Miley Cyrus’s “Dream As One” Reaches for the Sky, But Doesn’t Quite Make It

A tender ballad with gorgeous vocals falls just short of the soaring moment it deserves.

Miley Cyrus has just released “Dream As One,” an original song for the upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash movie. It’s a beautiful song, and Cyrus’s vocals are tender and raw as ever. It feels classic, revolving around old-school chords and a soaring melody. However, it does feel like something is missing.

The song never fully “takes off” in a way that feels satisfying — while it builds in the final chorus, it’s not enough. “Dream As One” could have greatly benefited from a tempo shift, possibly after the first chorus, allowing for a tender opening that launches into something grand. Unfortunately, the track falls short of this. This isn’t helped by the bridge, which consists only of Cyrus repeating the word “dream” again and again. Perhaps something of more substance would have elevated the song.

It’s unfortunate that this song likely won’t be a hit for Miley Cyrus, but she continues to make slightly confusing artistic moves — for example, releasing a one-minute song for Maybelline on Spotify. After the disappointing performance of Something Beautiful, despite its excellence in quality, I would have thought Cyrus would be driven more than ever to create something that would land with the general public, but that doesn’t seem to be her mission at the moment. And that’s okay.