Miley’s Sibling Singing Competition

Wait – what? Miley Cyrus has a sister? And she sings? When I first read about this, the first thought in my head was, “Uh-oh, poor girl. She’ll always be living in the shadow of her famous sister.” But then I listened to some of Brandi Cyrus’ music. Never mind. This girl can sing! And I have no hesitation in stating that I like her music better than Miley’s.

I won’t deny that Miley has a good voice – but so does Brandi, and Brandi’s style and genre are more in tune with my preferences. Her two-member band, Frank + Derol, projects an indie-pop sound.

Brandi and her friend Codi Caraco met while touring solo for acoustic gigs.

“The roughness of those tours, the two of us just playing acoustic — it made us grow up as artists, and our songs did too,” said Brandi.

The duo decided to combine their talents and have been signed with Interscope Records and are currently working on their first EP, which is due out in September. Their first single, “Barely Love You,” is a simple, infectious tune that has a sense of urgency to it that I liked. The two girls harmonized the melody as they sang:

“Stop these games/You got me feeling like I'm so insane/You know I'd tell you but I feel restrain/Is it safe enough to say/Remind me, qu'est-ce que c'est?/I barely love you, too.”

Frank + Derol’s first full-length album is due out in 2013.

Brandi and Miley aren’t the only two musical Cyrus children, either. The sisters have a half-brother, Trace Cyrus, who has been involved in two different rock groups. Trace played guitar and provided the lead vocals for this first band, Metro Station. Their band was signed by Columbia Records and Red Ink Records and recorded Top 10 Billboard single “Shake It” before breaking up in 2010.

Trace soon formed his current band, Ashland HIGH, and is working on his first album. He has co-written songs such as “Country Music Has the Blues” with his father, Billy Ray Cyrus, and been featured on Miley’s Breakout album in the song “Hovering.”

Trace, Brandi, and Miley have the same mother, Patricia “Tish” Finley Cyrus, and Trace was adopted by Billy Ray Cyrus. Billy Ray is best known for his hit single from the ‘90s, “Achy Breaky Heart,” which also re-popularized line dancing due to its video. He is one of the bestselling male country artists of all time.

Clearly, there is some talent in the family. I look forward to seeing the Cyrus clan find their own voices – and I’m particularly interested in hearing more of Brandi’s voice.