Miley Cyrus: New Album 'And Her Dead Petz' For Free in VMAs

August 30, 2015 11:46 PM EDT

It’s been almost two years since Beyoncé purportedly changed the music industry with her surprise drop of her self-titled album in December of 2013—and it seemed, until now, that she hadn’t, really. In the months following the release of Beyoncé, artists of a similar caliber were treated as time bombs. Surely, soon, one of them would follow suit and surprise us all with a new album. But none of them ever did. Until tonight, when Miley Cyrus announced her new album, apparently titled Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz, such hopes went unanswered.

Cyrus plays on the same field as fellow singers including Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Taylor Swift, but all of her contemporaries have remained bound by a rigid schedule dictated by record companies or by their own reliance on old-school promotional cycles. Her drop of a new album isn’t imaginative, strictly speaking—after all, Beyoncé did it first—but her hijacking an awards show to promote suddenly-released material feels new. All artists at the VMAs want to get someone to buy their music, but only Cyrus declared that her new music was the real, more interesting show, and bigger news than the ceremony itself. (Indeed, her hosting of the ceremony felt lackluster, as though she were saving her charisma for her big announcement.)

See the Evolution of Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus — Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus on Oct. 8, 1994 at Pyramid Arena in Memphis.Ron Galella, Ltd.—WireImage/Getty Images

Miley Cyrus and Vanessa Hutchinson — Vanessa Hudgens and Miley Cyrus in Los Angeles on Apr. 30, 2006.Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty Images

Miley Cyrus in Westwood, Calif., on July 17, 2006.Vince Bucci—Getty Images

Miley Cyrus Hannah Montana — Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana in the Disney Channel series *Hannah Montana* on Nov. 2, 2008.Disney

Ashley Tisdale Miley Cyrus - MTV TRL — Miley Cyrus and Ashley Tisdale on MTV's *TRL* in New York City on June 20, 2006.Michael Loccisano—FilmMagic/Getty Images

Miley Cyrus Dolly Parton — Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton in an episode of Disney's *Hannah Montana* on Dec. 7, 2007.Disney/Getty Images

Miley Cyrus Sweet Sixteen — Miley Cyrus celebrates her 16th birthday during the 2008 American Music Awards in Los Angeles on Nov. 23, 2008.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images

Miley Cyrus Taylor Swift — Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift perform onstage at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2009.John Shearer—WireImage/Getty Images

Billy Ray Cyrus Miley Cyrus — Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus in the 2009 film *Hannah Montana: The Movie*.Disney

Miley Cyrus Billy Ray Cyrus Golden Globe — Tish, Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 11, 2009.NBC/Getty Images

Miley Cyrus - Teen Choice Award 2009 — Miley Cyrus performs onstage during the 2009 Teen Choice Awards held at Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, Calif., on Aug. 9, 2009.Kevin Winter—Fox/Getty Images

Miley Cyrus Sheryl Crow — Miley Cyrus and Sheryl Crow on stage at Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City on Sept. 17, 2009.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images

Miley Cyrus Much Music — Miley Cyrus performs at the 21st Annual MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto on June 20, 2010.George Pimentel—WireImage/Getty Images

Miley Cyrus Justin Bieber — Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber perform at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Aug. 31, 2010.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images

Miley Cyrus Dancing with the Star — Miley Cyrus performs on an episode of ABC's *Dancing with the Stars* on May 2010.Adam Larkey—ABC/Getty Images

Miley Cyrus Liam Hemsworth — Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth in the 2010 film *The Last Song*.Touchstone Pictures

Miley Cyrus Tish Cyrus — Miley and Tish Cyrus at The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 13, 2011.Lester Cohen—WireImage/Getty Images

Robin Thicke Miley Cyrus — Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus perform during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center in New York City on Aug. 25, 2013.Rick Diamond—Getty Images

Miley Cyrus: MTV Unplugged - Fixed Show — Miley Cyrus performs during *Miley Cyrus: MTV Unplugged* in Los Angeles on Jan. 28, 2014.Christopher Polk—Getty Images

Miley Cyrus Bangerz Concert — Miley Cyrus performs at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., on Aug. 1, 2014.Taylor Hill—FilmMagic/Getty Images

Miley Cyrus Wayne Coyne — Miley Cyrus and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips perform in Los Angeles on Feb. 22, 2014.Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images

Miley Cyrus MTV VMA — Miley Cyrus at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards in Inglewood, Calif., on Aug. 24, 2014. Mario Anzuoni—Reuters

Miley Cyrus Jeremy Scott — Miley Cyrus walks with Jeremy Scott after a presentation of his Spring/Summer 2015 collection during New York Fashion Week on Sept. 10, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters

Miley Cyrus Met Gala — Miley Cyrus attends the "China: Through The Looking Glass" Costume Institute Benefit Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on May 4, 2015 .Dimitrios Kambouris—Getty Images

Miley Cyrus - VMA — Miley Cyrus performs onstage during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.Michael Tran—FilmMagic/Getty Images

Miley Cyrus hosts the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.Michael Tran—Getty Images

Miley Cyrus performs on Saturday Night Live in New York City on Oct. 3, 2015. — Miley Cyrus performs on *Saturday Night Live* in New York City on Oct. 3, 2015.Dana Edelson—Getty Images

Honoree Miley Cyrus accepts the Vanguard Award at the Los Angeles LGBT Center 46th Anniversary Gala Vanguard Awards on Nov. 7, 2015 in Century City, Calif.Joe Scarnici—Getty Images

Miley Cyrus on The Voice on Feb. 4, 2016. — Miley Cyrus on *The Voice* on Feb. 4, 2016. Trae Patton—Getty Images

Other big stars could have taken a lesson from Cyrus. Two years ago, the VMAs were widely promoted around the idea that Gaga and Perry, both promoting new albums, were in a “chart battle” of sorts. Their performances, buttressing the ceremony, were meant to be the point of a show that Cyrus stole with a specific awareness of the degree to which young people (and people) respond to boundaries being pushed. Whether her new album will live up to fan expectations remains to be seen, but once again, Cyrus has forced the culture to catch up with her.