The Unlikely Inspiration Behind Miley Cyrus' VMAs Performance

This has been the year of Miley Cyrus' make-under. After her new single "Younger Now" dropped, we were fully expecting Cyrus to walk on stage at the VMAs tonight with the same understated, relaxed vibe she brought to the Billboard Music Awards — grown-out roots, beachy waves, and no-makeup makeup to boot — but the very opposite happened. In fact, she decided to channel someone else entirely: Elvis Presley.

Instead of flowing waves and nude lipstick, we got a rockabilly hairstyle and '50s makeup. And it's not the first time she paid homage to her childhood hero and The King of Rock 'n' Roll — her latest music video drop was also a tribute to the icon.

The 24-year-old is not shy when it comes to chatting about her musical inspirations, claiming that she and Presley have a lot more in common than meets the eye. In 2014, Cyrus spoke out about the similarities between his dancing and her controversial VMAs performance the year prior: "Elvis, he wasn't wearing the outfits I was wearing but he was coming out and he was doing like the OG twerking," she told Rolling Stone. "He was like sex. He was a symbol of sex but no one would have ever called Elvis a shit because he wasn't a girl. It's that double standard and I think I'm doing something for the double standard."

For us, we think Cyrus' performance would have done him proud. It was a perfect blend of the "old" Miley Cyrus and the new — with the just-right amount of "Jailhouse Rock," too.