Miley Cyrus- an overview

I know that most of you probably hate her, but yep, it’s another blog about Miley Cyrus. Please don't comment if you're only going to bash, because I'll just delete it anyway. So here is your partial-biography, partial analysis, and all in all more than you will ever need to know about her. If you're simply not interested in her background, skip to the capitalized sentence about six paragraphs down.

First off, I’ll give you some background info. Born November 23, 1992, she grew up mostly in Tennessee but in Canada with her dad, Billy Ray, for two years as well. She has five siblings, including her half-brother Trace of Metro Station. She and her family are extremely close. If you stalk her like I do (creeper alert), then you’d know that there are hardly pictures of her without her mom, Tish, by her side. Occasionally you will also spot Mandy Jiroux, her best friend and back-up dancer with whom she shares the very small screen of youtube with.

She was in a couple episodes of her dad’s show, Doc, as a small child and also at the age of seven played Ruthie, a small girl at the beginning of Big Fish. But her big break was in 2004, when she first auditioned for the role of Lilly Truscott, Hannah’s best friend, in the show Hannah Montana, at the age of 11. The acting directors, while impressed with her determination and charisma, decided she was too small and dismissed her. Six months later, however, she got a call to come back again for auditions, and asked her to try out for Hannah. After having decided to make the character a little younger, they cast her. Miley thereafter persuaded her father to audition for the role of Robby Ray, the father, and he made it, too.

Four years later and Hannah Montana, now the biggest merchandise-selling show in history, has swept the nation with tween fervor. Last summer the Best of Both Worlds Tour became the fastest selling-out tour ever, and 19 dates had to be added to accommodate the demand. Still, hundreds of thousands of fans were left disappointed because there were simply not enough tickets for everyone.

A quick word about CDs: all 3 of Miley’s albums, one and a half of which are Hannah tunes, have debuted at number 1, making her first the youngest artist ever to have 2 back-to-back number 1’s and then the first to have 3, likely solidying her spot in the record book for quite some time.

The Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Movie in 3D made a week end debut of $31 million and became the best-selling debut over Superbowl week end. A couple other records there, as well, but I’m blabbering on. So lastly for the background info, Hannah Montana: the Movie (not a concert movie) is set for an April 10, 2009 release date. The movie is currently in post-production and features all of the cast members, plus a new love interest: Lucas Till. Also, the third season of Hannah Montana is currently being filmed and the first episodes are to be released this November.

BIOGRAPHY OVER SORRY ABOUT THAT. NOW ONTO THE FUN STUFF.

Now let’s talk opinions:

Miley- it’s safe to say this girl has had an eventful past year. Beyond false pregnancy and lesbian rumors in the same month, a series of leaked photo scandals, the whole Vanity Fair fiasco, and a not-so-secret relationship with Nick Jonas, not everything has been great.

The photo scandals, as she has admitted, were mistakes that she has left in the past and will never make again. The ones leaked more recently were taken all around the same time as the others and are simply being released at different times. If new ones arise, do not think she is continuing to take them. She is not. They were private pictures intended for then-boyfriend Nick Jonas and should never have been released to the public. Personally, I feel that very few of us are in a position to judge, as for the most part we are not perfect little angels. And role model or not, Miley should not be asked to raise parents’ kids for them. Their parents should teach them right from wrong, not a girl who is stumbling through growing up just like the rest of us.

I have a friend who was an extra in the Hannah Montana movie and had the very fortunate experience of sitting down and having a serious discussion with Miley and a few others. Miley told them that yes, she was definitely a little naïve walking into that photo shoot, but also she did not expect the pictures to be taken as sexually as they were. Before the editing, the picture merely seemed artsy and classy, not seductive. Also, her parents were driving her little sister home at the time of that particular shot, but were present for the rest of it. They never saw the picture before it was released to the rest of us.

As I’m sure you are aware of, Miley became the target of a barrage of insults and death threats, including colorful variations of “Nick Jonas is mine you ugly slut” and the like. This is a topic for another blog, but bear in mind that she is a 15 year old girl and in addition to the woes of our every-day lives, she also has every move and word broken down and analyzed and twisted. If you don’t like her, for whatever reason, it’d be the nicer choice to just keep it to yourself. To be honest, nobody really cares about your unending hatred for some kid you’ve never met. But I digress.

Not too much is known about went exactly went wrong between Miley and Nick, but the little that is confirmed is that the rift was caused partly by both of their busy schedules and the need for the Jonas Brothers to stay single to remain appealing to their fans. The two went out for at least two years, during most of which Nick was essentially unknown. In the last four months, the Jonas Brothers were catapulted into fame, causing their relationship to take a turn for the worse. Originally, in late 2006 and early 2007 interviews, Miley had admitted to dating Nick. Now that he was a teen heartthrob, questions became danced around in interviews and the relationship had to be kept on the down-low. I’ll keep my entry as unbiased as possible, but conclusively, the two no longer were working out. They broke up in early January of 2008.

Recently, Miley has been seen everywhere with Justin Gaston and it is likely that the two are dating. Yes, he is 20 years old, but the age difference is four, not five years, as his birthday just passed and hers is coming up. Anyway, her over-protective parents clearly approve of him and both of them are strongly religious, preventing any illegal action from happening there. Furthermore, her personal life is just that- personal. This is her own decision and that pretty much ends any attacks on that front. Her life, her boyfriend; little room for argument.

But life has not just been a shitstorm of consequences and unsolicited opinions for Miley. The success of her tour and albums and tens of broken records are enough to prove that Miss Cyrus is certainly in uncharted territory. Fan or not, it will be interesting to see her grow up in a world of intense technology and unforgiving paparazzi. Will she take the Britney route under the pressure? I think not, and I’ll tell you why.

Miley, unlike Britney, has an extremely supportive and loving family that is not attempting to use her success as leverage for their own financial gain. Britney never had anyone to turn to, while Miley has her wonderful family and best friend, Mandy, of whom Miley has been quoted as saying has helped her get through the last year and keep her chin up. In addition, Miley is very, very religious and believes strongly in no sex until marriage. She is passionate about her faith and has taken a vow of purity, all beliefs that I share with her. Worry not, though- if you’re not a Christian, her music and show are not riddled with Biblical references and Christian propaganda. Miley takes her work seriously and does not mix her personal life with it.

In recent days, you may have heard of some of the concerts and fundraisers for charity that she has done. Just Stand Up, City of Hope, et cetera. But the rest of it you have very likely not heard of, because most of Miley’s charity work she keeps to herself and does not consider it something she needs to show off.

I know a couple people who have met and talked extensively with Miley, as well as a few that have met her in passing. Every single one has said that she was extremely receptive and friendly and seemed wise beyond her years. You have every right not to like her, but don’t automatically pass her off as your average talentless and stupid Disney star. As a fun fact, she writes her own songs, by the way (including much of the music).

In interviews she is light-hearted and quick-witted; in concert, passionate and full of energy. I hope that you take a little time to scratch the surface of Miss Cyrus, because it is very easy to judge her by the stories that the media creates around her. The bad things will always become the most famous, but there is a sweet and caring side of Miley that is easily found if you only give her a chance.



END


P.S. I don't have any sources because I already knew all of this from memory