Is Miley Cyrus reinvention of Talking Heads classic tune “better than the original?”

Miley Cyrus is among the artists participating in an upcoming album called Everyone’s Getting Involved: A Tribute to the Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense, in which various artists sing songs featured in Talking Heads‘ legendary 1984 concert film. It hasn’t yet been revealed which song Miley has covered, but a video posted on social media reveals she’s put a lot of thought into reimagining one of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers’ most famous tracks.

The video shows her singing Talking Heads’ 1977 track “Psycho Killer” at Chateau Marmont, the location of that intimate performance she did last year for her birthday. While the original is a herky-jerky new wave tune, Miley’s arrangement features banjo and acoustic guitar.

Miley also plays around with the melody and has added new lyrics which go, “I love you psycho killer/ I’m gonna love you forever/ You know I’ll never run away.” She then asks the audience if her version is “better than the original.”

Miley’s involvement with the Talking Heads project isn’t a surprise since she’s friendly with the band’s frontman, David Byrne. He guest-starred in her 2023 New Year’s Eve special on NBC, joining her for several songs, including a cover of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance.”