present: New image and Bangerz

2012–present:

Cyrus performing during the iHeartRadio Music Festival, September 2013.

In 2012, Cyrus generated considerable media attention after cutting her traditionally long, brown hair in favor of a blonde, pixie-style haircut; she commented that she had "never felt more [herself] in [her] whole life" and that "it really changed [her] life". In 2013, Cyrus hired Larry Rudolph as her manager, who had previously worked with Britney Spears. That year, she left Hollywood Records after signing a recording contract with RCA Records, through which her fourth studio album Bangerz was released in October. "We Can't Stop" was serviced as the lead single from the record on June 3. The track peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also became her first number-one single in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.  Its accompanying music video received a mixed reception, and was noted for picturing Cyrus in a more sexual public image.It set a Vevo record after garnering over ten million views within twenty-four hours of its release, and later broke the website's record for being the fastest video to reach 100 million views, accomplishing this feat in thirty-seven days.

While working on the album, Cyrus appeared in various collaborations. She provided guest vocals for the Rock Mafia song "Morning Sun", and provided background vocals for the song "Decisions" by Borgore. Cyrus and Hemsworth later appeared in the music video for the song. Cyrus appeared on the Snoop Lion song "Ashtrays and Heartbreaks", released as the first single for his album Reincarnated on April 4, 2013. She later appeared on the song "Fall Down", which was released as a promotional single for will.i.am's album #willpower on April 16, 2013. The single debuted at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Cyrus' first single to chart on the Hot 100 since "Can't Be Tamed".[183] The single also debuted inside the Top 20 in Canada, as well as the Top 40 in the UK.  On May 23, it was confirmed that Cyrus would be featured on the Mike Will Made It single "23", alongside artists Wiz Khalifa and Juicy J. She also provided guest vocals on the Lil Twist single "Twerk", which also featured vocals from Justin Bieber. 

"Wrecking Ball" was released as the second single from Bangerz. Its accompanying music video was released on September 9, 2013, and set another Vevo record for 19.3 million views in the first twenty-four hours of its release. "Wrecking Ball" became Cyrus' first single to reach number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. On September 16, a representative for Cyrus announced after months of media speculation that Cyrus and Hemsworth had decided to call off their engagement; ending their four-year relationship. On October 2, MTV aired the documentary Miley: The Movement, which chronicled the recording of Bangerz and featured behind the scenes footage such as Cyrus preparing for her 2013 MTV Video Music Awards performance.  On October 5, Cyrus hosted Saturday Night Live for the second time (the first being 2011). Cyrus received mostly positive reviews from critics, who generally praised her acting talent and stated the episode was "good but not great" and competent, however some critics stated that the episode was "lackluster".