Songfacts®:

• "Secrets" is a personal ballad by Miley Cyrus that doubles as a family therapy session. It follows years of reported tension with her father Billy Ray Cyrus.
  
  Billed by Miley as a "peace offering" to her dad, the song leans less on wrecking balls and midnight skies and more on the quieter work of forgiveness.
• Cyrus explained on Monica Lewinsky's podcast that she wrote the song because she wanted her father to feel safe sharing difficult truths with her, positioning herself as mature enough to handle family secrets and challenges.
  
  "I wanted to be the one he felt safe enough to tell me the things that were damning and damaging to the family," she said. "I wanted him to think that as a middle child, I'm old enough that I could take some of that."
  
  Billy Ray, for his part, called it "the best birthday gift a dad could ever ask for."
• "Secrets" began life as a rough demo during the Endless Summer Vacation sessions before being dusted off and polished up for the deluxe version of Something Beautiful. The final version ropes in two of Billy Ray Cyrus' favorite musicians: Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham on guitar and Mick Fleetwood on drums. The rich harmonies, anthemic chorus, nostalgic melodies, and a wistful guitar solo from Buckingham draw clear inspiration from Fleetwood Mac's signature sound.
• The writing credits read like a who's who of 2020s Miley collaborators: Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson (her "Flowers" crew), Jonathan Rado and Shawn Everett (new recruits for Something Beautiful), and Michael Pollack, who first joined her on Plastic Hearts. Miley co-produced the track alongside Rado, Pollack, and Everett.
• The video, co-directed by Miley, Jacob Bixenman and Brendan Walter, takes place in LA's Million Dollar Theatre, the same location used for the Something Beautiful artwork.
• Billy Ray Cyrus broke down in tears when Miley played him "Secrets."
  
  "My dad cried," Miley told CBS News' Sunday Morning. "Everyone I tell that to says, 'I remember when my dad cried.' You don't see your dad cry a lot... I don't know if I've seen my dad cry since his dad passed away. My dad, you know, I just haven't really seen that."
  
  Miley explained that words weren't necessary between them; music was their language. "We didn't feel that there needed to be a whole conversation, because him and I just communicate better through song," she said. "Once he got the song, it said something in a couple of minutes that might have taken a family with a more structured, therapeutic dynamic a lot of sessions. But instead of therapy sessions, we do studio sessions, we send a song, we say, 'I love you.' And that feels peaceful for us."