Miley Cyrus taps Joan Jett, Billy Idol for her rock-infused Super Bowl 2021 pre-show
Miley Cyrus headlined Super Bowl LV's "TikTok Tailgate" on Sunday and brought some rock n' roll legends to kick her performance up a notch.
Tapping Joan Jett and Billy Idol for the pre-show, Cyrus brought fans anxiously awaiting the big game at Raymond James Stadium to their feet.
Cyrus started her set by hailing the "health care heroes" in the audience.
The 28-year-old Grammy nominee then threw in some curveballs, such as belting out Toni Basil's "Mickey" -- appropriately altering the spelling to "Miley" -- and imitating Britney Spears when belting out her 2009 hit, "Party in the U.S.A."
Cyrus performed a medley of most notable hits and newest singles, such as "Prisoner," "Edge of Midnight," "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart," "Angels Like You," "We Can't Stop" and "Wrecking Ball."
The singer became overwhelmed with emotion when performing the latter track, her 2013 single that is reportedly about ex-husband Liam Hemsworth. Cyrus pulled away from the microphone several times to battle away tears. At the end of the emotional ballad, she told the audience, "I wear a lot of glitter and I wear a lot of armor, but I also wear my heart on my sleeve, and it gets broken a lot."
Other highlights included her duet with Jett, as they dove into the revered rocker's extensive catalogue and performed "Bad Reputation," "Bad Karma" and "I Hate Myself for Loving You."
With Idol -- who was grinning ear to ear -- on stage, he and Cyrus turned his 1982 smash "White Wedding" into a powerhouse duet. Idol also joined Cyrus at the start of her show by rocking out to her Plastic Hearts track, "Nightcrawling."
Other songs Cyrus performed were Blondie's "Heart of Glass," Nine Inch Nails' "Head Like a Hole," Bikini Kill's "Rebel Girl" and, of course, Dolly Parton's "Jolene."
