“This show taught me a lot, it's my favorite”: despite being ill, Miley Cyrus closed her second visit to Colombia

It was May 2011 when Miley Cyrus first performed in Colombia. At that time, at only 18 years old, she was advancing her world tour 'Gipsy Heart', the same one with which the international press claimed that the former Disney star wanted to move away from the recognized bond she had created with her leading character in the series of Hanna Montana, a teenage singer with dual identity that won the hearts of an entire generation. That child and adolescent audience that followed her at that time was reunited in 2022, with a couple of years older, but with the same emotion of seeing her.

On the night of last Monday, March 21, hundreds of people gathered at the Movistar Arena. After more than ten years of waiting, Cyrus fans only had hours left to see her again. While attendees with numbered chairs arrived at the venue around the evening, many others, who had the possibility of seeing it up close, arrived around three in the morning to get the best place. The long line ended when they were inside the coliseum, where, as quickly as they reached, they ran for it in front of the metal bar that separated the stage from the public. They didn't move from there, no matter what the circumstance: they were going to see Miley Cyrus.

La Ramona, the artist chosen to open the meeting, took the stage and filled the stage with color. Accompanied by Drag Queens, she paid special tribute to the LGBTTIQ+ community, and got the audience singing and dancing, despite the tight space that separated one attendee from another.

The Ramona, with applause and cheers, ended her presentation, and the wait to see Cyrus was getting shorter and shorter. They were no longer years or hours, they were minutes, minutes that, although short, became eternal. Anxiety grew in the atmosphere as the last attendees quickly searched for their chair to witness the show. 'Miley, Miley, Miley', the crowd shouted while, at the same time, the typical 'wave' was made to liven up the atmosphere. The stage, still without Miley, was full of people from the American team and the Movistar Arena who checked that everything was okay. A blow to the drums sounded from time to time as did music and commercials in the background.

The stage became empty with the passing of minutes and euphoria erupted in the coliseum when Cyrus' musicians began to come out one by one to settle in their places. The screams grew louder when the lights went out and the introductory video of the show began to run. The attendees stood up and with them the small lights of the cell phones with which they intended to record the emotional moment were raised. Miley, in her mother tongue, shouted 'I need attention', repeatedly.

Out of nowhere, as the audience continued to shout, Miley left the right side of the stage, from the viewers' sight. She wore a black suit, glued, one of those that she likes so much, the ones she wore in her performances in Argentina and Chile. Not only was it 'catchy', but it had holes that showed part of its skin. She had black lenses that occupied almost half of her face, which made her even more recognizable. Her hair, half blonde and half black, was not very difficult to identify, nor was her overwhelming energy and stage presence.

Yes, almost ten years later, the now adult and young adult fans of Miley were crying with excitement just by seeing her. In the background, as I walked imposingly towards the center, the first chords of 'We Can't Stop' were heard, the song that everyone knew by heart but had not been able to sing live. Miley came to the country in 2011; the song was released in 2013.

The show continued. One after another the songs on the list that the singer-songwriter had scheduled for Colombia sounded. After the remix between 'We Can't Stop' and 'Where is my mind' by The Pixies, Miley followed up with 'WTF Do I Know', Plastic Hearts, Heart Of Glass and Mothers Daugther.

He wasn't even halfway through the show when he decided to have the first spoken interaction, that night, with his followers. The news was not good, because she was sick. The height of Bogotá, he explained, did him a lot of damage.

“Thank you. Thank you very much. I just want to take a second. I know that this will be difficult because of the barrier we have in language, but I will do my best to explain myself. We hadn't done shows in the last two years because of the coronavirus pandemic, we were disconnected. Now we're in a new place. You guys are way higher than me. I always talk about strength and perseverance, about not giving up, about following. So instead of running, I have to face it (...) right now, it's better for me to take a moment to breathe. I'm being honest with you,” Cyrus said.

The concert continued with the scheduled songs; 4X4, SMS (Bangerz), Dooo It; 23; Never Be Me; 7 Things; Bang Bang and See You Again, however, the spaces between song and song became a little longer. The singer, who constantly drank water, had to sit down to sing several of the songs in her repertoire. He even explained that at any time he could leave the stage to be able to vomit. Miley, although frustrated that she could not give her followers the show she wanted, tried to take the situation with humor. “Although I know there must be a sign that says 'Miley, vomit me', I won't. I spit on people, but I don't vomit them,” he said, while his musicians and the audience laughed.

Between humor and sarcasm Miley thanked her followers for getting up early to see her and for staying outside her hotel singing all night. “They sang the whole damn night, I couldn't sleep much, but thank you. I'm already feeling better, but if I feel strange again, I'll tell you again. I'm in the safest place on earth, I never tire of saying it. I'm in a room full of people who love me and who want what's best for me. Do you know how rare it is for us to find a place where we are surrounded by so much love? I really appreciate it,” he said.

Cyrus continued to sing, however, under the same warnings about his health. At one point in his show, he confessed, that he 'felt like shit'. The crowd, to cheer her up, shouted in chorus 'It's okay' and 'We love you'. “I'm going to be very honest with you, I don't feel good at all, I feel screwed. But I'm gonna stay here as long as I can. I know what you have been waiting for this show, and this means a lot to me (...) I'm probably going to vomit, not already, but at some point I'm going to vomit.”

As he said, his biggest nightmare was that, the one he was living in Bogotá, the fact that he could not give his followers 100% of his energy. “Running out of here is my worst fear,” he emphasized. Miley kept her show and played Fly On The Wall and High.

Between song and song, Miley said that her performance in Bogotá had taught her a lot and that it was her favorite. Moved and on the verge of tears, she thanked her band for supporting her throughout the night. Likewise, she said that in the middle of the show she had thought, worried, that she would have to resign and go to the hotel crying under the comfort of Tish, her mother. “My biggest fear in life is to give up. Now, this show, in Bogotá, is my favorite. Every time I stopped or sat down you just said 'we love you', and you don't know how much I appreciate it. Thank you, thank you very much,” he argued.

Moved, and already exceeding half of the show, Miley showed a noticeable improvement in her mood. He got up from his chair and showed several of his dance moves. She sang Nothing Breaks Like a Heart; Jolene; Midnight Sky; The Climb; Wrecking Ball and closed with Party in The USA. “Don't let anyone take away your love. Keep him with you. Good night everyone,” said the singer when she said goodbye.

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