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In 2019, the sci-fi suspense series Black Mirror capped its fifth season with the episode "Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too," starring
Miley Cyrus as the titular fictional pop star,
Ashley O. Unlike
Cyrus' other TV alter ego, the wholesome
Hannah Montana,
Ashley O channeled the futuristic synth-heavy pop styles of real-world "contemporaries" like
Charli XCX,
Lady Gaga,
Poppy,
Ava Max, and
Allie X. For the episode's musical content, Black Mirror tapped an unlikely source: industrial metal mainstays
Nine Inch Nails. Receiving approval from
Trent Reznor, the show put a subversive spin on
NIN classic "Head Like a Hole," transforming the 1989
Pretty Hate Machine single into "On a Roll," a biting parody that turned the original into a motivational cry.
With Teeth downer "Right Where It Belongs" received appropriately dour treatment on the show itself in a pivotal scene for
Cyrus' character. However, with the
Ashley O treatment, the track became the jarring "Right Where I Belong," another cleverly twisted empowerment anthem. While the episode itself made sure to show the ugly truth beneath the manufactured pop sheen, the official
Ashley O singles blurred the line between fiction and reality, becoming meta pop hits in the real world for
Cyrus and exposing
Nine Inch Nails to an unlikely pop-loving audience. ~ Neil Z. Yeung