Watch: Miley Cyrus Teases New Cover of Nine Inch Nails’ ‘Head Like a Hole’
Miley Cyrus undoubtedly has a love for Nine Inch Nails. The pop star whose cover song choices (as well as her solo material) keep leaning more rock has shared a new clip of her singing the Trent Reznor-penned Pretty Hate Machine single "Head Like a Hole," a Nine Inch Nails classic.
Does this mean Cyrus will release a straight-ahead cover of the NIN tune? The singer already made "Head Like a Hole" her own, including in a version containing significant lyrical changes, when she performed it on the sci-fi anthology show Black Mirror. In character as the fictional Ashley O on the Series 5 finale "Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too," the song got a poppy, Reznor-approved re-work as "On a Roll."
Watch Cyrus' recent tease down toward the bottom of this post.
On Tuesday (Feb. 2), Cyrus called back to her parallel universe Black Mirror portrayal when she unveiled a candid, 17-second clip of her rehearsing "Head Like a Hole" with a band. As noted by Billboard, the singer captioned the clip "GOD MONEY I'LL DO ANYTHING FOR YOU" — the first line of the 1989 Nine Inch Nails cut, of course — and she included the hashtag #AshleyOGoneWild.
When Cyrus re-did "Head Like a Hole" on Black Mirror in 2019, it gave the Nine Inch Nails track a shot in the arm. The original saw a 300-percent spike in YouTube views after the episode's airing.
Perhaps the singer is preparing to release a new cover version of the Nine Inch Nails staple — or maybe perform it onstage during her "TikTok Tailgate" Super Bowl bash. Cyrus fans will just have to wait and see what the artist and daughter of country music veteran Billy Ray Cyrus has up her sleeve.
Even though Miley began as a Disney star and teen sensation, she's taken the rock route of late. Her latest album, 2020's guitar-driven Plastic Hearts, features guest appearances from Billy Idol, Joan Jett and Stevie Nicks. To wit, she's even been working on a Metallica covers LP.