Trace Cyrus burst onto the scene in 2007 with the Metro Station song "Shake It," which effectively
put the band on the map. But Miley Cyrus' older half brother has since fallen out of
the headlines. Here's why you don't hear from Trace Cyrus anymore.
Metro Station simply wouldn't have been possible without Disney Channel. According to Alternative
Press, Trace Cyrus met his bandmate Mason Musso on the set of Hannah Montana. Mason's
little brother Mitchel Musso co-starred in the series alongside Trace's little sister,
Miley Cyrus.
The boys were only around 17 years old when they signed their major label contract, and
Trace Cyrus ended up dropping out of high school to tour with the band. But the fact
that the bandmates were young may have ultimately worked against them. In a 2020 interview,
Trace told Alternative Press,
"When we were young, we didn't care. We were just so wild and reckless, and we literally
lived it up to the fullest...It was the downfall to Metro Station at the end of it because
it all came crashing down on us...We were, you know, 17, 18 years old, given all this
money from a record label and literally just given the opportunity to drop out of high
school and go party."
At least there was one voice of reason in the band: Blake Healy. Metro Station's resident
adult was about 25 years old when the band made it big. Trace told Alternative Press,
"He was logical. He had his head on straight, and we were young, we were wild, and we didn’t
care about anything but having a good time."
At the time, Trace also seemed to care about getting a lot of tattoos.
"I got 'em when I was a kid. I got the hand tattoo over here that says Metro for Metro
Station."
How popular would Metro Station be today if the band members had kept up their momentum
and properly followed-up their debut album? In an interview with Alternative Press, Trace
Cyrus admits,
"I think my only regret [is that] I wish me and Mason could have put out a second record,
you know, closely following the first one. Things just came crashing down on us, and
egos and different things got in the way of what should have never happened, you know?"
Ultimately, in-fighting fractured Metro Station at the height of its success, leading to a
2010 breakup. It was a rather surprising development, considering how the bandmates seemed to get
along in interviews.
"He's tall, I'm short. He's skinny, I'm kinda chunky. It's all good."
In 2013, Cyrus told The Morning Call,
"When it came down to just me and Mason, there was just a lot of butting heads and none of
us were really happy or having fun at life. So I decided to go my separate way and do
my solo thing."
But that may not have really been Cyrus' decision at the end of the day. The war of egos eventually
escalated, culminating in a lawsuit after Cyrus reportedly announced Metro Station's
breakup without permission. His bandmates reportedly wanted him booted, worried that
his antics might bankrupt them. According to TMZ, Cyrus was the president of the band's
legal entity, Metrostation, Inc. Nevertheless, Cyrus reportedly shamed the band in public,
writing a since-deleted tweet that claimed,
"That s--- was weak."
In retaliation, the band subsequently tried to oust Cyrus and took the case to court.
It's not really clear what happened after that, but the band did eventually reunite,
so...there's that.
Trace Cyrus' solo project Ashland High never even got close to the same level of fame as
Metro Station, or even the same level of fame as his tattoos. We mentioned the tattoos,
right?
"Yeah, I finished this little piece down to my stomach but now I'm taking a break."
He released the project's debut track "French Kiss" in 2010, the same year Metro Station
called it quits. Years later, the singer still appeared to be struggling on his own.
In 2013, Cyrus self-released Ashland High's sophomore album, Drugstore Cowboy. It wasn't
available in stores, and he performed the songs with a DJ instead of a live band. It's
worth noting that he already gave his debut album away for free on Ashland High's official
website in an attempt to generate buzz. As The Morning Call reports,
"He says he understands doing things himself means giving up the immediate attention a
major record label brings, but he also says he needs the time to prepare himself for another
run at the top."
Apparently, Cyrus had to significantly sharpen his musical chops in order to get Ashland
High off the ground. He explained to The Morning Call that,
"You have to think that with Metro Station, we had another singer. So I really had to
learn to sing choruses and it's hard to sing a show totally by yourself when you're used
to having two people split up the whole set...I don't feel I'm ready for an in-store album
or anything."
At the time of this video, Ashland High's website domain has expired, and its Twitter
account hasn't been updated since 2017.
Metro Station's breakup didn't stick. According to MTV News, Mason Musso had been continuing
the project solo, but the results basically flew under the radar. Seriously, there's almost
no information online about the 2013 Musso-led EP Middle of the Night. The band was clearly
itching for a comeback, and that comeback eventually came.
According to Billboard, Cyrus rejoined Metro Station in 2014 to release the EP Gold, and
the band embarked on a co-headlining tour with The Ready Set.
Cyrus told Billboard,
"After over four years of being apart, fans, and even myself, thought this would never
happen. I'm extremely excited to be making amazing music with Mason as Metro Station
again. We started this band together and it only feels right we finish what we started."
The band seemed to hit its stride a year later. Metro Station finally released the long-awaited
follow-up to its self-titled debut album: a self-released 18-track mixtape called Savior.
The band also set off on the Vans Warped Tour.
Unfortunately, the comeback fizzled out. The band managed to stay together long enough
to do a 10-year anniversary tour for its self-titled release, but before the dates kicked off,
Metro Station announced that the tour would be the band's last.
Off the heels of Metro Station's second breakup in 2017, Billboard reported that Trace Cyrus
relaunched his solo career with a track called "Lights Out." Since then, he's released enough
songs on YouTube to put out a full-length album. And to hear him say it, that's just
the tip of the iceberg. He apparently has quite a few songs tucked away…but you'll
probably never hear them. In an interview with Alternative Press, Cyrus admitted that
"Even though I’m not nearly as wealthy as I want to be or nearly as successful as I
hope to be one day, every single day of my life [I get to...] go in my studio [and] make
music, and 90% of the songs I make, people are never even going to hear...It’s just
something that I like to do for me."
Hmmm…so why didn't he bust out a few of these songs in the eight years between Metro
Station albums? The band could have used 'em.
Trace Cyrus has one of the most famous sisters on the planet: As of the making of this video,
Miley Cyrus has landed 49 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and scored nine Top 10 hits. Though
Metro Station initially went on a massive arena tour with Miley in 2009, Trace reportedly
refuses to use his sister's fame to get ahead. In a 2012 interview with Fuse, the singer
revealed that he recorded a track with Miley called "Shot in the Dark," but claims he ultimately
decided not to release it. What was the logic there? He told Fuse:
"When I feel like I've had my own success and fame because of my hard work, then I'll
[release] the song with Miley, but I'm not trying to use her to get exposure or sell
records."
Trace Cyrus doesn't always cast himself as the most likeable guy, and he apparently has
the ability to unnerve people, what with all the tattoos and all.
"People who don't know me too well, I feel like a lot of tattoos, it intimidates them."
The star made headlines in 2009 when he slammed the Jonas Brothers. In an interview with Details,
he said,
"I could have gone the route of the Jonas Brothers. Those guys can't live their lives
freely. They have to put out this image that's totally fake...I'd never lay a hand on Nick,
I love that kid, but the other two better not get in my way."
Well, that's not a very nice thing to say, is it? And it seems Cyrus hasn't quite learned
his lesson, either. During Metro Station's 2015 Warped Tour run, the band made a stop
at the Alternative Press Awards. That's where Cyrus decided to slam All Time Low on live
TV, saying:
"I don't understand why All Time Low always [has] to talk s--- on Metro Station. We've
been nothing but nice to those guys."
And that's not all: He also reportedly clashed with two of the band members backstage...and
then allegedly threatened to fight them in a now-deleted Instagram post. Again, not very
nice.
Trace Cyrus doesn't have a particularly gentle touch when it comes to his fans. Though nostalgic
20-somethings still add "Shake It" to feel-good party playlists, the singer seemingly has
no problems biting the hands that feed him. In 2019, the star evidently lashed out at
his female Instagram followers when concerned fans reported a photo.
According to TMZ, Cyrus posted an Instagram Story of his then-fiancée Taylor Lauren Sanders
wearing red lingerie while his hand was placed around her throat. Clearly, this went against
Instagram's code of conduct. The company deleted the post and sent him a note about how it
violated their guidelines. In response, Cyrus wrote an intensely unfortunate Instagram Story
in which he claimed that the fans who had reported the post were jealous. He wrote in
part:
"If you're not happy with your look then...do something about it!!! Go to the gym, learn
to do your makeup properly, find out about fashions that fit your body type...I believe
every woman can be beautiful but JEALOUSY & lack of confidence in yourselves makes u
all look disgusting."
Aspiring musicians, take note: This is not the way to win over new fans.
There's a reason Trace Cyrus hasn't been touring as much as he did. He made an active choice
to settle down with fiancée Taylor Lauren Sanders. According to J-14, the couple announced
they were officially dating in February 2018, and it was a little bit of a whirlwind. Us
Weekly reports that the pair moved to Las Vegas together that December, and Cyrus proposed
the night they got there. It's not surprising he chose to slow down considering he was in
the midst of wedding planning. In a January 2020 Q&A with Alternative Press, he said,
"When I was younger, that's how it was. It was just twenty-four seven on the road. Play
these shows. Go, go, go. I just really didn't have a moment to breathe. And now it's just
like I want to relax. I want to be with my girl, [and] my dogs. I want to have a life
of my own and do Metro Station when it makes sense."
Unfortunately, Cyrus didn't actually get the opportunity to settle down. According to People,
the singer revealed he was newly single on the same day. Alternative Press published
this Q&A. In a now-edited Instagram caption, he wrote,
"Some of u might already know but I'm recently single & extremely thankful to have my family
around me during this time."
It's unclear whether or not they've since gotten back together…but we certainly hope
so.
Trace Cyrus has been laying rather low in recent years, but maybe that's about to change:
The star is reportedly giving Metro Station a third chance. In a 2019 interview with Alternative
Press, the singer said,
"I think a few years ago, I just got so burnt out on the touring side of music that I just
wanted some time off and to get my personal life together."
Fair enough, but how did this particular musical reunion come about? Cyrus told Alternative
Press:
"Now it’s just things like TikTok and Spotify and all these new things that didn’t exist
before [we] made 'Shake It' and Metro Station [is taking[ off in a whole new way that we
thought would never happen. It’s really, really cool, and it just inspired us to want
to get back together and make new songs. Yeah, it’s nothing that we really planned."
Cyrus reportedly called Mason Musso, asked him to get back into the studio, and that
was that. As Cyrus explains,
"I hadn't seen or spoke to Mason in over two years. And I just came up to L.A. and, you
know, within a few hours we had made a whole new song that we are so excited about that
we feel I can make another stamp on the music industry."
Metro Station is planning to release new music in 2020. In fact, the duo played their first
show in nearly three years in February 2020. Who knows what the future may have in store
for them?
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