On Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” album there’s a song called “II Most Wanted.” It’s been played a lot, even if not necessarily a hit in the standard sense.
“II Most Wanted” is credited to Beyonce, Miley, Michael Pollack (who wrote Cyrus’s last two hits), and hitmaker Ryan Tedder.
We have often wondered about these songs written by committees. Who was the actual writer? And who tagged along for the ride?
Today in W Magazine, Cyrus tells an interviewer: “I wrote that song, like, two and a half years ago,” Cyrus said of “II Most Wanted.” “My mom would always go, ‘I love that song so much.’ So when Beyoncé reached out to me about music, I thought of it right away because it really encompasses our relationship. I told her, ‘We don’t have to get country; we are country. We’ve been country.’ I said, ‘You know, between you being from Texas and me being from Tennessee, so much of us is going to be in this song.’ Getting to write a song, not just sing, for Beyoncé was a dream come true.”
So that answers that question. Beyonce did not write that song. But her name is first in the credits, as it is on most of the “Cowboy Carter” album.
Elsewhere in the article, Cyrus complains that she was only taken seriously at the Grammys this year, for her record, “Flowers,” her best release ever.
She says: “I’ve had a hard time figuring out what the measurement is there, because if we want to talk stats and numbers, then where the fuck was I? And if you want to talk, like, impact on culture, then where the fuck was I?”
Dear Miley: the Grammys are not about ‘impact on culture.’ That would be, maybe the Time 100. The Grammys are about musical achievement. “Flowers” was absolutely the best record you’ve done. And while “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball” were very good in 2013, this is the best thing you’ve done since then. You’re on the right track!
