Miley Cyrus Returns to the Stage With Rare Performance for This Special Reason

Miley Cyrus can take herself dancing, and she can celebrate her own birthday however she wants.

In fact, the singer did just that to ring in her big 3-1. Standing in front of small, invite-only crowd at the famed Chateau Marmont hotel in Los Angeles, Miley performed her smash hit "Flowers" for the first time live on Nov. 22.

For the intimate set, the "Used to Be Young" artist donned a strapless black mini dress with matching gloves. She completed the classic look with her hair slicked back in a low bun.

"My birthday gift to MYSELF this year was VERY on brand," she captioned videos of her acoustic performance on Instagram the following day. "I performed for MYSELF and sang my favorite songs including my own. First 'live' performance of Flowers was to an audience full of my friends and family. Taking this song back to the seed… she sprouted sensationally. Grateful for the growth in us both."

In addition to "Flowers," Miley also performed a piano-accompanied cover of Journey's "Faithfully," as well as a new love song seemingly about her romance with boyfriend Maxx Morando. "Don't know if it's ever gonna stop / I wouldn't mind if it don't," she crooned in a video circulating on social media, in which Maxx appeared to be sitting in the front row of the audience. "Don't leave me high / Don't let me down / 'Cause I want you more."

The intimate show comes six months after the pop star shared that she has no immediate plans to tour. "This has nothing to do with a lack of appreciation for the fans & everything to do with I simply don't want to get ready in a locker room," she wrote on Instagram May 23. "Which is the reality of life on the road." 

Miley continued in her post, "I just don't want to sleep on a moving bus. It isn't what's best for me right NOW."

In recent months, the Hannah Montana alum has also been very selective of her public appearances. Her last red carpet sighting was in April, when she presented her stylist Bradley Kenneth with a Fashion Los Angeles Award.

"If you're performing at a certain level of intensity and excellence, there should be an equal amount of recovery and rest," Miley explained of life in the spotlight in a TikTok video earlier this year. "There's a level of ego that has to play a part that I feel gets overused when I'm on tour and once that switches on, it's hard to turn it off."

She added at the time, "Having every day the relationship between you and other humans being subject and observer isn't healthy for me, because it erases my humanity and my connection. And without my humanity and my connection, I can't be a songwriter, which is my priority."

For more candid confessions from Miley, keep reading. 

Would she rather kiss Dua Lipa or Cardi B? When the juicy question was posed by Heart radio's Mark Wright, Cyrus reminded fans she's already shared a smooch with Dua for their song "Prisoners." 

"I've kinda already kissed Dua," Cyrus said. "Maybe Cardi. I like to do things that I've never done before, something new. I'd kiss Cardi."

She's a Directioner! When asked whether she'd rather kiss Justin Bieber or Harry Styles, Cyrus chose the "Watermelon Sugar" singer. She confessed, "Harry Styles! He's looking really good."

She went on to say they share a lot of similar tastes, adding, "I think sharing a closet, sharing a life together—it just makes sense." 

"I was attracted to girls way before I ever was attracted to guys," she shared with Call Her Daddy podcast host Alexandra Cooper in August 2020. "When I was like 11 years old, I used to think that like Minnie Mouse was super f--king hot, which is so good I ended up on Disney, so my chances with Minnie went up by like 100."

"She was super hot to me," Cyrus continued. "I always thought that the female characters in movies were way hotter than any of the guys. I actually never really understood what these girls were doing with these, like, idiots."

During an interview with Howard Stern in December 2020, the performer candidly opened up about the detriments for her of not living a sober lifestyle. "It really, really affects my relationships," she told Stern. "I'm not the best partner; I'm not the best daughter; I'm not the best sister. I can be a little unreliable. So if that's an alcoholic—if we're not measuring it by how much we drink but how we perform as a human being—then I would say alcohol is a problem for me because I'm not at my best."

"One thing I've learned about marriage from my parents: Nothing and no one stays the same," Cyrus shared with Cosmopolitan in 2017. "Grow, evolve, change with each other and celebrate your love's journey!"

During her Dec. 2018 interview with Howard Stern, Cyrus explained that Hemsworth "got a lot of action for saving the animals" in the devastating California wildfires. And what about getting action when they're not together? "That's what FaceTime's for," Cyrus told Stern. "Cybersex."

To celebrate Hemsworth's 29th birthday, Cyrus wrote him a love letter, sharing her favorite things about her hubby. "I love taking turns and sharing with you," Cyrus told her beau. "I love taking long drives, sometimes going nowhere. I love how you'll sit and listen to me pluck out a new tune on the guitar for hours….I love the way you mumble out loud when you read a new script or book. I love how you learn and grow. I love writing songs about you on the piano. I love how you let ME be ME."

"You and Me baby…. let's take this dark place head on and shine [through] with the light of L.O.V.E. Thank you for giving me the happiest days of my life," Cyrus concluded. "Yours Truly, M."

In response to a meme that read, "No man has all five: -good dick game -empathy -a height above 5'9 -no hoes -common sense," Cyrus replied, "Mine does! Don't give up!"

When her "hunky hubby" was suffering from kidney stones in Feb. 2019, Cyrus attended the premiere of his movie, Isn't It Romantic?, in his honor. "So happy to see him shining in this comedy! He is the funniest person I know, and the world now gets to see the Liam I wake up to every day.... luckiest," the singer wrote to her fans on social media.

In another post, Cyrus posed in front of a poster from the movie, showing Hemsworth playing the saxophone. "Getting sick blows. But so do I," Cyrus captioned the post. "Get well soon babe. I love you. Play that sax you sexy f--k."

"I think it's very confusing to people that I'm married," Cyrus said in Elle. "But my relationship is unique. And I don't know that I would ever publicly allow people in there because it's so complex, and modern, and new that I don't think we're in a place where people would get it. I mean, do people really think that I'm at home in a f--king apron cooking dinner?"

"I'm in a hetero relationship, but I still am very sexually attracted to women," the "Wrecking Ball" singer continued. "People become vegetarian for health reasons, but bacon is still f--king good, and I know that. I made a partner decision. This is the person I feel has my back the most. I definitely don't fit into a stereotypical wife role. I don't even like that word."

"Guys, I was being a little too, like…hard-core feminist vibes and, just like, I don't know, not allowing anyone in, but now I am," the singer said during an Instagram Live video with Cody Simpson, which took place about two months after her split from Hemsworth. "There are good men out there, guys. Don't give up. You don't have to be gay. There are good people with dicks out there. You just gotta find them. You gotta find a dick that's not a dick, you know what I mean?"

She then said, "I always thought I had to be gay because I just thought, like, all guys were evil, but it's not true. There are good people out there that just happen to have dicks. I've only ever met one…and he's on this Live."