"Bass Persuades" is a song by American singer Miley Cyrus. It was released through Atlantic Records on September 3, 2026, as the lead single from her tenth studio album, Bass Persuades (2026). A remix by Model/Actriz was released on September 14, 2026. Commercially, the song has charted within the top 30 in Belgium, Canada, and the Netherlands.
Composition The song, which has been described as dance-pop and post-punk, is about Cyrus urging her fans to put down their phones and dance. Multiple reviews stated the song had "'80s synths", with NME particularly describing the synths as "throbbing". The song includes multiple references, including "Yeah, chaos is king, but you know that you can't stop, won't stop", which references her 2013 single "We Can't Stop", and a reference to MTV in the line "Glued your eyes to the telephone screen/But you missed the hit without MTV".
Critical reception Showbiz by PS praised the instrumental, describing it as "a pretty delicious, energetic, short, close-to-the-point synth-pop composition", but gave a more mixed assessment of the lyrics, criticising the conversational nature of the first verse while praising the second verse for "preaching to Gen Z". Melodic writer Reagan Denning said "my jaw hit the floor" and "thankfully, it feels like people are finally starting to wake up to just how talented an artist Miley is". Slant Magazine writer Sal Cinquemani gave the track a positive review, calling it a "gritty dance-pop throwback" that opens with a dirty "80s-coded synth line, throbbing beat, and spoken intro in which the artist wonders rhetorically, "If we ain't moving, baby/Baby, why are we here?".
Music video The music video for "Bass Persuades" was directed by Mert Alas, and was released alongside the song. It was noted as paying homage to the 1974 Italian erotic film The Night Porter and "leather culture", while also being likened to works by Madonna.
Commercial performance In the United States, the song became Cyrus' 25th top 40 hit, debuting at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. In its second week on the chart, it fell to number 63. In its third week on the chart, coinciding with the release of the album, the song charted at number 52, before falling to number 72 in its fourth week. It also reached number two on the Hot Dance/Pop Songs chart. In the United Kingdom, the song reached number 31 on the UK Singles Chart. Elsewhere, it peaked within the top twenty in Canada, and Flanders, and the top forty in Austria, the Netherlands, and on the Billboard Global 200.
Personnel The credits were adapted from Tidal.
Miley Cyrus – lead vocals, composer, producer Kid Harpoon – composer, producer, background vocals, bass, drum programming, electric guitar, percussion, synthesizer Michael Pollack – producer, background vocals, synthesizer Maxx Morando – producer, guitar, synthesizer Gregory Hein – composer Aaron Shapiro – bass, programming, synthesizer Jack Wetmore – guitar James King – saxophone Ruben Radlauer – percussion Brian Rajaratnam – engineering Liam Hebb – engineering Mark "Spike" Stent – mix engineer Kieran Scott – assistant mix engineer Randy Merrill – mastering engineer Lullah Hull – hand clap Fox Myles-Hull – hand clap Sonya Savitch-Kleiner – hand clap
Charts
Weekly charts + Chart (2026) Peakposition Australia (ARIA) 61 Brazil Airplay (Top 100 Brasil) 98 Bulgaria Airplay (PROPHON) 4 Canada AC (Billboard) 28 Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard) 14 Canada Hot AC (Billboard) 23 Croatia International Airplay (Top lista) 9 Greece International (IFPI) 35 Hungary (Editors' Choice Top 40) 39 Israel TV Airplay (Media Forest) 5 Italy Airplay (EarOne) 5 Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard Japan) 4 Latin America Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) 12 Latvia Airplay (LaIPA) 13 Malta Airplay (Radiomonitor) 10 Netherlands (Single Tip) 6 New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) 3 North Macedonia Airplay (Radiomonitor) 10 Portugal (AFP) 81 Romania Airplay (TopHit) 38 San Marino Airplay (SMRTV Top 50) 13 Serbia Airplay (Radiomonitor) 8 Spain (Promusicae) 97 Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan) 8
Monthly charts + Chart (2026) Peakposition CIS Airplay (TopHit) 52 Estonia Airplay (TopHit) 31 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) 16 Moldova Airplay (TopHit) 61 Romania Airplay (TopHit) 68 Russia Airplay (TopHit) 74
Release history + Release history Region Date Format(s) Version Label Various September 3, 2026 Original Atlantic Italy September 4, 2026 Radio airplay Warner United States September 8, 2026 Contemporary hit radio Atlantic Various September 14, 2026 Remixx
References