Miley Cyrus has yet to officially announce her fifth studio album, but already the pop star has found herself at the center of yet another media frenzy.

Cyrus has been planning for some time to release her new studio album for free. According to manager Adam Leber, the pop diva was even willing to buy out her record deal to make it happen. “If RCA wasn’t down the gratis plan, she was prepared to buy herself out of the label,” he told Marie Claire. Such a move should be grounds for a history making event. Never before has a female pop star released a free album, or at least no one who was as famous as Cyrus is at the moment. The fact that a major label would allow an artist to essentially sacrifice potentially millions of dollars in revenue is nothing short of astonishing, right?

Sort of.

Hits Daily Double reported earlier this week that RCA only agreed to release the self-produced album because it is far from the album they believe fans are expecting to hear. Unnamed sources tell the site the record is not very good, with label execs already throwing around terms like ‘experimental’ for future marketing purposes.

Evidence of this being true may have already surfaced in the form of a leaked new song, “Freaky,” which hit the net earlier this week. The song finds Cyrus discussing her desire to get a little freaky with a pal after flirting over a bowl of weed. The piano accompaniment leads you to expect a passionate hook but instead it’s a deadpan plea for sex. The tongue-in-cheek fun of Bangerz is gone. It’s sexy in the way a cigarette is alluring after a long day of heavy burdens. You know it’s bad for you, so much so that it might kill you in the long run, but for whatever reason you give in. It feels good at first, but after a drag or two you’re just feeding a hollow addiction.

I hate to say it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the sources HDD found were legitimate. Cyrus has spent the past year being more of a social butterfly than an artist. Her constant cries for media attention are only rebutted when the way she is perceived in the public light does not meet whatever hippie lifestyle she’s trying to make her brand that particular week. There’s also the numerous fan-filmed videos of Miley’s surprising and often bizarre appearances at shows and events throughout the year, like this clip of her covering Khia in New York earlier this year. I cannot find one story or social media post teasing new music, or at least nothing substantial enough to make me believe “Freaky” is not the trend of the future.

Just to clarify, I’m not saying Miley is a bad person. Her efforts to help homeless youth, as well as the LGBTQ community are forever commendable. They do not, however, say anything about the quality of her new music. There are many mediocre artists who are wonderful humanitarians, but most of them do not eat up a substantial amount of editorial space in weekly tabloids. Just ask Akon.

Bangerz was an imperfect, but altogether memorable pop release that completely changed the way the world saw Miley Cyrus. The challenge of meeting the quality of such a release with a follow-up album–let alone trying to top it–would be difficult for any artist. Can Miley pull it off? I’m not sure. Comment below and let me know your thoughts.

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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