“Cattitude” [ft. RuPaul]

“I like to do what I’m not supposed to do, and this is the music that feels the truest to me at the moment.” That’s how Miley Cyrus introduced her new rap-adjacent thumper “Cattitude” at last weekend’s BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend festival. She then made tabloid headlines for the lyric, “I love you Nicki, but I listen to Cardi.” This may be the music speaking to Cyrus right now, but it seems like everything is speaking to her right now—country-tinged synth ballads, Wu-Tang Clan homages, Mark Ronson collaborations, Billie Eilish-style ASMR teasers, and even Black Mirror cameos.

“Cattitude” is proudly unserious, but it’s also kind of embarrassing. “Turn up your gratitude, turn down your attitude/I love my pussy, that means I got cattitude” packs the energy of a self-help slogan and a rejected Lizzo track. Perhaps anticipating blowback to the pussy hat of pop songs, the version on Cyrus’ new She Is Coming EP adds an extensive feature from RuPaul, who playfully smuggles in some exploration of genderqueer sex. Shame it should wind up lodged in this mess, where the highlight is, alas, Miley’s interpolation of Missy Elliott’s iconic rum-pum-pum-pum in “Work It.” “Cattitude” is entertaining, sure, but who’s being entertained?