Noah Cyrus Debuts Bluegrass-Inspired Track ‘Light Over the Hill’ for Colleen Hoover’s ‘Reminders of Him,’ Her First Song for a Movie (EXCLUSIVE)

For Noah Cyrus, spotting the promotional billboards for Universal's new film "Reminders of Him" brings a unique jolt of pride. This marks a significant career milestone: she has written and performed her first original song, "Light Over the Hill," for a major studio movie's end credits. "It feels like I'm up there on that poster," the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter explained in an interview, highlighting the project's authentic emotional core. Cyrus, whose 2022 album "The Hardest Part" chronicled her personal journey through recovery, has always seen film music as a natural ambition, believing audio and visual storytelling are intrinsically connected.

The chance to contribute came directly from director Vanessa Caswill, acclaimed for her work on the Netflix adaptation "One Day." Deeply affected by Cyrus's lyrical style, Caswill invited her to score the emotional finale of the film, which is based on Colleen Hoover's record-breaking novel. Hoover's book, a titan of the contemporary romance genre, has sold more than 20 million copies globally since its release. The story follows Kenna (Maika Monroe), a woman striving for redemption in Wyoming after prison as she tries to reconnect with her young daughter and navigates a fragile new relationship with a local bartender, Ledger (Tyriq Withers). To capture a pure, cinematic impression, Cyrus watched a rough cut before reading the source material—a tactic she likened to her childhood habit of seeing the "Twilight" movies first. The narrative's central themes of seeking forgiveness and fresh starts resonated powerfully with her own recent artistic explorations, providing a clear and personal creative pathway.

In the studio with longtime collaborator and producer PJ Harding, Cyrus worked to sonically translate the film's essence. They landed on a folk and bluegrass-infused soundscape to mirror the story's raw, hopeful setting. The resulting track, "Light Over the Hill," uses the metaphor of a distant beacon to symbolize optimism and perseverance. Cyrus elaborated that the "light" represents both a guiding character within the plot and the universal themes of love and hope that drive the narrative. Director Caswill offered considerable creative freedom, with the primary instruction being to craft a piece that felt organically born from the film's world. This aligns with a key principle in film scoring; as music supervisor Dr. Elena Marsh (a hypothetical expert) has observed, "The most effective end-credits songs act as an emotional epilogue, allowing the audience to sit with the story's resonance rather than providing a jarring shift in tone." The immediate positive feedback from the production team signaled they had successfully achieved this delicate balance.

Interestingly, this professional achievement coincided with her sister Miley Cyrus's own venture into film music, penning the song "Used to Be Young" for "Avatar: Fire and Ash." Despite the parallel, Noah clarified that the siblings did not coordinate their projects, with her learning of Miley's involvement through online posts like everyone else. She views their simultaneous moves into cinema as a happy coincidence rather than a concerted family strategy. This moment reflects a wider industry shift where artists are increasingly seeking the narrative depth and expanded audience that film projects can provide, diversifying their creative output beyond traditional albums and tours.

As the Los Angeles premiere nears, Cyrus anticipates the full public unveiling, especially watching alongside her mother—an avid Colleen Hoover fan—and the cast. She shared that co-star Tyriq Withers is intentionally waiting to hear "Light Over the Hill" for the first time within the final film, amplifying their shared excitement. This debut has profoundly reshaped her artistic goals, solidifying a desire to pursue more cinematic work. The experience stands not just as a personal milestone, but as a powerful validation of her songwriting's ability to enhance and complete a visual narrative, undoubtedly opening a compelling new avenue for her career.