Miley Cyrus just experienced the digital equivalent of showing up to prom in the same dress as three more popular girls. Her new single “End of the World” lived up to its apocalyptic title on Spotify’s global chart, crashing from No. 33 to a dismal No. 127 in a single day, according to SpotifyCharts.com data from early April 2025.
This nosedive hits different when you remember Miley’s 2023 hit “Flowers” broke Spotify streaming records faster than teens break up on prom night. That track blossomed into Diamond certification in Canada and 7× Platinum status stateside by March 2025, according to Music Canada and RIAA certification data. Now, the pop chameleon finds herself facing an actual chart apocalypse with her latest offering.
Industry experts point to several factors potentially driving this unprecedented drop, including fierce competition from other major April releases and potential algorithm changes that affect visibility on streaming platforms. Even with 54 million monthly Spotify listeners (more than the population of Spain), Cyrus couldn’t escape gravity’s cruel pull in this increasingly crowded digital landscape.
Social media reactions have been predictably divided. Some fans have passionately defended the song’s quality while others suggest touring might help boost the track’s performance. The streaming numbers stand in stark contrast to the single’s respectable No. 21 position on the UK Official Singles Chart for the week of April 13, 2025.
The struggling track serves as first single from Cyrus’s upcoming “Something Beautiful,” dropping May 30 – an album she boldly compared to Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” in a November 2024 Harper’s Bazaar interview. “My idea was making ‘The Wall,’ but with a better wardrobe and more glamorous,” she explained. That’s giving 70s prog rock, but make it fashion.
Beyond the album, Cyrus plans a June film described as a “one-of-a-kind pop opera” according to her official press release. This multimedia approach suggests she’s playing 4D chess while everyone else argues about streaming numbers. Remember when Madonna released “Truth or Dare” and everyone temporarily forgot about her chart positions? Exactly.
This streaming hiccup reflects broader industry tremors that have artists questioning whether traditional metrics still matter. The streaming economy changes faster than Marvel releases new TV shows, leaving even established stars scrambling to decode the algorithm like it’s the Da Vinci Code.
Miley’s career has survived more plot twists than “Succession” – from Disney Channel sweetheart to wrecking ball rider to mature Grammy winner. She’s outlasted countless industry “end times” before. The real question isn’t whether her world is ending, but whether she’s already planning her next resurrection. After all, in pop music’s ever-changing landscape, nobody stays buried for long.
