Miley Cyrus is a True Professional

By Drew Holmes

Any professional musician will tell you the importance of accepting things will not always go according to plan. Conductor’s scores go missing, instruments break mid performance, and once a world renowned pianist prepared the wrong concerto. Expecting the unexpected is part of the job.

Miley Cyrus had an unexpected incident last week during her “Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party” broadcast. She took the stage to perform Party in the USA and suffered what, thanks to Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake, has come to be known as a wardrobe malfunction.

The top to Miley’s outfit came loose, which she adeptly held in place while continuing to sing. Then she decided to act. She turned around, went backstage (while her band and backup singers continued to perform), and returned seconds later wearing an oversized red blazer that made her wardrobe once again suitable for live television.

While nowhere near as public or perilous, I had a mid-performance incident while a sophomore in college. The music director at a local church invited me to perform for a Sunday service. During the offertory we performed an organ and trumpet arrangement of J.S. Bach’s Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring. I reached the end of the piece, but the organ kept playing. And playing. In that moment I realized the second page was missing and my next entrance was seconds away.

That piece has two major advantages that made what I did next possible. First, like a lot of Bach’s compositions it is built around sequences, making it extremely repetitive. Second, it does not modulate. Rather than give up and allow the organ to finish without me, I decided to keep playing something resembling the melody and in the key of G. While doing this I furiously searched my folder, found the missing page, and continued as if nothing happened.

Afterwards my colleague congratulated me on the save, observing that he was probably the only person in the congregation who noticed.

Rejoining her band to finish the performance, Miley Cyrus made light of what had just happened, singing “Everybody’s definitely looking at me now!” which is almost the exact lyric at that point in the song. She then brought the audience further in on the humor by riffing “I’m still in the most clothes I’ve ever worn on stage.” Rather than give up or pause the performance she kept the show going, fixed the problem, and entertained the crowd.

At the end of the broadcast, Miley said the show was about “being flexible, rolling with the punches, and making the best out of even the worst circumstances.” She added “resilience shouldn’t end here. Let’s bring that into the new year with us. We’ve all learned how to expect the unexpected, and rather than see it as a problem, let’s see it as an opportunity.”

Obstacles are opportunities disguised as problems. Rather than fixate on the impediments in our way we can turn them into advantages. Miley Cyrus turned what could have been a disaster into an opportunity to build greater connection with her audience, and created a memorable performance for all the right reasons. And that is the mark of a true professional.