Metallica & Miley Cyrus Deliver Heavy-Hitting ‘Nothing Else Matters’ Performance on ‘Howard Stern Show’: Watch

Metallica and Miley Cyrus joined forces during The Howard Stern Show on Thursday (Sept. 9) for a heavy-hitting performance of the iconic rock band’s classic song “Nothing Else Matters.”

Cyrus’ recorded rendition of “Nothing Else Matters” appears on the new star-studded covers album, The Metallica Blacklist, which dropped Friday. The singer first covered the rock-radio staple, from Metallica’s Billboard 200-topping Black Album in 1991, during her set at Glastonbury Festival 2019.

“When I first started covering this song, it was for Glastonbury, because it is about honoring music, and ‘nothing else matters’ at that moment…,” Cyrus told Stern prior to the performance. “It was about two weeks before the world knew I was getting a divorce… I had just lost my house in the [California] fires.”

She added, “I was so heartbroken and my purpose was coming from this performance. I got sober at that time. I really pulled my f—ing s— together. This song was what drove me to that place, because I knew nothing else mattered. My life in regards to love was falling apart, but I had my love for music.”

For her recorded cover of “Nothing Else Matters,” Cyrus teamed up with Elton John, Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, Yo-Yo Ma, WATT and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. The four-disc Metallica Blacklist project also features reimaginings by Weezer, Juanes, St. Vincent, Cage the Elephant, J Balvin, Phoebe Bridgers, Chris Stapleton and others.

During the Stern interview, Elton John, who plays the piano intro on Cyrus’ version of “Nothing Else Matters,” joined on video from home to share his thoughts on the celebrated tune, describing it as “one of the best songs ever written.”

John added, “You can’t really define them. They’re not a heavy metal band; they’re a musical band. Their songs aren’t just heavy metal, they’re beautiful songs. This is just such a melodic song. It’s f—ing great, actually.”

Watch Metallica and Cyrus perform “Nothing Else Matters” below.