Miley Cyrus with special guest, Kid Laroi
September 17, 2021 at 7:30pm
American Family Insurance Amphitheater - Summerfest Grounds
Tickets available here.
Miley Cyrus
In the annals of pop music history, 2013 will forever be known as the year of Miley Cyrus. Facing unprecedented levels of public scrutiny over her racy image, her appropriation of hip hop culture, and even her haircut, the former Disney star still managed to come out on top, releasing her fourth studio album Bangerz to critical acclaim and a number-one spot on the Billboard 200. With production help from top-shelf producers including Pharrell Williams, will.i.am, and Dr. Luke, Bangerz features a unique hybrid of country and hip hop that has clearly resonated with audiences, earning Miley her first US number-one hit “Wrecking Ball.”
Rivaling the success of Bangerz has been the controversy surrounding Miley’s dramatic new image, which borrows heavily from “ratchet” culture in the form of grills, bling, and twerking. Provocative music videos for “Wrecking Ball” (dir. Terry Richardson) and “We Can’t Stop,” along with her infamous performance with Robin Thicke at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, raised more than a few eyebrows, and even inspired a series of concerned open letters from Sinead O’Connor. Debate over Miley’s new image, however, has done nothing to hinder her success -- the videos for “Wrecking Ball” and “We Can’t Stop” shattered Vimeo viewing records, and her VMA performance was the most tweeted about performance in the history of, well, Twitter. Add to that a successful October 5 appearance on Saturday Night Live and you could say Miley’s year has been “pretty cool.” Fans can catch Miley LIVE in concert on her 2013 Jingle Ball tour – even if you don’t know how to twerk, it’s sure to be an experience to remember.
Miley’s career as an entertainer began in 2003 with several small acting roles, including an appearance opposite her father Billy Ray Cyrus on his hit show Doc. In 2006, she launched to mainstream success with her breakout role in Disney’s Hannah Montana, which spawned several films and albums, including her multi-platinum pop debut Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus. In 2009, Miley gained exposure to country audiences with crossover hit “The Climb,” featured on the soundtrack for Hannah Montana: The Movie. Her third studio album, 2010’s Can’t Be Tamed, marked a departure for Miley -- the inclusion of dance elements and a distinctly more suggestive image foreshadowed what would ultimately come to fruition on 2013’s Bangerz, her biggest success to date.
Kid Laroi
It’s not everyday you meet a 17-year-old with the confidence to set his sights on rap royalty and the audacity to actually attempt it. Factor in that he’s from Australia, and The Kid LAROI’s rapid ascent seems even more unlikely. But, after just one major label debut and millions of streams across platforms, the rapper born Charlton is proving that for an incoming generation filled with promising talent, yesterday’s borders aren’t today’s barriers, and anyone can make it in America as a rapper.
Born and raised in Sydney (aside from a short stint in the countryside) to a mother of aboriginal descent and a French father, LAROI was raised by his mother and his uncle in a gritty environment. When they weren’t at The Factory, a local youth center where they played video games and pool, LAROI and his friends were on the streets. “We used to play with crackheads a lot, we used to just fuck around,” he admits, describing his childhood unromantically. Meanwhile, the grown-ups did what they had to, outside the confines of the law, to provide for LAROI.
LAROI grew up consuming one of America’s most adored exports, listening to hip-hop and R&B icons like Tupac, Erykah Badu, The Fugees, Lil Wayne and Kanye West. He’s wanted to make music since he can remember, hoping to claim a spot within this specifically American legacy. LAROI started out writing raps as a kid, filling notebooks with rhymes and finessing his skill as a lyricist. But it wasn’t until he started uploading freestyle videos online that he began to find an audience for his stories and record his work. “A guy reached out to me on Facebook saying I could use his studio for free—he gave me a bunch of studio time, I made a whole bunch of songs and just posted them up on Soundcloud,” he remembers. Following the tragic murder of his uncle in 2015, LAROI and his mother struggled. They moved into project housing and below the poverty line. LAROI honed in on his music.
Not unusual for a 17-year-old boy, LAROI’s lyrics can be unrefined and audacious. The 2019 song “Let Her Go” (the Cole Bennett-directed video boasts over 20 milion views), best demonstrates LAROI’s penchant for raw, at times crude, love stories. But his ear for infectious trap beats and melodic, gracefully auto-tuned hooks gained him the attention of the industry and acclaim from rap’s most exciting voices. After competing in a Triple J Radio competition in 2016, he earned respect from Chicago rapper-turned-industry exec, Lil Bibby, whose support led him to performances on stages alongside the late JuiceWRLD, whom he considered a close friend and mentor, THEY and more. In 2018, he recorded his debut EP14 With A Dreamexecutive produced by frequent collaborator Miracle, and watched standout “Blessings” take off. A well-timed freestyle over Drake’s Tay Keith-produced “Nonstop” added fuel to LAROI’s trailblazing fire.
“It’s really what I’ve always imagined... I always knew it was bigger than that,” LAROI says about his crossover success and finding an audience outside of Australia. With the newfound success from his most recent EP “F*CK LOVE (SAVAGE)” (which also debuted #3 on the Billboard 200), this is just the beginning for LAROI. One day, he plans to make music with Drake and Kanye, expecting no less than to take the crown his francophone moniker implies. “Everything I make is the shit. I love everything I make. I take music super seriously, and I look at it as art,” says the teenage rap phenomenon. With an undeniable belief in his potential and the fast-paced track record to prove it, LAROI, unexpected as his story is, is making it increasingly easy for the rest of the world to believe in him too.