Singer Noah Cyrus just gave Chicago a "Good Cry" at the House of Blues recently. Her new Good Cry EP covers a very public breakup with rapper Lil Xan, the passing of collaborator XXXTentacion and her famous family.
The daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus and sister of pop star Miley has a lot to talk about at the young age of 18. Named one of Time magazine's 30 Most Influential Teens last year, she has acted with her father in Doc and sister on Hannah Montana.
Windy City Times: Do you still live in Nashville?
Noah Cyrus: No, I moved to LA when I was 5. When Hannah Montana started we all just packed up and moved to LA.
WCT: Did you always want to sing?
NC: No, I didn't. I liked singing, but not until I was 15 did I think about a career.
WCT: Did your family give you advice?
NC: My family doesn't give me advice like people are thinking of. My mom is my manager. She is not the typical momager—she keeps it separate.
It helped when I moved out. I never wanted that to get in the way of our mom and daughter relationship. She is my best friend in the whole world. I am such a momma's girl!
WCT: What went into the Good Cry EP?
NC: A lot went into it. I wrote it when I was in a relationship for two years. That was an emotional rollercoaster.
I was also going through some personal struggles with anxiety and depression. I was figuring out who I was at age 17. The breakup helped me get a good grasp on that because I wasn't so codependent on somebody. I didn't look for myself in somebody else at that point.
Good Cry is my struggles in the past two years. Nobody saw it because I was putting out songs like "Stay Together" and "I'm Stuck" that I wasn't passionate about. They are great records, but not what I was feeling at the time. I was going through something much more dark and personal.
People saw someone doing pop music and that is not what I am trying to do. Ben Howard, Kanye West and Alex Turner are my three biggest musical inspirations. They show their pain through their music. I wanted Good Cry to show the mental hell I was going through.
WCT: What movie makes you cry?
NC: The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns, P.S. I Love You and Titanic are my four go-to cry movies.
WCT: Describe your song "Again."
NC: That song will always be very special to me. It took four days for me and [musician/singer/songwriter/rapper/record producer] Labrinth to write. There was a different second verse. I had the song for a couple of months and went to Australia. There was a beautiful cliff so we hired a videographer. I directed the video with my manager at the time.
Rob Perry, the chairman at Columbia, had just signed XXXTentacion. X hopped on the song but unfortunately didn't get to be a part of the video. I think that's what makes it so special that " you don't know what you got 'til it's gone" line and I lost such a dear friend who was there for me in a hard part of my life. That song really connects with me. Every time I perform that record I can feel him in the room.
WCT: Are a lot of the songs on Good Cry emotional for you?
NC: The record is so real and true to me. It is very personal to me. When I was writing "Punches," I was on a couch sobbing. It was one of the hardest days with my ex-boyfriend.
"Good Cry" I wrote the day after Avicii died. There was so much and I was fighting with my boyfriend again at the time. There was always a mental struggle and a fight.
"Mad at You" I wrote a year into the relationship. We made it another year and I still felt the same way. That was when we realized we couldn't be together. That was part of my mental growth.
WCT: How do you convey this to an audience?
NC: They get it by listening to my music. I wish I could sit with them like I am with you. I want them to know what goes into the CD. I made six different records and they were all about the same thing. They all come from anger, sadness and confusion. It all made a story about my life.
WCT: Talk about this concert tour. Any cover songs you like to do?
NC: I love covering M.I.A. "Paper Planes" and Hozier's "Take Me to Church."
The tour is usually just a sit-down discussion between me and my musical director.
WCT: Can people buy your tears for $12,000 at the merch booth?
NC: No; the tears are not real, unfortunately, but they can grab this hoodie or a T-shirt. It is a remake of my dad's merch from the '90s. We did the exact same thing as him but put my face on it. I have always been my dad's biggest fan.
Also, I have a voice candle with my face on it as well for sale. If you go in my house, you will see I have 140 religious candles. It took me three different dollar stores to get them all!
WCT: Miley is heavily involved in the LGBT community. Is that something you would like to do?
NC: Totally! I have always been supportive of all of my friends. There is no judgment with me. I would like to get involved.
I have worked with PETA, but not with LGBTQ yet. My best friend since I was 13 years old is a drag queen that is crushing it up in Toronto right now. I went to the drag shows there and it was the best time of my life!
WCT: Do you have a favorite scary movie, now that Halloween is here?
NC: I don't have a favorite, but it's always been a ritual to watch The Birds and The Shining with my dad every year.
WCT: Ponyo was a favorite movie of mine. Would you like to pursue more acting?
NC: I would like to. Voice over I would be down to do. A Hayao Miyazaki film was a huge honor to be a part of when I was eight years old. I didn't know how legendary the cast was at the time with Betty White, Liam Neeson and Tina Fey, but now I will never forget it. I was super blessed to be the star.
I like deep TV shows like American Horror Story or Westworld—stuff that gets you thinking!
Visit NoahCyrus.com to follow the tour and purchase the new music.
