Calvin Harris has dismissed any suggestion that he has some kind of ‘beef’ with Miley Cyrus after he teased a new song featuring singer Jessie Reyez that he previously previewed with vocals from the Flowers ‘hitmaker’.
That first teaser, with Cyrus singing a song believed to be called Ocean, came in May 2024, when Harris suggested that he was trying to get it released. However, the DJ/producer later removed all social media posts relating to the track amid reports that it had been discarded.
OCEAN. MILEY CYRUS. CALVIN HARRIS. coming soon 🌊pic.twitter.com/Dkvyd4LkjJMay 7, 2024
Now a new teaser has dropped, though, with Reyez’s vocals. Asked on social media what had happened to the ‘Cyrus cut’, Harris initially played dumb by saying “I do not know,” before agreeing with someone who suggested that the new version is better than the Miley one.
Sensing scandal - when one fan wrote that they only wanted Miley’s vocals, Harris replied with “off you pop then” - the Scottish star was eventually asked what he has against Cyrus. At which point he confirmed that he has nothing but love for her, praising her “amazing voice”.
In fact, Harris was happy to take the blame for the collaboration being teased in the first place - “It was my bad… crossed wires,” he wrote, suggesting that, for whatever reason, Cyrus’s camp felt that last year wasn’t the right time to release the song with her vocals on it.
And the truth is that this happens all the time: famous artists and producers frequently work together and then set aside what they’ve done. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ve fallen out.
What’s more, it seems that Reyez - a talented artist in her own right - was probably involved from the start. She’s worked with Harris several times before, including as a co-writer on One Kiss, his 2018 hit with Dua Lipa.
As for whether the Miley version of Ocean will ever be heard… well, that seems unlikely. Asked if it will be released, Harris replied “I’m afraid not,” going on to say that it’s “not possible”. A release date for the Reyez-sung version is also TBC.
