Can't Be Tamed (song)
Encyclopedia
"Can't Be Tamed" is a song performed by American singer-songwriter Miley Cyrus
. The song was co-written by Cyrus, Antonina Armato
, Tim James
, Paul Neumann, and Marek Pompetzki and produced by Armato and James, though it was primarily written by Cyrus. It was released on May 18, 2010 by Hollywood Records
as the lead single
of Cyrus' third studio album of the same name
. A Rockangeles remix version featuring rapper Lil Jon
was included as a bonus track on digital editions of the album. According to Cyrus, "Can't Be Tamed" describes a desire to break out and experience freedom. "Can't Be Tamed" is heavily based on synths, exploring through electropop and synthpop
genres. The lyrics deal with the themes of freedom and self-expression, approached by sultry lyrics.
"Can't Be Tamed" has received generally positive responses by music critics. It also garnered commercial success. The song peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100
, and reached its highest peak at number five on both the Irish Singles Chart
and New Zealand Singles Chart
. The song's accompanying music video
was directed Robert Hales
and follows Cyrus performing with backup dancers throughout a museum
. Cyrus is first trapped in a giant cage, being observed by spectators; she then escapes and trashes the museum. She has promoted "Can't Be Tamed" by performing it at several venues, including a performance on Britain's Got Talent
that resulted in negative reactions from the media. The song is also a part of Cyrus' second world tour, Gypsy Heart Tour
.
, Tim James
, Paul Neumann, and Marek Pompetzki and produced by Armato and James. According to Cyrus, the track's moral is to free yourself from any biding or hindrance, in particular application to women. Cyrus said the song's message applies to different situations. Personally to her, "it is about being a cage and people looking at you." As for others, she believed it could describe high school, in a situation where "someone feeling they have to be one way to be with a clique
and they want to be who they are. A relationship, or whatever, it is just breaking out and feeling free." Hollywood Records described "Can't Be Tamed" as a "a self-empowering song in which Miley asserts that she has to stay true to herself in relationships".
At four meetings throughout Europe, Cyrus' manager, Jason Morey, presented the album Can't Be Tamed to representatives from Universal Music Group
; the representatives confirmed what Hollywood Records in the United States had already decided, that the track would be released as the lead single
. "Can't Be Tamed" premiered on April 30, 2010 on Cyrus' official MySpace
page; it was officially released for airplay on May 3, 2010 and released as a digital download on May 18, 2010. In May 2010, Cyrus recorded the Rockangeles remix
version of "Can't Be Tamed" with rapper Lil Jon
at Rock Mafia Studios in Santa Monica, California
. Lil Jon said the collaboration was "crazy" and thought audiences would enjoy the remix. Cyrus added, "He just came in and let it out. It's pretty rockin." They believed Lil Jon gave the remix more energy than the original version had.
song with a length of two minutes and forty-eight seconds. The song also explores predominant styles in the electronic music
genre. The song is set in common time
and has a fast tempo
of 118 beats per minute. It is written in the key
of B minor
and Cyrus' vocals span two octave
s, from A3 to D5. Cyrus belts her way through the choruses, while some lines in the verses feature processed vocals with the use of auto-tune
. It follows the chord progression
B5–D–A. Driven by a dark, pounding beat and the heavy use of synths, "Can't Be Tamed"'s instrumentation relies on drum machine
.
Written solely in first person, "Can't Be Tamed" explores the themes of freedom and self-expression, approached by sultry lyrics. It puts emphasis to how she cannot be changed or molded into being something she is not. In the verses, Cyrus addresses confidence and the attempt to discover for what she is yearning for, respectively. Choruses have Cyrus shouting the title and variations of it in a repetitive manner, against the beat of the song. Monica Herrera of Billboard
interpreted the lyrics "If there was a question about my intentions, I'll tell ya / I'm not here to sell ya" to be an official declaration of rebellion in order to dispose herself of tween role-model responsibilities. Likewise, various other critics believed "Can't Be Tamed" spoke of her completely drawing away from the image she had developed through Hannah Montana
, which first aired in March 2006.
felt the song was "not bad business for stationary cardio, but not the stuff year-end top tens are made of, either." She said it didn't offer "major sensations" and found it similar to Christina Aguilera
’s "Not Myself Tonight
" (2010). Greenblatt was also disappointed with the song's rhyming in the lines, "I'm not here to sell ya' / Or tell you to go to hell". Sonya Sorich of Ledger-Enquirer said that while she anticipated some negative reception, "Can't Be Tamed" was also a prime candidate for a guilty pleasure dance track." Heather Phares of Allmusic referred to "Can't Be Tamed" as "stomping" and selected it as one of the album's best. Fraser McAlpine of BBC
said that though had a strong undercurrent of sex, Cyrus maintained classy throughout the track . "If Miley's gonna weather the Ensexification Moment it'll be because she's doing it during a period of extrema GaGa
, when videos are less about acreage of flesh and more about feathers and Victorian scientists. Oh, and because she's got the songs and the voice, that always helps", McAlpine concluded.
Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone
rated the song three out of five stars and compared it to the musical styles of Rihanna
. He added, "It's no 'Party in the U.S.A.' or 'See You Again
,' but the chorus packs plenty of electro-fizz pizzazz". Bill Lamb of About.com
rated "Can't Be Tamed" two and half out of five stars. He criticized the song for lyrics that headed into a "selfish territory", however, believing it would have airplay success. Monica Herrera of Billboard gave "Can't Be Tamed" a favorable review, writing, "But Cyrus knows how to proffer her sass. When she sneers, 'I'm not a fake, it's in my DNA,' in pre-emptive retaliation against her critics, she does it with the professionalism of a Disney
-groomed star." Jarett Wieselman of The New York Post said he liked the song and that though he did not buy Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A.
" (2009), he feared he would not "be able to resist" buying "Can't Be Tamed". He said the song had a "naughty old school Britney Spears
" vibe, called it "totally catchy" and predicted it would be a summer hit. Ailbhe Malone of The Irish Times
wrote, "Miley’s taken a sexy electro-edge. Less "Party in the U.S.A.", more Party With My Parents Away, we like this. A LOT."
, selling 191,000 digital downloads. The sales marked Cyrus' second-best debut sales week, following "Party in the U.S.A.", which sold 226,000 digital downloads in its first week in August 2009. With the appearance on the chart, the song became her fourth top ten debut on the Billboard Hot 100, including a song credited to her alias Hannah Montana. In the following week, the song descended ten positions to number eighteen. It spend its last week on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending August 7, 2010, spending a total of ten weeks on the chart. "Can't Be Tamed" also peaked at number sixteen on Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs)
. The song peaked at number six on the Canadian Hot 100
and spent a total of fourteen weeks upon the chart.
The song also achieved commercial success in Australia and New Zealand. "Can't Be Tamed" debuted at number eighteen on the Australian Singles Chart
on the week ending June 6, 2010. After six weeks of ascending the Australian Singles Chart, the song found a new peak at number seventeen. In the succeeding week, it reached its peak at number fourteen and spent eleven weeks on the chart. The single was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) for shipping over 35,000 copies. On the week ending May 24, 2010, "Can't Be Tamed" debuted and peaked at number five on the New Zealand Singles Chart
. It spent nine weeks ascending and descending the New Zealand Singles Chart before completely dropping from the chart on the week ending July 19, 2010. In Japan, "Can't Be Tamed" debuted at number fifty-three and peaked at number twelve.
In the United Kingdom, "Can't Be Tamed" debuted and peaked at number thirteen on the week ending June 12, 2010. It spent eight weeks on the UK Singles Chart
. The song peaked at number five on the Irish Singles Chart
. In mainland Europe, "Can't Be Tamed" maintained similar outcomes. It became Cyrus' best-charting single on the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles
, peaking at number fifteen in July 2010 and surpassing "Party in the U.S.A.", which peaked at number seventeen in January 2010. It peaked at number fifteen on the French Singles Chart
, number fifteen on the Norwegian Singles Chart
, and number fourteen on the Spanish Singles Chart. It also charted within the top thirty in Austria and Germany and within the top forty of Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia).
for "Can't Be Tamed"' was directed by Robert Hales
. The dance routines were choreographed
by Jamal Sims, who also choreographed Cyrus' "Hoedown Throwdown
". Cyrus and Sims conceived the plot for the video together and proposed it to Hales, who "envisioned it the way [they] did". In regards to the video's theme, Cyrus explained, "I think the video explains my life but it doesn't exclude other people's lives. It's not just about how fabulous and glamorous and all this. It's about the core of 'I don't wanna be in a cage. I want to be free and do what I love'". The video was meant to transition Cyrus away from the good-girl image she had developed through Hannah Montana. However, she believed her fans would be able to identify with the video's message through their own circumstances; for example, she believed that her desire to "stand out [rather] than fit in" was shared by teenagers hoping to break out of high school cliques. In an interview with the singer, Ryan Seacrest
noted the video's strong sexual appeal. Cyrus agreed that the video was sexy, though it was not supposed to be the premise: "The video isn't about being sexy or who can wear the less clothes [...] It's about explaining the song and living the lyrics."
The music video was shot on April 10 and April 11, 2010 at Sony Studios
in Culver City, California
. Over twenty female and twenty male backup dancers were used. The video casts Cyrus as an exotic songbird breaking out of its cage, symbolizing Cyrus as a singer breaking out of her good-girl image. Prior to the shoot, Cyrus meticulously recorded her ideas for the video on paper. For example, she chose her back-up dancers make-up pallets and contemplated their outfits; while she did not want her dancer's bodies "to look like normal bodies", she also did not want for them to wear scales as, according to her, it would make them resemble to be fish and look scary. Hales wanted Cyrus to resemble a bird without "actually having a beak" or otherwise being overly explicit, so Cyrus' stylists invented bird-like accessories. Among these were arm bands with long leather straps, feathered shoulder pads, and a feathered vest worn over a black leotard and thigh-high black leather boots. Cyrus said she had originally worn a "completely different" outfit, but wasn't "feeling it" the morning of the shoot. "So we made this one right there in the morning, and we added pieces throughout the day... more leather and more feathers. I think it's really fun and kept changing the look," she said. Cyrus' make-up artist, Denika Bedrossian, focused on the singer's eyes; he used "rich jewel-toned shades" and eyelashes with feathered tips to give Cyrus a "deep peacock eye". In cut-scenes, Cyrus wears a corset made of 2,400 silver metal pieces and numerous peacock feathers. It was designed by The Blonds, debuted during their fall 2010 fashion show, and cost $25,000.
The video commences with formally dressed spectators entering a museum as a curator introduces "a creature so rare it was believed to be extinct. In captivity for the first time, the rarest creature on Earth, Avis Cyrus". White curtains are pulled down to reveal Cyrus, dressed in a black leotard and expansive black CGI
wings, asleep in a giant bird nest locked inside a giant cage. Cyrus rises and approaches the audience, but a camera flash startles her and causes her to shield her face with her wings. The music starts, and Cyrus unveils herself again and joins a large group of feathered dancers. As Cyrus sings, she and the dancers escape the cage and prowl the museum, shattering museum exhibits as they pass them. They perform provocative dances both inside the cage and in darkened museum halls. Cut-scenes feature Cyrus lying down, dressed in a silver corset attached to a bed of peacock feathers, or writhing alone in her nest in the cage. The video ends with Cyrus back in her cage and the museum empty and trashed.
. The video received generally positive reviews from critics. It also received numerous comparisons to videos by Britney Spears
and Lady Gaga
, though Cyrus said she "wanted it to be something different for a female artist". Cristina Gibson of E!
described the video as "edgy", similar to Cyrus' video for "Party in the U.S.A.", but "on steroids". Tina Warren of MTV News
said the video was a good step toward ridding Cyrus of her good-girl image and gave the video a positive review, calling it "intriguing" and stating, "The video [...] is actually quite magnetic and you can’t look away". Tanner Stransky of Entertainment Weekly agreed. While he acknowledged the video "might be dark and a tad conceptually racy", he claimed it was smart move. "She isn’t moving too fast, honestly [...] it’s not like Miley is stripping or baring much skin". Rather, Stransky said Cyrus had "some super-fun dance moves" and "[made] a statement", albeit a darker one. Chinese newspaper People's Daily
said the video featured "bold"costumes and "revealed Cyrus' sexy side". The website, Yahoo!
added the video to the list of "Worst Music Videos of 2010" Daniel Rutledge of 3 News
in New Zealand said Cyrus had made "it very clear she wishes to cast aside any resemblance to the Disney alter ego that made her famous and be regarded from now on as an adult singer." Singaporean newspaper My Paper
defended Cyrus against claims that the video was too provocative and reported, "If nothing else, this vid shows that Cyrus knows how to entertain, and marks the beginning of truly high-quality videos." Mary Elizabeth Williams of Salon.com
offered a contrary opinion, stating that while Cyrus is a "talented singer [who] deserves to break out of her Disney mold", the "Can't Be Tamed" music video was poor. Williams said Cyrus has "talent galore" and "incredible pipes", but her video was "predictable, derivative and dumb" due to its unoriginality. According to People
magazine, online reaction to the music video has been greatly varied. "Fans and bloggers lit up the Web with comments ranging from 'stunning, gorgeous, fierce' to 'wow way too much for someone her age'", the magazine reported.
. Donning the black leotard and accessories used in the music video, Cyrus appeared in a human-sized cage and then performed throughout the stage with many costumed backup dancers; Cyrus' dancing was minimal. Her first performance of the song outside the United States was at the Rock in Rio concert in Lisbon, Portugal on May 29, 2010. Cyrus appeared on June 1, 2010 at the Paris, France nightclub 1515 Club and on June 3, 2010 on Britain's Got Talent
s semifinals to perform "Can't Be Tamed". On the latter, Cyrus wore hot pants, fishnets and boots as she performed. Midway through the performance, Cyrus grabbed a female backup dancer, dipping her low, and simulated a kiss. The performance was met with negative reactions from the media and caused her to release a statement in which Cyrus promised she did not kiss the backup dancer. Cyrus wrote, "It is ridiculous that two entertainers can’t even rock out with each other without the media making it some type of story. I really hope my fans are not
disappointed in me because the truth is I did nothing wrong. I got up
there and did my job which is to perform to the best of my ability." Cyrus later performed the song at the Rock in Rio concert in Madrid, Spain and the London, England nightclubs Heaven
and G-A-Y
. She has performed the track on Good Morning America
, Late Show with David Letterman
, MuchMusic Video Awards
, and concert at the House of Blues
in Los Angeles, California
, which was streamed across over thirty websites owned by MTV Networks
.
Cyrus performed the song in her current tour, Gypsy Heart Tour
.
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
. The song was co-written by Cyrus, Antonina Armato
Antonina Armato
Antonina Armato is a songwriter and music producer who is most known for co-writing the #1 single "I Still Believe" and co-writing another #1 single "She Ain't Worth It." She has written or produced over 20 Top Ten singles...
, Tim James
Tim James (music producer)
Timothy James Price is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. James is the co-founder of Rock Mafia. James co-wrote the songs "Potential Breakup Song" by Aly & AJ, "Come Back to Me" by Vanessa Hudgens, "See You Again" by Miley Cyrus, and "Naturally" by Selena Gomez & the Scene. James...
, Paul Neumann, and Marek Pompetzki and produced by Armato and James, though it was primarily written by Cyrus. It was released on May 18, 2010 by Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by Disney Music Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.-History:Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner with the idea of expanding the music operations of the company and to develop and promote...
as the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
of Cyrus' third studio album of the same name
Can't Be Tamed
Can't Be Tamed is the third studio album by American recording artist Miley Cyrus, first released on June 18, 2010 by Hollywood Records. Writing and recording commenced while Cyrus traveled on the 2009 Wonder World Tour. 19 live performances and backstage interviews from a performance at London's...
. A Rockangeles remix version featuring rapper Lil Jon
Lil Jon
Jonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004...
was included as a bonus track on digital editions of the album. According to Cyrus, "Can't Be Tamed" describes a desire to break out and experience freedom. "Can't Be Tamed" is heavily based on synths, exploring through electropop and synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
genres. The lyrics deal with the themes of freedom and self-expression, approached by sultry lyrics.
"Can't Be Tamed" has received generally positive responses by music critics. It also garnered commercial success. The song peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, and reached its highest peak at number five on both the Irish Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...
and New Zealand Singles Chart
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...
. The song's accompanying music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was directed Robert Hales
Robert Hales (director)
Robert Hales is a graphic designer and music video director from the United Kingdom. Hales has directed music videos by artists such as Jet, The Veronicas, Fuel, Stereophonics, The Donnas, Justin Timberlake, Nine Inch Nails, Miley Cyrus, Gnarls Barkley and Crowded House...
and follows Cyrus performing with backup dancers throughout a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
. Cyrus is first trapped in a giant cage, being observed by spectators; she then escapes and trashes the museum. She has promoted "Can't Be Tamed" by performing it at several venues, including a performance on Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
that resulted in negative reactions from the media. The song is also a part of Cyrus' second world tour, Gypsy Heart Tour
Gypsy Heart Tour
The Gypsy Heart Tour was the third concert tour by American recording artist Miley Cyrus. Primarily visiting South America and Australia, the tour supported her third studio album, Can't Be Tamed....
.
Background
"Can't Be Tamed" was co-written by Cyrus, Antonina ArmatoAntonina Armato
Antonina Armato is a songwriter and music producer who is most known for co-writing the #1 single "I Still Believe" and co-writing another #1 single "She Ain't Worth It." She has written or produced over 20 Top Ten singles...
, Tim James
Tim James (music producer)
Timothy James Price is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. James is the co-founder of Rock Mafia. James co-wrote the songs "Potential Breakup Song" by Aly & AJ, "Come Back to Me" by Vanessa Hudgens, "See You Again" by Miley Cyrus, and "Naturally" by Selena Gomez & the Scene. James...
, Paul Neumann, and Marek Pompetzki and produced by Armato and James. According to Cyrus, the track's moral is to free yourself from any biding or hindrance, in particular application to women. Cyrus said the song's message applies to different situations. Personally to her, "it is about being a cage and people looking at you." As for others, she believed it could describe high school, in a situation where "someone feeling they have to be one way to be with a clique
Clique
A clique is an exclusive group of people who share common interests, views, purposes, patterns of behavior, or ethnicity. A clique as a reference group can be either normative or comparative. Membership in a clique is typically exclusive, and qualifications for membership may be social or...
and they want to be who they are. A relationship, or whatever, it is just breaking out and feeling free." Hollywood Records described "Can't Be Tamed" as a "a self-empowering song in which Miley asserts that she has to stay true to herself in relationships".
At four meetings throughout Europe, Cyrus' manager, Jason Morey, presented the album Can't Be Tamed to representatives from Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
; the representatives confirmed what Hollywood Records in the United States had already decided, that the track would be released as the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
. "Can't Be Tamed" premiered on April 30, 2010 on Cyrus' official MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page; it was officially released for airplay on May 3, 2010 and released as a digital download on May 18, 2010. In May 2010, Cyrus recorded the Rockangeles remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
version of "Can't Be Tamed" with rapper Lil Jon
Lil Jon
Jonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004...
at Rock Mafia Studios in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
. Lil Jon said the collaboration was "crazy" and thought audiences would enjoy the remix. Cyrus added, "He just came in and let it out. It's pretty rockin." They believed Lil Jon gave the remix more energy than the original version had.
Composition
"Can't Be Tamed" is a dance-popDance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
song with a length of two minutes and forty-eight seconds. The song also explores predominant styles in the electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
genre. The song is set in common time
Common Time
"Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...
and has a fast tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of 118 beats per minute. It is written in the key
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
of B minor
B minor
B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. The harmonic minor raises the A to A. Its key signature has two sharps .Its relative major is D major, and its parallel major is B major....
and Cyrus' vocals span two octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
s, from A3 to D5. Cyrus belts her way through the choruses, while some lines in the verses feature processed vocals with the use of auto-tune
Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform apparently perfectly tuned vocal...
. It follows the chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
B5–D–A. Driven by a dark, pounding beat and the heavy use of synths, "Can't Be Tamed"'s instrumentation relies on drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
.
Written solely in first person, "Can't Be Tamed" explores the themes of freedom and self-expression, approached by sultry lyrics. It puts emphasis to how she cannot be changed or molded into being something she is not. In the verses, Cyrus addresses confidence and the attempt to discover for what she is yearning for, respectively. Choruses have Cyrus shouting the title and variations of it in a repetitive manner, against the beat of the song. Monica Herrera of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
interpreted the lyrics "If there was a question about my intentions, I'll tell ya / I'm not here to sell ya" to be an official declaration of rebellion in order to dispose herself of tween role-model responsibilities. Likewise, various other critics believed "Can't Be Tamed" spoke of her completely drawing away from the image she had developed through Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana is an American television series, which debuted on March 24, 2006 on the Disney Channel. The series focuses on a girl who lives a double life as an average teenage school girl named Miley Stewart by day and a famous pop singer named Hannah Montana by night, concealing her real...
, which first aired in March 2006.
Critical reception
Critics typically reviewed "Can't Be Tamed" favorably. Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
felt the song was "not bad business for stationary cardio, but not the stuff year-end top tens are made of, either." She said it didn't offer "major sensations" and found it similar to Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
’s "Not Myself Tonight
Not Myself Tonight
"Not Myself Tonight" is a song recorded by American pop singer Christina Aguilera. The song was written by Jamal Jones, Ester Dean, Jason Perry, and Greg Curtis, and produced by Polow da Don for Aguilera's sixth studio album, Bionic. The song was released on April 13, 2010 as the lead single from...
" (2010). Greenblatt was also disappointed with the song's rhyming in the lines, "I'm not here to sell ya' / Or tell you to go to hell". Sonya Sorich of Ledger-Enquirer said that while she anticipated some negative reception, "Can't Be Tamed" was also a prime candidate for a guilty pleasure dance track." Heather Phares of Allmusic referred to "Can't Be Tamed" as "stomping" and selected it as one of the album's best. Fraser McAlpine of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
said that though had a strong undercurrent of sex, Cyrus maintained classy throughout the track . "If Miley's gonna weather the Ensexification Moment it'll be because she's doing it during a period of extrema GaGa
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
, when videos are less about acreage of flesh and more about feathers and Victorian scientists. Oh, and because she's got the songs and the voice, that always helps", McAlpine concluded.
Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
rated the song three out of five stars and compared it to the musical styles of Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
. He added, "It's no 'Party in the U.S.A.' or 'See You Again
See You Again
"See You Again" is a pop song performed by American singer-songwriter Miley Cyrus. The song was composed by Cyrus , Antonina Armato, and Tim James and produced by Armato and James...
,' but the chorus packs plenty of electro-fizz pizzazz". Bill Lamb of About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
rated "Can't Be Tamed" two and half out of five stars. He criticized the song for lyrics that headed into a "selfish territory", however, believing it would have airplay success. Monica Herrera of Billboard gave "Can't Be Tamed" a favorable review, writing, "But Cyrus knows how to proffer her sass. When she sneers, 'I'm not a fake, it's in my DNA,' in pre-emptive retaliation against her critics, she does it with the professionalism of a Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
-groomed star." Jarett Wieselman of The New York Post said he liked the song and that though he did not buy Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A.
Party in the U.S.A.
"Party in the U.S.A." is a pop song performed by American recording artist Miley Cyrus. The song was written by Dr. Luke, Claude Kelly, and Jessie J and produced by Dr. Luke. It was released on August 11, 2009, by Hollywood Records, as the lead single from Cyrus' first extended play The Time of Our...
" (2009), he feared he would not "be able to resist" buying "Can't Be Tamed". He said the song had a "naughty old school Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
" vibe, called it "totally catchy" and predicted it would be a summer hit. Ailbhe Malone of The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
wrote, "Miley’s taken a sexy electro-edge. Less "Party in the U.S.A.", more Party With My Parents Away, we like this. A LOT."
Chart performance
On the week ending June 5, 2010, "Can't Be Tamed" became the week's "hot shot debut" by entering and peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, selling 191,000 digital downloads. The sales marked Cyrus' second-best debut sales week, following "Party in the U.S.A.", which sold 226,000 digital downloads in its first week in August 2009. With the appearance on the chart, the song became her fourth top ten debut on the Billboard Hot 100, including a song credited to her alias Hannah Montana. In the following week, the song descended ten positions to number eighteen. It spend its last week on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending August 7, 2010, spending a total of ten weeks on the chart. "Can't Be Tamed" also peaked at number sixteen on Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs)
Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs)
The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart...
. The song peaked at number six on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
and spent a total of fourteen weeks upon the chart.
The song also achieved commercial success in Australia and New Zealand. "Can't Be Tamed" debuted at number eighteen on the Australian Singles Chart
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
on the week ending June 6, 2010. After six weeks of ascending the Australian Singles Chart, the song found a new peak at number seventeen. In the succeeding week, it reached its peak at number fourteen and spent eleven weeks on the chart. The single was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) for shipping over 35,000 copies. On the week ending May 24, 2010, "Can't Be Tamed" debuted and peaked at number five on the New Zealand Singles Chart
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...
. It spent nine weeks ascending and descending the New Zealand Singles Chart before completely dropping from the chart on the week ending July 19, 2010. In Japan, "Can't Be Tamed" debuted at number fifty-three and peaked at number twelve.
In the United Kingdom, "Can't Be Tamed" debuted and peaked at number thirteen on the week ending June 12, 2010. It spent eight weeks on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. The song peaked at number five on the Irish Singles Chart
Irish Recorded Music Association
Irish Recorded Music Association is the Irish record industry association. IRMA is a non-profit association set up to manage and control the music industry in the Republic of Ireland.-Goals and activities:...
. In mainland Europe, "Can't Be Tamed" maintained similar outcomes. It became Cyrus' best-charting single on the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles
The European Hot 100 Singles has been compiled by Billboard and Music & Media magazine since March, 1984. The chart is based on national singles sales charts in 15 European countries: Austria, Belgium , Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,...
, peaking at number fifteen in July 2010 and surpassing "Party in the U.S.A.", which peaked at number seventeen in January 2010. It peaked at number fifteen on the French Singles Chart
Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique
The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry...
, number fifteen on the Norwegian Singles Chart
VG-lista
VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by...
, and number fourteen on the Spanish Singles Chart. It also charted within the top thirty in Austria and Germany and within the top forty of Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia).
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Can't Be Tamed"' was directed by Robert Hales
Robert Hales (director)
Robert Hales is a graphic designer and music video director from the United Kingdom. Hales has directed music videos by artists such as Jet, The Veronicas, Fuel, Stereophonics, The Donnas, Justin Timberlake, Nine Inch Nails, Miley Cyrus, Gnarls Barkley and Crowded House...
. The dance routines were choreographed
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
by Jamal Sims, who also choreographed Cyrus' "Hoedown Throwdown
Hoedown Throwdown
"Hoedown Throwdown" is a song performed by American recording artist Miley Cyrus, combining elements of country, dance, pop and rap. It was released as a promotional single from the soundtrack for Hannah Montana: The Movie...
". Cyrus and Sims conceived the plot for the video together and proposed it to Hales, who "envisioned it the way [they] did". In regards to the video's theme, Cyrus explained, "I think the video explains my life but it doesn't exclude other people's lives. It's not just about how fabulous and glamorous and all this. It's about the core of 'I don't wanna be in a cage. I want to be free and do what I love'". The video was meant to transition Cyrus away from the good-girl image she had developed through Hannah Montana. However, she believed her fans would be able to identify with the video's message through their own circumstances; for example, she believed that her desire to "stand out [rather] than fit in" was shared by teenagers hoping to break out of high school cliques. In an interview with the singer, Ryan Seacrest
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...
noted the video's strong sexual appeal. Cyrus agreed that the video was sexy, though it was not supposed to be the premise: "The video isn't about being sexy or who can wear the less clothes [...] It's about explaining the song and living the lyrics."
The music video was shot on April 10 and April 11, 2010 at Sony Studios
Sony Pictures Studios
The Sony Pictures Studios are a television and film studio complex located in Culver City, California at 10202 West Washington Boulevard and bounded by Culver Boulevard , Washington Boulevard , Overland Avenue and Madison Avenue...
in Culver City, California
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
. Over twenty female and twenty male backup dancers were used. The video casts Cyrus as an exotic songbird breaking out of its cage, symbolizing Cyrus as a singer breaking out of her good-girl image. Prior to the shoot, Cyrus meticulously recorded her ideas for the video on paper. For example, she chose her back-up dancers make-up pallets and contemplated their outfits; while she did not want her dancer's bodies "to look like normal bodies", she also did not want for them to wear scales as, according to her, it would make them resemble to be fish and look scary. Hales wanted Cyrus to resemble a bird without "actually having a beak" or otherwise being overly explicit, so Cyrus' stylists invented bird-like accessories. Among these were arm bands with long leather straps, feathered shoulder pads, and a feathered vest worn over a black leotard and thigh-high black leather boots. Cyrus said she had originally worn a "completely different" outfit, but wasn't "feeling it" the morning of the shoot. "So we made this one right there in the morning, and we added pieces throughout the day... more leather and more feathers. I think it's really fun and kept changing the look," she said. Cyrus' make-up artist, Denika Bedrossian, focused on the singer's eyes; he used "rich jewel-toned shades" and eyelashes with feathered tips to give Cyrus a "deep peacock eye". In cut-scenes, Cyrus wears a corset made of 2,400 silver metal pieces and numerous peacock feathers. It was designed by The Blonds, debuted during their fall 2010 fashion show, and cost $25,000.
The video commences with formally dressed spectators entering a museum as a curator introduces "a creature so rare it was believed to be extinct. In captivity for the first time, the rarest creature on Earth, Avis Cyrus". White curtains are pulled down to reveal Cyrus, dressed in a black leotard and expansive black CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
wings, asleep in a giant bird nest locked inside a giant cage. Cyrus rises and approaches the audience, but a camera flash startles her and causes her to shield her face with her wings. The music starts, and Cyrus unveils herself again and joins a large group of feathered dancers. As Cyrus sings, she and the dancers escape the cage and prowl the museum, shattering museum exhibits as they pass them. They perform provocative dances both inside the cage and in darkened museum halls. Cut-scenes feature Cyrus lying down, dressed in a silver corset attached to a bed of peacock feathers, or writhing alone in her nest in the cage. The video ends with Cyrus back in her cage and the museum empty and trashed.
Reception
The video premiered on May 4, 2010 on E! NewsE! News
E! News, previously known as E! News Daily and E! News Live, is a nightly entertainment newsmagazine program airing on E!: Entertainment Television. The program debuted on September 1, 1991 and talks about Hollywood celebrities and gossip...
. The video received generally positive reviews from critics. It also received numerous comparisons to videos by Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
and Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
, though Cyrus said she "wanted it to be something different for a female artist". Cristina Gibson of E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
described the video as "edgy", similar to Cyrus' video for "Party in the U.S.A.", but "on steroids". Tina Warren of MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
said the video was a good step toward ridding Cyrus of her good-girl image and gave the video a positive review, calling it "intriguing" and stating, "The video [...] is actually quite magnetic and you can’t look away". Tanner Stransky of Entertainment Weekly agreed. While he acknowledged the video "might be dark and a tad conceptually racy", he claimed it was smart move. "She isn’t moving too fast, honestly [...] it’s not like Miley is stripping or baring much skin". Rather, Stransky said Cyrus had "some super-fun dance moves" and "[made] a statement", albeit a darker one. Chinese newspaper People's Daily
People's Daily
The People's Daily is a daily newspaper in the People's Republic of China. The paper is an organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China , published worldwide with a circulation of 3 to 4 million. In addition to its main Chinese-language edition, it has editions in English,...
said the video featured "bold"costumes and "revealed Cyrus' sexy side". The website, Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
added the video to the list of "Worst Music Videos of 2010" Daniel Rutledge of 3 News
3 News
3 News is the television, internet and radio news service of New Zealand's TV3. Its flagship bulletin, which airs every evening at 6:00pm, is anchored by Hilary Barry and Mike McRoberts. Carolyn Robinson and Simon Shepherd are weekend and substitute anchors...
in New Zealand said Cyrus had made "it very clear she wishes to cast aside any resemblance to the Disney alter ego that made her famous and be regarded from now on as an adult singer." Singaporean newspaper My Paper
My paper
My Paper is a free, bilingual newspaper in Singapore published by the Singapore Press Holdings....
defended Cyrus against claims that the video was too provocative and reported, "If nothing else, this vid shows that Cyrus knows how to entertain, and marks the beginning of truly high-quality videos." Mary Elizabeth Williams of Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
offered a contrary opinion, stating that while Cyrus is a "talented singer [who] deserves to break out of her Disney mold", the "Can't Be Tamed" music video was poor. Williams said Cyrus has "talent galore" and "incredible pipes", but her video was "predictable, derivative and dumb" due to its unoriginality. According to People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazine, online reaction to the music video has been greatly varied. "Fans and bloggers lit up the Web with comments ranging from 'stunning, gorgeous, fierce' to 'wow way too much for someone her age'", the magazine reported.
Live performances
Cyrus first performed "Can't Be Tamed" live on May 18, 2010 on Dancing With the StarsDancing with the Stars (U.S. season 10)
Dancing with the Stars returned for a tenth season on March 22, 2010. There was not an elimination the first week of competition. The first elimination took place on March 30....
. Donning the black leotard and accessories used in the music video, Cyrus appeared in a human-sized cage and then performed throughout the stage with many costumed backup dancers; Cyrus' dancing was minimal. Her first performance of the song outside the United States was at the Rock in Rio concert in Lisbon, Portugal on May 29, 2010. Cyrus appeared on June 1, 2010 at the Paris, France nightclub 1515 Club and on June 3, 2010 on Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
s semifinals to perform "Can't Be Tamed". On the latter, Cyrus wore hot pants, fishnets and boots as she performed. Midway through the performance, Cyrus grabbed a female backup dancer, dipping her low, and simulated a kiss. The performance was met with negative reactions from the media and caused her to release a statement in which Cyrus promised she did not kiss the backup dancer. Cyrus wrote, "It is ridiculous that two entertainers can’t even rock out with each other without the media making it some type of story. I really hope my fans are not
disappointed in me because the truth is I did nothing wrong. I got up
there and did my job which is to perform to the best of my ability." Cyrus later performed the song at the Rock in Rio concert in Madrid, Spain and the London, England nightclubs Heaven
Heaven (nightclub)
Heaven is a Superclub in London, England which appeals predominantly to the gay market. It is located underneath Charing Cross railway station in Central London, just off Trafalgar Square.-Early history:...
and G-A-Y
G-A-Y
G-A-Y is a gay nightclub in London. It operated from the London Astoria music venue for 15 years until July 2008. The Boston Globe described it as "London's largest gay-themed club night", NME reported that it "attracts 6,000 clubbers each week", and The Independent described it as "the one London...
. She has performed the track on Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
, Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
, MuchMusic Video Awards
MuchMusic Video Awards
The MuchMusic Video Awards are annual awards presented by the Canadian music video channel MuchMusic to honour the year's best music videos....
, and concert at the House of Blues
House of Blues
House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, which was streamed across over thirty websites owned by MTV Networks
MTV Networks
MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
.
Cyrus performed the song in her current tour, Gypsy Heart Tour
Gypsy Heart Tour
The Gypsy Heart Tour was the third concert tour by American recording artist Miley Cyrus. Primarily visiting South America and Australia, the tour supported her third studio album, Can't Be Tamed....
.
Track listings
- Digital Download / CD Single
- "Can't Be Tamed" (Album Version) — 2:48
- AUS / EU 2-track CD Single / Digital Download
- "Can't Be Tamed" (Album Version) — 2:48
- "Can't Be Tamed" (WideboysWideboysThe Wideboys are UK house, Bassline and UK garage Record producers and remixers.The Wideboys are managed by Matt Waterhouse from MWR/Hyperactive. In 2008, they signed to Sony ATV Music Publishing. Prior to this, The Wideboys had been signed in various deals with the likes of Warner, Univeral and...
Stadium Radio Remix) — 2:47
- Maxi-CD Single
- "Can't Be Tamed" (Album Version) — 2:48
- "Can't Be Tamed" (Wideboys Stadium Radio Remix) — 2:47
- "Can't Be Tamed" (Music Video) - 3:50
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
14 |
| Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
21 |
| Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... (Flanders) |
39 |
| Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... (Wallonia) |
40 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
6 |
| Dutch Mega Single Top 100 Mega Single Top 100 The Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales and legal downloads and composed by MegaCharts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Dutch Top 40 and the Mega Top 50. The difference is that these charts also include airplay data.The list is... |
82 |
| Eurochart Hot 100 Singles Eurochart Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles has been compiled by Billboard and Music & Media magazine since March, 1984. The chart is based on national singles sales charts in 15 European countries: Austria, Belgium , Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,... |
15 |
| French Singles Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
15 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
29 |
| Japan Hot 100 Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... |
12 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
5 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
5 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
15 |
| Slovakian Airplay Singles Chart Rádio Top 100 Oficiálna Rádio Top 100 Oficiálna is the name of the Slovakian national airplay chart published by the IFPI Czech Republic on a weekly basis since the cancellation of the Slovakian national section on December 31, 2009.... |
28 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 14 |
| Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
42 |
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
53 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
13 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
8 |
| US Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart... |
16 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Hot 100 | 92 |
| UK Singles Chart | 189 |
External links
- "Can't Be Tamed" music video at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....