Miley Cyrus Rides A “Wrecking Ball” Naked In New Music Video

A week after everyone stopped talking about her Video Music Awards performance, Miley Cyrus is attempting to sell her emotional side with the Terry Richardson directed video for her new single “Wrecking Ball.” Don’t worry, she still hasn’t put her clothes on.

Appearing in a tank top and white panties, Miley opens “Wrecking Ball” with a single tear streaking down her otherwise pristine face. She sings of love, or at least the loss of it, and just for a moment all the twerking and overtly sexual gesticulating in recent weeks is stripped away to reveal a truly talented singer.

Cut to 10 seconds later and everything I just wrote can pretty much be forgotten as the camera cuts to Cyrus getting overly affectionate with a sledge hammer. She attempts to provocatively walk with said hammer while a literal wrecking ball destroys the set around her. This is all well and fine, of course, as it fits with the theme of the song (getting hit by love like a wrecking ball). It’s what happens next that is going to have midwest conservatives blogging heavily in the days ahead.

After about 90 seconds of relatively clean content, the camera cuts to a nude Cyrus straddling the aforementioned wrecking ball in her now destroyed room. She spins and dips, revealing every inch of skin possible without breaching YouTube’s rules about sexually explicit content. When this isn’t happening, Miley rolls around the destruction with the sledgehammer, showing tongue every opportunity she has, before ending the clip with a cut back to the original, somewhat sentimental opening closeup.

If we’re being completely honest I had to restart “Wrecking Ball” three times before realizing whether or not the song was any good. It could be very successful at radio with the proper push, but I fear Cyrus’ obsession with selling herself via sex appeal is going to superbly overshadow everything she is doing musically. She does not need sex to sell these singles, yet continues to rely on it as if she feels being on TMZ is the only way to solidify her celebrity. It’s getting to the point that it’s as maddening as it is saddening, and I truly question if the release of Bangerz will be overlooked due to Miley’s antics. People aren’t tuning in for the music, but the controversy, and that does not equate to album sales last time I checked.

Bangerz is set for release October 8. You can preorder the album via iTunes.