If Miley Cyrus is headlining a Disney animated film, it only stands to reason she'll be belting out a tune for the soundtrack. When the chance arrived for Cyrus to step up to the mike outside of her voiceover duties as Penny -- a TV child actress who adores her stage dog in "Bolt" -- the songstress insisted that the Mouse House call upon a family friend, Jeffrey Steele.
As a frontman to early '90s band Boy Howdy, Steele frequently opened shows for Miley's dad, Billy Ray Cyrus.
"Bolt" would mark the duo's second collaboration. Earlier in the year, Miley Cyrus recorded Steele's "Simple Song" for her "Breakout" album. "Jeffrey is an amazing guitar player, and we work well together," Cyrus exclaims.
Upon taking the job, Steele had a week and half to pen the end-credits song before Cyrus arrived to record the track. To hasten the songwriting process, a Disney executive flew with a reel of "Bolt" to Nashville for Steele's personal viewing.
"Three-quarters through the movie, Miley's Penny says to Bolt, 'I thought I lost you.' I stopped the film and said, 'They find each other -- that's the point of the movie'" says Steele. "It was important that the song be about friendship and not love."
"At the time we wrote the song, Miley was 15 years old and I was impressed by her professionalism," says Steele about Cyrus, who arrived at the studio with pen and paper ready to contribute lyrics. "Not only didn't she rhyme love with dove, we knocked out the song in two hours."
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