Lea Michele & Miley Have Something In Common

Lea Michele's new single "Cannonball" is not Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" — even though the titles and the singers have a few things in common. The Glee star and Grammy award-winner tweeted the cover art and debuted the first single off of her upcoming debut solo album Louder (due out Mar. 4, 2014) yesterday, following the release of "Cannonball"s cover art two weeks ago. The single, Michele revealed in an interview in Elle's Dec. 2013 issue that also features the star on its cover, is about her personal struggle to stop hiding and begin living her life again in the wake of her boyfriend Cory Monteith's tragic and unexpected passing in July. Sigh. Such deep and personal stuff is packaged in an uplifting and powerful way by Michele's powerful vocals and Sia Furler ("Titanium, "Wild Ones"), the song's writer who also collaborated with Michele on several other songs for Louder. Michele is set to perform the single for the first time in full on Ellen, Thurs., Dec. 12.

Again, this song is not Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" and is not to be confused with the Bangerz singer's break-up anthem about ex-fiancé Liam Hemsworth. But for the sake of good fun and impossible to overlook similarities, we went ahead and illustrated exactly how and why Michele and the singer that made "twerking" happen have a little bit in common when it comes to musical metaphors.

State Of Mind — Similar

Michele and Cyrus are obviously not in remotely the same place in terms of their degrees of mourning, but we can't deny that they both just lost something immensely important to them. (Though, with Cyrus, this might be a debatable statement.) Michele, in a heartbreaking and unexpected turn of events lost Monteith to a drug overdose, something that she's still openly coming to terms with. In late August 2013, Cyrus and Hemsworth publicly ended their engagement and even though Cyrus played it off like she was having the time of her life "working on herself" we know she was and might still be sad about it. So, in conclusion, both of songs came from the grieving hearts of young women.

The Destructive Metal Ball — Similar, Sort Of

Apparently, these two have spent a lot of time thinking about balls lately and how best they relate to their lives. They also both decided that the objects that spoke most to them are metal balls of varying size that are primarily used to destroy things. Interesting and ironic considering Michele is a petite 5'3" and Cyrus is a slender Pilates devotee and both women are openly in love with animals ... we can't see them blasting things to smithereens any time soon.

Cyrus' wrecking ball "never hit so hard in love" and "all it wanted was to break your walls", which makes us want to give her credit for good choice and execution of a "metal ball of destruction" simile. You can't really criticize how she incorporated the literal usage of the metal ball into the song's lyrics.

Michele, who chose a cannonball as her object of choice to illustrate her triumphant rise from the ashes of tragedy, isn't using as convincing a metaphor. When I think of cannonballs, I think of the word "hurtling" not "flying" and I can't help but acknowledge that cannonballs may "fly" for a little while but they also fall... hard. I have a lot of feelings about "Cannonball", especially after reading about its personal context in Michele's interview with Elle. The Glee star told the magazine that while working on the song with Sia, she broke down and told the singer-songwriter, "I need to remember that you have to love, because you can want to die." Ugh. Sigh. As much as I wish she chose a more beautiful flying object (maybe a butterfly or something, a cocoon literary device would've worked), I feel way too guilty to criticize Michele for her choice. She does get it right with her "light the fuse — light it now, light it now, light it now" lyrics, I suppose.

Why You'd Listen To These Songs — Different

These songs aren't even remotely about the same thing. "Wrecking Ball" caters to the sad and recently single and lonely, trying to make sense of their probably unexpected break up while "Cannonball" is all about crawling out of the dark hole you've been in (listening to "Wrecking Ball" on repeat) and starting to live again. In the circle of phoenix life, "Wrecking Ball" would be the ashes and "Cannonball" would play while you're propelling yourself out of them and into the sunny sky.

Not even close to similar but definitely two important songs to have in your arsenal.

You'd Belt It In Your Car - Similar

You would. Even if you don't like Cyrus and hate musicals and by extension, Glee, when these songs come on the radio in your car you're going to sing them — and you're going to sing them loud. Everyone loves a good, soulful break-up anthem, and "Wrecking Ball" has been called some of Cyrus' most talent-showcasing work in a while. And even more people love a good, inspirational, power anthem — look at how popular Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" still is — and "Cannonball" is just that. It's a more spiritual and belt-friendly "Dirt Off Your Shoulder".

See for yourself if you can keep from involuntarily singing in your cubicle, here's the full length version of Lea Michele's "Cannonball":