Lost Hit: Miley Cyrus’ “My Heart Beats For Love”

Mike Wass | June 18, 2020 2:19 pm
Flashback: Miley's 'Who Owns My Heart'
We look back on Miley Cyrus' electro-pop banger 'Who Owns My Heart.'

Miley Cyrus unleashed Can’t Be Tamed on this day (June 18) in 2010. With raunchy — by Disney’s standards — bangers, outspoken lyrics and club beats, it was the first step towards burying Hannah Montana. RIP. The era got off to a flying start with the title track, which duly cracked the top 10, but the album failed to produce further hits. Yes, it’s hard to believe that iconic bops like “Who Owns My Heart,” “Liberty Walk” and “Permanent December” didn’t slay the charts. And I haven’t even reached the album’s true highlight yet.

Can’t Be Tamed was essentially split in half. Rock Mafia produced the first six tracks, while John Shanks tackled the last six. Which resulted in an opus front-loaded with then-hot electro-pop, followed by tracks with a little more introspection. (Shanks single-handedly crafted the guitar-pop sound of the mid-’00s with cuts on Kelly Clarkson’s Breakaway, Ashlee Simpson’s Autobiography and Hilary Duff’s self-titled album). The best song they conjured together was the anthemic “My Heart Beats For Love.”

“I’m calling out, can you hear my voice? I’m gonna find you through all the noise,” Miley begins the rousing tune over a church organ and strummed guitar. “You know there’s nothing that I wouldn’t do, shine your light as I reach for you.” That takes us to the genuinely lovely chorus. “My heart beats for love, my heart beats for love,” the Bangerz legend croons. “It’s the sound that I hear, tells me not to give up.” Think of this as an early indication of the pop star’s vocal prowess and affinity with country-adjacent sounds.

Impressively, “My Heart Beats For Love” also doubles as a Pride anthem. “I wrote [the song] for my best friend… who is gay,” Miley told an interviewer in 2010. “I wrote it for him and about how people can be very judgmental. So I think love is kinda like the, you know, morals that I have that I put into my songs, and I think that’s really important. Telling people not to discriminate, and not to judge, and to just be open to the world.” Bow down to a true ally and revisit the lost hit that is “My Heart Beats For Love” below.

Do you love the song? Let us know below, or by hitting us up on Facebook and Twitter!