Musical style and influences of Miley Cyrus

Cyrus at the 82nd Academy Awards on March 7, 2010 in Hollywood, California

Following her debut, Cyrus is most often considered a pop artist. In their review of the first Hannah Montana soundtrack, The Star Scoop described the songs on the album as being "upbeat pop songs, with a splash of country." CommonsenseMedia described the songs from the same album as being "upbeat" and "girl-power" oriented, citing the lyrics to "I Got Nerve" as a prime example. Kirsi Bertolini for Yahoo! also felt that the song featured in Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus featured a girl-power theme, and felt that the songs were "bubbly" and "karaoke-like."CinemaBlend compared the songs from Hannah Montana 2 to songs released by artists Avril Lavigne and Hilary Duff.  The music found on the second disc of the album, though intended to be seen as Cyrus' solo debut, were often noted as being similar in theme and style to that of Hannah Montana songs. With the release of her second studio album Breakout, Cyrus began to distance herself from the sound featured on her soundtrack appearances. The album is noted as featuring a wide variety of genres when compared to previous works by the artist. The song "Fly on the Wall", taken from Breakout, is noted as featuring electropop influences in its production, while the song "These Four Walls" is seen as featuring country aspects.

The music taken from the soundtrack of the Hannah Montana movie features a more Country themed sound, in conjunction with the film's plot. The song "Hoedown Throwdown" taken from the film is noted as combining influences of R&B and Country.  "The Climb" has solid, clear vocals and is a standard-issue power ballad that places piano solos between chiming electric guitars. With the release of Cyrus' 2009 album The Time of Our Lives, Cyrus incorporated a mixture of elements into the songs. "Kicking and Screaming" features instrumentation that relies on glam electric guitar riffing. It is noted as being the most prominent representation of rock music on The Time of Our Lives. The song "Party In the U.S.A." features a mixture of R&B and pop music, while the album's title track is described as being a bouncy, dance-pop song characterized by 1980s synths and a fizzy sound caused by a bubblegum pop background. While recording her third studio album, Cyrus stated she hoped it would be her last pop album as she "wasn't inspired" by her music. She later announced plans for a new, rock inclined sound for future albums. The music featured on Can't Be Tamed is often noted as being of the dance genre and heavily relies on bass. Cyrus herself later claimed the album contained music influenced by pop singer Lady Gaga and possessed techno qualities.  When speaking of her fourth studio album Bangerz, Cyrus stated she felt the album had a "dirty south" feel, and stated she had collaborated with many rappers for a hip-hop vibe. She later elaborated that the album would combine the genres of hip-hop and country, which she felt was a "good hybrid." Miguel and Frank Ocean were named as musical influences for Bangerz.

As a very young child, Cyrus was exposed to artists such as Carl Perkins, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn. She grew up listening to Kelly Clarkson, Hilary Duff, Mariah Carey, Ashlee Simpson, and Britney Spears.  She told Spears' ...Baby One More Time was the first record she bought.  She also likes The Killers, Coldplay, The Wreckers and Willie Nelson.  Citing in 2013 her five favorite singers, Cyrus called Dolly Parton who is her godmother "a legend" and said "her music represents my whole childhood". Of Joan Jett she said: "when I was growing up she was always who I wanted to be. Lil Kim is who I am on the inside and she just makes me happy listening to her music. Nicki Minaj is now my Little Kim of my generation. Beth Hart has one of the best voices of all time." She also likes French Montana, Juicy J, Wiz Khalifa, Adele, and Sinéad O'Connor.