Miley Cyrus Says Madonna ‘Was Down' to Mud Wrestle in a ‘4×4' Music Video, But Her Label Said No

In an alternate universe, Miley Cyrus' iconic Bangerz era would've been made complete with a wild music video starring Madonna, Nelly and more superstars popping wheelies and wrestling in the mud. Unfortunately, we do not live in that universe.
In an interview on the Every Single Album podcast posted Thursday (June 5), the 'Flowers' singer revealed that she had been dead set on rounding up a star-studded group of friends to shoot a raucous visual for '4×4,' a song on her smash-hit 2013 album that ultimately never became a single. 'I had everyone already lined up,' Cyrus said. 'Nelly … Madonna was down to do the video, Miranda Cosgrove.'
More from Billboard
Miley Cyrus' 'Something Beautiful' Album: All 13 Tracks Ranked
The Weeknd Wanders Through Purgatory in 'Baptized in Fear' Music Video
Belinda's 'Indómita' Album & More Best New Music Latin
'This was before Taylor [Swift] had a lot of famous people in her crew,' she continued, laughing. 'I was friends with famous people first. I wanted to do that. I had a f–king squad, and my squad was very, very cool.'
Cyrus claimed the idea was eventually shut down by RCA, her label at the time, whom she quipped didn't want her 'talking about a pit bull [and] piss' in a song they'd be promoting. 'Madonna was down to mud wrestle with Miranda Kerr,' the Grammy winner reminisced wistfully. 'I was like, 'I'm gonna get all these girls, all these supermodels, all these Victoria's Secret models and all of these pop icons to come to my dad's farm, get in the back of 4x4s, and we're gonna mud wrestle, and we're gonna go out and do doughnuts.'
Despite the lack of a '4×4' visual, Bangerz remains one of Cyrus' most successful albums to date. The LP debuted atop the Billboard 200 and spawned her first-ever No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, 'Wrecking Ball,' which was followed closely by 'We Can't Stop' at No. 2.
The 'Party in the U.S.A.' artist was signed to RCA for a three-album run, later dropping Younger Now in 2017 and Plastic Hearts in 2020 under the Sony Music imprint. In 2021, she inked a new deal with Columbia Records, through which she just released new album Something Beautiful on May 30.
Later in the podcast episode, Cyrus recalled another time where she and her former label weren't quite on the same page. According to her, she never would've put a certain fellow pop star on 'Prisoner,' one of the singles on Plastic Hearts. 'No shade to Dua Lipa, it just isn't cohesive with the album,' Cyrus said frankly.
'She would've been much better on something like [2023 LP] Endless Summer Vacation,' the singer continued of Dua Lipa. 'She would've been great on 'Wildcard,' she would've been great on any of them — 'River,' can you imagine?'
Cyrus added that she thought her team at RCA wasn't entirely confident in how Plastic Hearts would perform, so they brought in some 'medicinal Dua' to give the LP some commercial oomph. 'They basically were like, 'Oh, great, here's this piece of s–t album she gave us, let's spray a little Dua Lipa on there,'' Cyrus said, laughing.
Listen to Cyrus' full interview on Every Single Album below.
Best of Billboard
Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1
Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits
H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Yahoo

5 hours ago

• Yahoo

Anthony Ramos calls out Madonna for being on iPad 'the whole time' during one of his 'Hamilton' performances

Anthony Ramos did not throw away his shot. The 33-year-old former Hamilton star recently recalled Madonna giving him quite the fright when he spotted her in the audience during one of his performances of the acclaimed show on stage. "The most terrifying was Madonna with her iPad in her face," Ramos said during his Thursday appearance on Watch What Happens Live while host Andy Cohen peppered him with a string of "scary questions." "She was like this the whole time," Ramos continued, mimicking someone staring down at an iPad. "I'm like, 'Damn, shorty, if you're not enjoying it that much, the door's right there. You ain't gotta stay here.'" Ramos was part of the original cast of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony-winning Broadway musical, playing the dual roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton from July 2015 until November 2016. After leaving Hamilton, Ramos took on the lead role in the film adaptation of In the Heights, Miranda's breakout 2008 Broadway hit, which also earned widespread critical praise. Ramos continued building his career, nabbing a starring turn in 2023's Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, 2024's Twisters, and several other TV and movie projects. The original Broadway cast of Hamilton reunited on June 8 during the 78th Annual Tony Awards to celebrate the musical's 10th anniversary. Since its Broadway debut in 2015, the show, inspired by the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, has become a cultural phenomenon, shattering box office records and earning a record-breaking 16 Tony nominations and winning 11 trophies, including Best Musical. Ramos did not say when Madonna attended the Hamilton performance. However, in 2015, Playbill reported that creator and star Miranda banned Madonna from visiting the cast backstage after an April 18 performance of the show when it was still Off Broadway due to her poor theater etiquette. In a now-deleted tweet, the Pulitzer Prize–winning lyricist wrote, "Tonight was the first time I asked stage management NOT to allow a celebrity (who was texting all through Act 2) backstage. #noselfieforyou." The Playbill story also reported that Madonna had arrived late to that night's performance and that she was seen using a phone throughout the show. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly

Buzz Feed

6 hours ago

• Buzz Feed

Bad Bunny Says It Is Silly To Complain About His Job

It's fair to say that Bad Bunny is one of the hardest-working music artists in the game right now. Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio went from the barrio to the Billboard charts, becoming one of the first Latin artists to sell out stadiums around the world, even breaking the record for most tickets ever sold in Spain (he's set to perform 12 shows there on his upcoming tour). In a June 18 interview with Variety, the Puerto Rican superstar spoke to his work ethic as a music artist and celebrity. When his comments went viral, the fans were eating it up just as much as his boricua beats. In the interview, discussing his upcoming residency and tour surrounding his sixth studio album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, Benito got real about what's expected of him as he embarks on one of the biggest tours of his career. "At times, I do think, cabrón, what I'm signing up for is a lot," he said. For context, Benito is set to perform a 30-night residency at the Colseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, not too far from where he grew up from July 11 to Sept. 14, and then he's going on a 56-date world stadium tour from November 2025 to July 2026. Basically, he's booked and busy. "But the way I see it, I'm not a doctor; I'm not a teacher; I'm not someone who has to wake up every morning at 5 a.m. to lay down concrete on a busy road to survive," Benito continued. "My job is to fucking sing, and even though it comes with its own set of sacrifices, it feels silly to complain about it." When Benito's comments on the pressure of fame started to make their rounds on the internet, like in this Reddit thread, a lot of people had something to say about it, many praising the three-time Grammy winner for his honesty. Here are some of my favorite comments. "He's a man who got famous as an adult and has managed to become the hometown hero of Puerto Rico, which he obviously put in the work to deserve. It's not necessarily easy to handle, but you can compare that to what a lot of women and people who start as child stars go through. Good for him that he feels this way about it, but I'm not shocked that it's not a common perspective. If he can avoid the toxicity of overwhelming greed and not chase being a billionaire or whatever, he might actually stay happy," a Reddit user shared. Another Reddit user said, "Finally someone with some common sense. I'm so tired of celebs complaining how hard their job is, having never worked a real job in their lives. Like, sure, the pressure must be a lot and paparazzi and public scrutiny, but that's nothing compared to some annoying boomer manager breathing down your neck 24/7 or a customer having a screaming meltdown over a difference of 28 cents or cleaning up vomit, etc." "I appreciate the humility but the more artists downplay the work they put in the more the public does as well. EVERY job has pros and cons so please remember that. He is lucky to have the job he has but it's not like many of them don't work hard for it. 💙" X user wrote. This Reddit user wrote, "He has the right attitude and a healthy perspective." "Good way of putting it, everything is relative and even with fame and money and privilege you can still stress and be sad and be overwhelmed at times, but still understand and be grateful for what you have," another X user wrote. "I truly wish more celebrities and influencers had enough self-awareness to realize that publicly whining about their privileged lives doesn't hit the way they think it does," another Reddit user added. Finally, this Reddit user said, "It doesn't even sound like he's saying that as a performer you can't have bad days or struggle in/with your career, it more so sounds like he simply thinks it's in poor taste to publicly lament about how hard you have it since it's a highly privileged profession." What do you think about Bad Bunny's take on the pressures of being a famous singer? Let's talk about it in the comments.

Forbes

11 hours ago

• Forbes

Shakira's Tour Cancellations Are Helping Her On The Charts

Despite several show cancellations, Shakira enjoys a Billboard boost as Donde Estan Los Ladrones and ... More Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran return to the charts. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 05: Shakira attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo byfor The Met Museum/Vogue) Shakira is currently traveling across America, performing dates on the U.S. leg of her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour. The Latin superstar has been in the news lately after several shows on the trek were canceled, disappointing fans in cities like Boston and Washington, D.C. It's never good for a major artist to pull out of scheduled performances — especially at the last minute — as it impacts thousands of people. Shakira does appear to be the beneficiary of an unintended consequence stemming from her unfortunate moves. Two of Shakira's projects return to the Billboard charts this week. While the tour alone might have been enough to keep her on several rankings, the fact that multiple efforts reappear simultaneously on various lists suggests the headline-grabbing cancellations may have driven listeners back to some of her full-lengths, likely via streaming platforms like Spotify. Two Shakira Albums Return Donde Estan Los Ladrones marks Shakira's highest-ranking return this week, as it reenters the Top Latin Pop Albums chart at No. 25. Over on the Top Latin Albums list, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran reappears at No. 36. Four Shakira Projects Chart in America There are four different Shakira projects that appear on at least one Billboard tally in America this week. Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran also climbs from No. 6 to the runner-up spot on the Top Latin Pop Albums roster, nearly laying claim to the top spot once more. Shakira fills four spots on the Top Latin Pop Albums chart this frame. In addition to Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran almost reaching No. 1 and Donde Estan Los Ladrones returning, Sala El Sol and El Dorado hold steady at Nos. 9 and 11, respectively.