Music Review: Miley Cyrus "Party In The U.S.A."

Miley Cyrus

Party In The U.S.A.

Album: Time of Our Lives

Year: 2009

         Miley Cyrus adjusts to living in Los Angeles in the down-to-earth  “Party In The U.S.A.”

             A mellow guitar opens the single, setting a feckless tone.  Every since she was seven, she remembers seeing the Hollywood among the tall, beautiful palm trees and sandy beaches and wanting to move there one day. Now, she’s twenty one and recently finished some college. She’s ready to pursue of her dream singing and go out on her own. After stepping off the plane, she noticed people in the airport wearing designer clothes on their cellphones. She looks down at her boots, which is are stylish where she is from and suddenly feels self-conscious. She hails a cab and from the window, takes in the sights she had only seen on television. She can’t believe she’s there. She watches people going into the shopsand to her, they look like models waiting to walk the runway at a moment’s notice. (“I hopped off the plane at L.A.X./With a dream and my cardigan/Welcome to the land of fame excess/Am I gonna fit in?/Jumped in the cab/Here I am for the first time/Look to my right and I see the Hollywood sign/This is all so crazy/Everybody seems so famous.”)

          In the pre-chorus, she starts to question the decision she made. She thinks of her mom, who is probably making fried green tomato sandwiches for dinner. She can practically hear her mom chopping. Then, the cab driver was clicking through the stations and stopped at Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin’”. (“My tummy's turnin' and I'm feelin' kinda home sick/Too much pressure and I'm nervous/That's when the taxi man turned on the radio/And a Jay-Z song was on/And the Jay-Z song was on/And the Jay-Z song was on.”)

          In the chorus, a smile comes across her face and she’s in a good mood again. (“So I put my hands up/
They're playing my song/And the butterflies fly away/I'm noddin' my head like yeah/I'm movin' my hips like yeah/I got my hands up/They're playin' my song/I know I'm gonna be OK/Yeah, it's a party in the USA/Yeah, it's a party in the USA.”)

            After unpacking  in her hotel room, she decides to hang out at a dance club. When she gets out of the taxi, she sees as people turn around and stare. In her gold sequined tank top, twill black pants with chunky high heels, she feels underdressed. She wishes her friends were there with her. They would laugh off the stares and dance around in a circle together once inside. (“Get to the club in my taxi cab/Everybody's looking at me now/Like "Who's that chick, that's rockin' kicks?/She gotta be from out of town"/So hard with my girls not around me/It's definitely not a Nashville party/'Cause all I see are stilettos/I guess I never got the memo.”)

           In the pre-chorus, she sips on her drink while standing around in the club, moving a little bit to the music. Then, the DJ plays Britney Spears’ “Break the Ice” and she races to the dance floor. (“My tummy's turnin' and I'm feelin' kinda home sick/Too much pressure and I'm nervous/That's when the D.J. dropped my favorite tune/And a Britney song was on/and a Britney song was on/And a Britney song was on.”)

    The chorus is sung again.

      In the bridge, she returns home at 1 am after an underwhelming evening at the club by herself. She starts searching the Internet for prices for airline tickets.. However, she can’t bring herself to click “purchase” when the option comes up on the screen. In the background, she can hear the Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin’” on the radio again and it feels like she’s meant to be in California. (“Feel like hoppin' on a flight (on a flight)/Back to my hometown tonight (town tonight)/Something stops me every time (every time)/The DJ plays my song and I feel alright.’)

      The chorus is sung twice to end the single.