“Jaded” by Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus dropped “Endless Summer Vacation”, the follow-up to her 2020 studio album “Plastic Hearts”, on 10 March 2023. This was made possible via the support of Columbia Records in conjunction with Smiley Miley, the latter apparently being a label that Cyrus founded herself, since “Smiley Miley” is one of her old nicknames.

To note, “Jaded” is the second song on the playlist of “Endless Summer Vacation” and as such comes directly after “Flowers“, which may well be about her past, long-term relationship with Liam Hemsworth. 

Miley has been around the block so to speak, but Hemsworth, a celebrity in his own right, stands as the most notable entry in her dating history. Besides dating (on an on-and-off) capacity for a solid decade, the two of them did in fact become engaged and proceeded to marry. 

And as with “Flowers”, the addressee of “Jaded” would be the vocalist’s ex and more specifically one whereas the two of them parted ways under less-than-ideal circumstances and were obviously in a deep relationship.

Meaning of “Jaded”

“Flowers” was focused more on why the vocalist was compelled to break up with the addressee, while Jaded places more of an emphasis on the latter now feeling “jaded”. 

The term “jaded” is a colloquialism pointing to someone being, most simply put, in a state of discontent.  It is also commonly utilized in that regard to imply that said individual has had their feelings hurt in relation to someone close to them, such as being snubbed, if you will. 

“I’m sorry that you’re jaded
I could’ve taken you places
You’re lonely now and I hate it
I’m sorry that you’re jaded”

As relayed the addressee is currently feeling so because he’s “lonely”. Secondly, in hindsight he has apparently come to realize that Miley could have in fact ‘taken him places’, i.e. make him more popular and successful, but now it’s too late for that.

The second verse does allude to why Miley no longer wanted to be in this relationship. As depicted, her partner was more concerned with spending time hanging out at bars than with her. And that idea is in congruence with “Flowers“, where the addressee is shown to have been disinterested in doing the little things to make Cyrus happy.

One solid clue that “Jaded” may well be about Hemsworth appears in the pre-chorus where Miley notes that the person she’s singing to ‘broke his own arm’. In other words, it has been pointed that Liam did in fact break his arm, maybe, back in 2015. That would have been during the era that he and Cyrus were dating.

But all of that said, there’s no solid evidence that this song is specifically about that relationship. Miley has dated quite a few people – male and female – before, after and concurrent with Liam Hemsworth. And when you look at the list of those she is speculated or known to have been romantically involved with, even though there are of course a number of celebrities present, only one of two of them can really consider themselves her equal in popularity.

The Key Sentiment

The above stated, interestingly, the thesis sentiment of this track is not centered on Cyrus mocking the addressee for being “jaded”. Instead, Miley admits forthrightly that she’s “sorry” he has found himself in such a state. 

She further puts forth that it’s “a shame (their relationship) ended like that” and admits that she would be jealous if he hooked up with someone new. So obviously, the vocalist was envisioning this romance as one that would have lasted longer and proven more serious than it did. She was hoping that the romance would grow to the point of her being permanently involved in edifying the addressee’s life.

But alas, things did not materialize so.  And in the aftermath, even if she still has feelings for this person, it is apparently he who was most adversely affected by the breakup.

The Team behind “Jaded”

Miley Cyrus has enlisted top-notch behind-the-scenes’ talent to assist in the creation of “Endless Summer Vacation”. For instance, this particular song was produced and co-written by Greg Kurstin, one of the most successful and influential musicians you probably never heard of. And besides for he and Cyrus, the other writer of “Jaded” is Sarah Aarons.