While I did not grow up watching the Disney Channel (no cable really isn’t that bad), I knew all about the stars that kept being cranked out of the corporation in the form of actresses, dancers and—God forbid—singers. Not all of the singers were too bad in sound or persona, but I never really understood the fascination behind one Disney starlet in particular: Miley Cyrus.
Born Destiny Hope Cyrus in 1992, who the public now knows as “Miley,” this starlet starred in her first television show called “Hannah Montana,” which premiered on Disney channel back in 2006. The then 14-year-old Cyrus was what you may describe to be “adorable”; she had a really toothy grin, was somewhat humorous and acted pretty normal for a young girl leading a double life.
The four seasons of the show seemed to be the “best of both worlds” for the actress who was frequently on tour when she wasn’t acting in the show. Yet, there were many instances of doubtfulness regarding Cyrus’ actions: In 2008, a hacker leaked several provocative images of Cyrus online, which was closely followed by a posed topless photo-shoot taken by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair.
Although instances such as these left a considerable amount of space for questioning the young pop star, it appeared that these actions only furthered her popularity—instead of approximately $300 per picture, magazines were now willing to pay up to $2000 per photo of Cyrus. Former child star Donny Osmond even warned that as soon as Cyrus faced adulthood, she’ll “want to change her image, and that change will be met with adversity.”
Five years later, Osmond’s warning became a reality. Sure, Cyrus has done a ton in the past five years—she’s released a clothing line, starred in four movies, and both gained and lost a fiancé in the form of Liam Hemsworth. But the most interesting and entertaining actions of Cyrus have come to the media’s attention within the last few months. While Cyrus cut her normally long hair back in 2012, her most recent style have drawn comparisons to Angelica’s doll Cynthia in the “Rugrats” cartoon and Crazy Eyes from “Orange Is The New Black.” And, although parents across the country were terrified of their children watching Miley’s video for “Can’t Be Tamed” back in 2010, everyone was horrified when the singer’s video for “We Can’t Stop” was released this past June.
Even more horrifying? Her belief that twerking on Robin Thicke and dancing with giant teddy bears at the August VMAs would prove her “maturity” in the music industry.
Now, I’m not trying to hate on the girl in any way. While her actions over the past few months have definitely sent shivers down my spine, they’ve also gained Cyrus a great deal of attention and publicity. The video for “We Can’t Stop” broke Vevo’s website record for being the fastest video to reach 100 million views, and her most recent single, “Wrecking Ball,” has become Cyrus’ first single to reach number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. For that, I applaud her (and her management team–good job dealing with this teen star).
Now, while we will continuously hear about Cyrus for the imminent future (did you know she’s apparently pregnant with 38 year-old Juicy J’s baby?), her recent documentary “Miley: The Movement” will most likely show us what exactly this former Disney starlet is thinking…and how, while she may be crazy, she’s as popular as she ever has been.
