MUMBAI: Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth were still together when she wrote one of her most popular breakup anthems.

In a new interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe, the 27-year-old star revealed she penned "Slide Away" long before her marriage publicly came to an end. As fans may recall, a rep for Cyrus confirmed her split from Hemsworth in Aug. 2019. Shortly after the announcement was made, the singer dropped the heartbreaking song.

"I wrote 'Slide Away' before my breakup. I wrote 'Slide Away' in February of the year before. And I just keep speaking these things into existence," Cyrus, who recently called it quits with boyfriend Cody Simpson, told Lowe. "So, you know what? That's why I've also, I've decided to use my language to love myself, and to really create what I want to be my reality. Because otherwise, I keep doing the opposite. I burnt my house down with my words."

In 2018, Cyrus and Hemsworth lost their Malibu home during the devastating California wildfires.

The Disney alum went on to note that "where you apply your attention" determines how you feel. "I think that's what I mean by definitely joking about me burning my house down with my words," Cyrus added. "But I do believe in where we put our attention determines our faith. And so again with this idea of having nothing to prove and wearing the insides out. I just feel this sense of freedom, and I think that's a word I've probably used pretty consistently."

The former Hannah Montana star told Lowe that there's been a "continuity" to that idea of freedom throughout her career. "I think from the beginning, to just being a provocateur throughout my 15-year career, that's been probably a pretty consistent word," she explained. "We could probably go back to like some Teen Bop magazine and me being like, 'I just want to have my freedom. I just want to be real.'"
Following her recent split from Simpson, Cyrus is focusing on her music and is gearing up to perform her new single "Midnight Sky" at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 30. This will be the star's fifth time performing on the award show, where she'll undoubtedly add to her list of unforgettable VMAs moments. It was just last year that she took the stage to perform "Slide Away" for the first time after her breakup from Hemsworth.