy Awards earlier this year for her hit Flowers, she’s riding a new wave of acclaim and creative freedom. Many fans are eager to see how she continues to evolve her sound, especially after the bold and consistent tone she achieved with Plastic Hearts.

The discussion around Prisoner also highlights a broader trend in pop music—artists becoming more selective about collaborations and album cohesion. As fans and critics alike place increasing value on artistic consistency, singers like Cyrus are reassessing past choices and speaking more openly about what worked, what didn’t, and why.

Dua Lipa, for her part, has also moved into a new era, recently releasing her third studio album, which dives deeper into experimental pop and psychedelic influences. Both artists continue to command massive audiences and remain key figures in shaping the sound of modern pop.

Ultimately, Miley Cyrus’s honesty about Prisoner not being a perfect match for Plastic Hearts offers a glimpse into the balancing act that comes with pop stardom—where every collaboration is a creative gamble, and every album is an attempt to define a moment in time.