Bass Persuades (song)

The song, which has been described as dance-pop and post-punk, is about Cyrus urging her fans to put down their phones and dance.^[1][2][3] Multiple reviews stated the song had "'80s synths", with NME particularly describing the synths as "throbbing".^[4][5] The song includes multiple references, including "Yeah, chaos is king, but you know that you can't stop, won't stop", which references her 2013 single "We Can't Stop", and a reference to MTV in the line "Glued your eyes to the telephone screen/But you missed the hit without MTV".^[6][4]

Showbiz by PS praised the instrumental, describing it as "a pretty delicious, energetic, short, close-to-the-point synth-pop composition", but gave a more mixed assessment of the lyrics, criticising the conversational nature of the first verse while praising the second verse for "preaching to Gen Z".^[7] Melodic writer Reagan Denning said "my jaw hit the floor" and "thankfully, it feels like people are finally starting to wake up to just how talented an artist Miley is".^[8] Slant Magazine writer Sal Cinquemani gave the track a positive review, calling it a "gritty dance-pop throwback" that opens with a dirty "80s-coded synth line, throbbing beat, and spoken intro in which the artist wonders rhetorically, "If we ain't moving, baby/Baby, why are we here?".^[9]

The music video for "Bass Persuades" was directed by Mert Alas, and was released alongside the song.^[10] It was noted as paying homage to the 1974 Italian erotic film The Night Porter and "leather culture", while also being likened to works by Madonna.^{[3][6][7][11]}

In the United States, the song became Cyrus' 25th top 40 hit, debuting at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[12] In its second week on the chart, it fell to number 63. In its third week on the chart, coinciding with the release of the album, the song charted at number 52, before falling to number 72 in its fourth week. It also reached number two on the Hot Dance/Pop Songs chart.^[13] In the United Kingdom, the song reached number 31 on the UK Singles Chart.^[14] Elsewhere, it peaked within the top twenty in Canada,^[15] and Flanders,^[16] and the top forty in Austria,^[17] the Netherlands,^[18] and on the Billboard Global 200.^[19]

The credits were adapted from Tidal.^[20]

• Miley Cyrus – lead vocals, composer, producer
• Kid Harpoon – composer, producer, background vocals, bass, drum programming, electric guitar, percussion, synthesizer
• Michael Pollack – producer, background vocals, synthesizer
• Maxx Morando – producer, guitar, synthesizer
• Gregory Hein – composer
• Aaron Shapiro – bass, programming, synthesizer
• Jack Wetmore – guitar
• James King – saxophone
• Ruben Radlauer – percussion
• Brian Rajaratnam – engineering
• Liam Hebb – engineering
• Mark "Spike" Stent – mix engineer
• Kieran Scott – assistant mix engineer
• Randy Merrill – mastering engineer
• Lullah Hull – hand clap
• Fox Myles-Hull – hand clap
• Sonya Savitch-Kleiner – hand clap