"Mother's Daughter" is 3 minutes and 39 seconds long. It was written by Cyrus, Alma Miettinen and its producer Andrew Wyatt. Lyrically, the song was described as a women's empowerment anthem. It focuses on the mother-daughter duo's strong relationship, and references how the singer's mother, Tish Cyrus, told her she'd "make it", singing: "I put my back into it, my heart in it/So I did it, yeah I did it.". Additionally, Cyrus describes herself as "nasty and evil", and explains that she has the freedom to do as she wishes: "Don't fuck with my freedom/I came up to get me some/I'm nasty, I'm evil/Must be something in the water or that I'm my mother's daughter", she sings in the chorus.
Commercial performance
Following the release of She Is Coming, "Mother's Daughter" debuted at number 54 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It is Cyrus' 47th entry on the chart, and her highest debut since "Adore You" entered at number 42 following the release of Bangerz in 2013.
Music video
The official music video was released on July 2, 2019. Alexandre Moors — who has helmed videos for Kendrick Lamar, Jennifer Lopez, ScHoolboy Q and Miguel, as well as the Jennifer Aniston-Alden Ehrenreich war dramaThe Yellow Birds — directed it. He and Cyrus finalized the concept as the anti-abortion “heartbeat bill” gained traction across the country. It features Cyrus wearing a red latex catsuit against red lighting and aesthetics, and features shots of diverse women, including body positivity women, women of color, disabled women, transgender women, and a non-binary person using they/them pronouns, sitting and posing in different places. Cyrus' real-life mother Tish Cyrus makes a cameo appearance in the video. The video also shows nude scenes and has feminist signs flashing on-screen at random intervals. It is also sprinkled with images of breastfeeding, C-sections, menstruation pads — everything about the female body that's supposed to carry some taboo. The video is presented in. Cyrus' red latex catsuit, calls back to the memorable outfits worn in Britney Spears' "Oops!...I Did It Again" and Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" videos. Her version, however, has a bejeweled vagina dentata, as a notable embellishment. She also appears wearing a gold armor while atop a horse, holding a sword a la Joan of Arc. That latex look, otherwise, was not meant to be an explicit callback to the aforementioned musicians, but rather, "it was interesting to subvert some of the codes of the sexual attire, and actually transform beyond it into more of an armor or a fight suit" Moors said, "They look more like warriors than anything with sexual implications." In coordination with the video drop, Cyrus shared 18 posts on her Instagram account that featured statements from those who make cameos. The Insider placed the music video second on their list of the best music videos of 2019, commenting that "aside from the genius styling and gorgeous direction, the real triumph of Cyrus' video is how it highlights a wide variety of people who might connect with the song's message of empowerment and freedom".
