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‘I ruminate on negative comments’

On the stunning “What’s It All For” on her new album, “I Want My Loved Ones to Go With Me,” Noah Cyrus sings: “Why have a family/If that ain’t what you want?/Why have a child/You don’t know how to love?

I’ve asked all of these questions/And I got one more/If that’s all there is/Then what’s it all for?/What’s it all for?”

Cyrus, often writing with Australian singer-songwriter PJ Harding, has a way of storytelling that captures the grit and highs and lows of real life the way Kris Kristofferson does on the classic “Sunday Morning Comin’ Down,” or John Mellencamp and Lucinda Williams do.

Her song, “July,” released when she was 19, was praised by the likes of John Mayer and Leon Bridges and has more than a billion streams. So the potential for something special has always been there. But now that she has put it all together on “I Want My Loved Ones to Go With Me” the result transcends special. The 11 songs on the album bridge storytelling with classic country and folk sounds that hark back to the ‘70s, a la songs like the Eagles’ “Wasted Time.”

“I hope that this record, when I hear it, I hear something that’s very classic and reminds me of music that’s been around for a very long time,” she says.

Cyrus has that “classic” music in her blood and bones. Old soul is often a trite, overused expression, but when you grow up in a famous family in the public eye, as Noah Cyrus has, it is an accurate one — her father is country music veteran Billy Ray Cyrus and her sister is pop star Miley Cyrus.

Cyrus said she grew up faster than most people her age. “I’ve been touring since I was 16, I’ve been making music since I was 16,” she tells The Times. “ I grew up in a family that was in the public eye. I think with that there were certain things that we could and couldn’t do, that felt restricted because of the public eye or the way we’d be judged or the way we were judged whenever we made mistakes just as kids.”

She turned 25 in January, which brought a new maturity. Like another all-time great songwriter, Jackson Browne, who famously wrote “These Days” when he was 16, Cyrus has shown a wisdom beyond her years.

She addresses growing up throughout the album. “I turned 25 this January and I talk about this on the record It’s one of the themes of the album … growing up and new countries about walking on your own two feet and going into unknown land and no matter where you go, there you are. And just learning how to deal with that and cope with that as a young adult,” she says. “That was something that was going on at the time of creating this record. That’s why I just fell into the themes because as a person I was like, ‘How do I not second-guess myself with every single move? How do I learn to trust myself? How do I learn how to become an adult that’s going to be a mother one day? How do I grow up so one day I can take care of another actual person?’”

Having confronted fame and the insecurity that comes with youth, she was ready to take control of her artistic vision with this album.

“I found out a lot about my senses on a song and learning to trust that as a songwriter. I learned a lot how to lead for myself as a musician. This is the first record that I have actual producer credits on and I actually produce some of these songs with Mike [Crossey],” she says. “It was a really beautiful experience and a great learning experience. I really was surprised by those intuitions. And when I listened to the final product, I think it’s the first time in my career where I’m actually really proud of myself.”

Cyrus made sure her personal touch was felt on every aspect of the record, including the eclectic quartet of guests: Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes, Bill Callahan, Ella Langley and Blake Shelton.

She made sure the invite to Shelton on “New Country” came directly from her. “I really wanted to personally talk to Blake and wrote him a letter and did all the things to really make this a personal connection,” she says. “Blake and I have a mutual friend on the song — Amy Wadge, she’s one of my favorite songwriters and I love her so much. It was like a God thing telling me you have to reach out to Blake. When I heard that song, it was Blake’s from the beginning. And Blake made it happen. It felt like this spiritual thing that was bound to happen and something that was just written up there in the stars was having Blake on this record.”

For all the notable guests, the centerpiece of the album fittingly features Cyrus’ grandfather. The mesmerizing spiritual hymn “Apple Tree,” which is like the love child of a Nick Cave song and Dolly Parton track, is built around her grandfather’s voice.

“I do feel like ‘Apple Tree’ is a song from God because of the prayer that is said at the end and spoken by my grandfather Ron Cyrus,” she says.

It’s fitting that the song features her grandfather because “I Want My Loved Ones to Go With Me” is very much Cyrus returning to her Nashville roots and the music she grew up around. Though she says it’s just a happy accident, her embracing the music that is her birthright coincides with the surge in popularity of country music.

“When I was making this album, country was really getting its mainstream momentum again and taking over the world again as it was when I was a baby, when CMA fans used to have Fanfare and stuff. I remember my dad doing Fanfare. For me it’s really awesome because I think country music has so much more of a wider audience and so many people are starting to connect with country,” she says. “I think that was just God’s timing with the album and everything and it all lining up.”

While artists have been increasingly embracing country, for Cyrus this wasn’t about a trend — she was following the natural order of things. Many musicians will say that as they get older, they return to their roots.

So this was Cyrus coming home. “The more freedom I got I just kept putting more and more of myself into the record, which is metaphorically and literally back to my roots. I think I’ve been longing to feel closer to where I come from. I put that into my music and that’s such a beautiful outlet for me. And I think there’s so many people, not just kids, as an adult, as your parent, you feel things, they’re just like you and the child inside you, it’s all still broken, no matter how old you get, you still have that inner child inside of you. I think a lot of that inner child goes into my music and you hear a lot of my inner child.”

Though Cyrus loves the storytelling aspect of classic country records, it is just as much about the sound of those albums and artists as it is the lyrics. She reveled in that raw, organic sound in making this album.

“The more freedom I got I just kept putting more and more of myself into the record, which is metaphorically and literally back to my roots,” Cyrus said.

(Hannah DeVries)

“That was a fun thing for me again to learn is when you take all the bells and whistles away on a vocal and you just have that person’s originality and that person’s personality and let that shine through on a vocal. That’s the best thing you can do, just have the most amazing and natural raw vocals for people to hear and that’s what I love about the genre of country music and especially older records where you’re singing full takes and that’s what the record is. That’s a lot of the time what Mike and I like to do with our songs, is our songs are full takes of everything. We like everything to feel live, and I think that’s an important part of the record.”

The goal was an album that defies categorization and time. She wanted a record that if you had found it in 1975 and put it on right next to Bob Dylan’s “Blood on the Tracks” or you played it in 2025 it would have sounded of that time. In her pursuit of that lofty goal, she transcends the genre tag. This isn’t what most people think of as country today. The closest contemporary artist would be Chris Stapleton, who, when seen live, embodies a Neil Young solo acoustic; it could be country, folk, rock.

That’s what Cyrus set out to do. “When I hear it, I hear a record that will hopefully give the listener a chance to heal as it was a really healing experience for myself,” she says. “And I hope that this record, for me, is something that in 20 years … people are still mentioning and it’s a monumental album in the timeline of my career.”

Noah Cyrus performs Friday at The Ford at 8 p.m.

Dean Cain isn’t too pleased with how James Gunn is portraying the Man of Steel in his new film.

Cain famously played Superman from 1993 to 1997 in the television series “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.”

In a recent interview with TMZ, the actor weighed in on the new film hitting theaters this weekend.

“What cracks me up is that people don’t like Superman, he was traditionally called the ‘Big Blue Boy Scout’ and Superman’s inherent weakness is his goodness. I mean, sorry, those are great values, in my opinion, and I root for that,” he told the outlet.

He then switched gears to address director James Gunn’s recent comments about the famous superhero in an interview with The Times U.K. In the interview, Gunn mentioned how “Superman is the story of America.”

“An immigrant that came from other places and populated the country, but for me it is mostly a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost,” he explained. “It’s about human kindness and obviously, there will be jerks out there who are just not kind and will take it as offensive just because it is about kindness. But screw them.”

The outlet noted that the comic book hero was developed in 1933 by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, American sons of Jewish immigrants.

Gunn’s comments caught the ire of Fox News’ Jesse Watters, who then commented that the new Superman’s cape reads MS-13, referencing the transnational gang that has been designated as global terrorists.

Cain, who praised Watters, said he believes Watters’ comment was to point out, “How woke is Hollywood going to make this character? How much is Disney going to change their Snow White? Why are they going to change these characters that exist for ‘the times.’”

The 2025 version of “Snow White” drew controversy over the lead actress, Rachel Zegler’s ethnicity. She’s of Colombian descent.

Cain, a supporter of President Donald Trump, also had issues with other changes to the lore of Superman.

“For Superman, it was truth, justice, and the American way. Well, they dropped that. They let (that trademark on that) go. They came up with truth, justice and a better tomorrow,” he continued. “Changing beloved characters, I don’t think, is a great idea. I think if you want to create a new character, go ahead and do that, but for me, Superman has always stood for truth, justice and the American way, and the American way is immigrant-friendly, tremendously immigrant-friendly, but there are rules.”

He then dove into his own opinions about immigration into the U.S. before circling back to how he feels Gunn did the movie a disservice with his comments.

“I think bringing Superman into it, it was a mistake by James Gunn to, you know, say it’s an immigrant thing. I think it’s going to hurt the numbers of the movie. I was excited for the film. I’m excited to see what it is, because James Gunn seems to have a sense of humor, and the last iterations of Superman didn’t have much humor. So I’m rooting for it to be a success, but I don’t like that last political comment.”

He doesn’t believe it will “tank like Snow White,” but he doesn’t think it “will help the numbers.” He also felt “people really need to be educated on this immigration situation because we are the most immigrant-friendly country on this planet, by far.”

Variety posted a story about Cain’s comments on Instagram, which prompted some in Hollywood to weigh in as well.

“Superman was born on another planet and migrated to Earth on a spaceship. He happened to have landed on Earth. That is a fact,” commented Oscar Nuñez of “The Office.”

“How is it divisive calling a literal illegal alien an ‘immigrant in the context of the story and the comic? It is accurate. Superman doesn’t shy away from it. They don’t have to create a new character when that’s how the character exists. Read the comics,” wrote Marcel Spears of “The Neighborhood.”

Actress Yvette Nicole Brown just wrote, “*sigh*.”

“Superman” hits theaters on Friday.

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CNN
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As friends and former costars continue to mourn actor Julian McMahon, more details about his death from cancer have been revealed in a new medical examiner’s office report.

The actor, 56, died from lung metastasis as a consequence of head and neck metastatic cancer, according to a cremation approval summary report from the medical examiner’s office in Pinellas County, Florida.

The report, obtained by CNN, said McMahon died on July 2.

McMahon’s wife Kelly McMahon announced on July 4 that her husband died “peacefully… after a valiant effort to overcome cancer.”

McMahon starred in the Ryan Murphy-created “Nip/Tuck” and was also known for a pivotal role in TV’s “Charmed.”

Additionally, he played Dr. Victor Von Doom in the “Fantastic Four” movies costarring Jessica Alba and Chris Evans from 2005 and 2007.

Alyssa Milano, who starred in “Charmed” and was McMahon’s character’s onscreen spouse, wrote in a tribute last week on social media that she was “heartbroken” to learn of his passing, calling her former costar “magic.”

“That smile. That laugh. That talent. That presence. He walked into a room and lit it up—not just with charisma, but with kindness. With mischief. With soulful understanding,” she wrote. “We were so different, and yet somehow we always understood each other.”

Ioan Gruffudd, who costarred as Mister Fantastic opposite McMahon’s Dr. Doom in the “Fantastic Four” movies, also paid tribute to him on Instagram.

“Even though we played each other’s nemeses, there was always so much lightness and laughter working together. Every encounter with him was a joy,” he wrote.