Miley Cyrus and the late Tom Petty were big winners this past weekend as Joe Biden was declared the U.S. president-elect.
Cyrus’ 2009 hit “Party in the U.S.A.” experienced a surge in streams and airplay as Americans celebrated Biden’s win (and Donald Trump’s loss).
A Twitter account using Biden’s name – later suspended by Twitter – urged people to “Go celebrate! Listen to Miley Cyrus’ ‘Party in the U.S.A.’”
Cyrus tweeted a clip of Biden and wrote: “Now THIS is a PARTY IN THE USA!” She later shared clips of people celebrating in the streets to her song, which was penned by British pop star Jessie J, producer Dr. Luke and singer-songwriter Claude Kelly.
HUGE Crowd in D.C singing Party In The USA ❤️ pic.twitter.com/F23NIbASnb
— Miley Updates (@MileyUpdates) November 7, 2020
Also getting a boost was Petty’s 1989 hit “I Won’t Back Down,” which played following speeches by Biden and vice-president-elect Kamala Harris on Saturday night.
The family of Petty, who died in 2017, congratulated Biden and Harris and added: "We were all so touched to see Tom included on such an important night in America.”
In June, Petty’s estate issued a cease and desist notice to the Trump campaign for using the same song at a campaign rally in Oklahoma. “Tom Petty would never want a song of his used for a campaign of hate. He liked to bring people together,” read a statement at the time from the singer’s daughters Adria and Annakim, their mother Jane and Petty’s second wife Dana.