What Inspired Miley Cyrus’ ‘Wrecking Ball’? ‘My Man Wasn’t Acting Right’

Miley Cyrus has six new pieces of hardware in her collection, one for each of her biggest hits. And in a new episode of Spotify‘s Billions Club: The Series, the 31-year-old pop star opened up about each of her tracks that have crossed into 10-digit territory on the streaming service, including 2009’s “Party in the U.S.A.” — which she lovingly referred to as the “ultimate grocery aisle music” — 2013’s “We Can’t Stop,” 2018’s “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart” with Mark Ronson and 2020’s “Angels Like You.”

The celebration of her milestones comes as her first-ever Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single, “Wrecking Ball,” becomes her sixth track to reach a billion listens.

While discussing the pop-rock heartbreak anthem with sister Brandi Cyrus, Miley revealed the straightforward inspiration behind “Wrecking Ball”: “My man wasn’t acting right.”

Released in 2013, the song is widely believed to be about the star’s ex-husband, Liam Hemsworth — as is “Flowers,” her second-ever Hot 100 chart-topper and the fastest of her tracks to reach a billion streams. It was also Spotify’s most-streamed song of 2023 and earned Miley her first and second Grammy Awards (record of the year and best pop solo performance) earlier this year.

Of the speculation into the subject matter of “Flowers,” Miley quipped, “The only rumor I can confirm to be true is that the gold dress I am wearing is museum-quality from Yves Saint Laurent that is in an exhibition in Paris right now.”

In another clip from the shoot shared exclusively with Billboard on Thursday (Nov. 21), the Hannah Montana alum reflected on how she’s inspired younger stars such as Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo. “You never think about in the future, someone replicating what you do,” she said in the snippet. “You’re just doing it because it’s honest in the moment … It’s really important they do it their own way, because that’s what my career has represented above all else.”

Miley’s Billions Club episode makes her just the latest artist to be honored by the series, with past installments focusing on Ariana Grande, Cardi B, Billie Eilish, Ed Sheeran and more.

Watch Miley’s Billions Club episode above.