Miley Cyrus didn’t call her agents or managers or even some friends to help get her in touch with Shawn Mendes.
Instead, she just looked him up on Instagram.
“I actually sent him a DM and said I don’t know what you’re trying to do next because I’ve actually been in his position in his career too before where you’re someone who I think is trying to fit into pop music and you want to be played on pop music but you don’t want to be conformist and you want to do your own thing,” Cyrus told Variety at Friday’s MusiCares gala honoring Dolly Parton as Person of the Year. “I love the way that he always kind of plays alternative pop because it’s something that I love to do.”
The two teamed up on the MusiCares stage accompanied by Mark Ronson for a duet of “Islands in the Stream,” Parton’s 1983 hit with Kenny Rogers. The two are also set to perform during the Grammys on Sunday.
Um…yeah, it’s @MileyCyrus and @ShawnMendes singing “Islands in the Stream” pic.twitter.com/tpgnFXZBDe
— Marc Malkin (@marcmalkin) February 9, 2019
Cyrus set off a whirlwind of speculation that they were working together when she posted pics of herself on Instagram during Grammy rehearsals. Fans noticed Mendes’ guitar and other equipment marked with his name in the background.
Another photo showed the two arm-in-arm with Mendes wearing a jacket emblazoned with Parton’s face on the back along with a caption reading, “this could be the year for the real thing,” which happens to be a lyric from “Islands in the Stream.” She captioned a photo of them on the red carpet at MusiCares with yet another lyric: “We rely on each other uh-huh.”
