Last night I took a trip down memory lane and relived one of my teenage obsessions. After finishing up one of my last assignments of the week, I was in desperate need of a study break. Naturally, I grabbed my remote and began flipping through Netflix. Some nights I know exactly what I want to watch, and other nights it takes hours of flipping through all my options before I finally settle on a show. I'm still basically a twelve year old, so a lot of the shows I end up watching usually come from the Netflix Kids channel. Last night was proof of that, for as I put the finishing touches on my paper, all I could think about was how badly I wanted to watch the Hannah Montana movie. To my disappointment, the movie wasn't on Netflix, but the TV show was. Though I used to watch the Hannah Montana movie all the time in high school, it had been years since I watched the actual TV show. For me, it was essentially the last Disney show that I ever watched religiously, so putting it on last night was quite nostalgic. Even Stevens, Lizzie McGuire, That's So Raven; I think everyone had at least one of those Disney shows they used to watch growing up, if not all of them. Rewatching those shows nowadays makes me feel like I'm a kid again, and that's a feeling that I crave on a regular basis.
You can laugh, but I know I'm not the only "adult" out there who watches Hannah Montana.
In putting together this post, I've also learned that not all kids are into the Disney shows either...
As I indulged in my past tween obsession, I noticed how young all the characters appeared to me now. The weirdest part was watching little Miley Cyrus in the show that initially brought her fame. I began to look up old pictures and videos of her on Pinterest, and it really put into perspective just how far she's come since those days. Everyone's aware of the fact that she used to be Hannah Montana, but aside from putting on "Party in the USA" every so often, I don't think anyone really thinks about everything in between. It wasn't until I started thinking about this that I realized I've actually been a huge Miley fan for as long as she's been around, and those characters that seem so young on Hannah Montana - it's not too long ago that I was their age, acting like one of them. Part of me still does act like that. When things change in our lives, it isn't always sudden. People may think that this brand new Miley came out of nowhere, but if you look at her timeline it actually makes total sense...
Like many teen sensations, Miley's initial rise to fame was all thanks to Disney
After the Hannah Montana movie she released a couple singles that begun to circle the playlists of teenage girls
"See You Again"
"7 Things"
Her YouTube show with her friend and back-up dancer, Mandy Jiroux, showed off her goofy personality. It was the first thing that made me think I would want to be her friend if I met someone like her in my everyday life. It's basically just them being incredibly ridiculous, but that's a side of any celebrity that I always enjoying seeing. I remember watching these videos with my sister when I was in middle school, and we literally could not stop laughing (even though my mom thought we were idiots for finding their shenanigans funny.) Below is a video that Miley and her friend Mandy made parodying a YouTube clip of Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato. The two that follow it are my favourites, as they remind me of the silly side that comes out when I'm with my friends, but the first one is the video that went viral.
"Is My Make-up Too Dark" (with Miley impersonating Selena Gomez, and Mandy as Demi Lovato)
If you're curious to see the video they're making fun of, click the link below.
Moments from the Miley and Mandy Show
The main reason that I find funny is that she's dancing along and fooling around to her own song.
"Wakey Wakey"
After my sister and I watched this one I began to do the same thing to her every so often. Unfortunately for me, her reaction wasn't as welcoming as Mandy's is to Miley.
Miley's popularity grew, and even teenage boys began to sing along, as "Party in the U.S.A." became a hit single worldwide. Fun fact: this song was originally meant to be sung by British pop star Jessie J, but she passed it up after deciding it wasn't "edgy" enough for her.
To this day, most people I know will still sing along and dance when it gets played - especially when it's the Notorious B.I.G. remix that gets put on.
"Party and Bullshit in the USA"
It didn't take long for Miley to take the typical teen-star breakout move and make the transition from TV to film.
It was on the set of The Last Song where she met Liam Hemsworth, who would become her boyfriend and fiance throughout the next three years
As you can tell, I was a huge fan of that romance
Like, a really huge fan
I'm sure some of you have seen Miley's Backyard Sessions, but those of you who haven't have yet to judge her talent accurately. If you watch one video from this whole post, the one below is the one I recommend above all else. It proves just how truly talented she is. It doesn't come as a surprise to me to hear that Liam proposed to her right after she sang this to him.
"Lilac Wine"
Throughout that romance however, Miley's transition from a silly teenager to full on wild child occurred
Let's not forget the leaking of the "salvia" video
The singles from her "Can't Be Tamed" album didn't do as well as "Party in the U.S.A." or "See You Again." Bubble gum pop wasn't what Miley was about anymore, so to take a few steps backward after that must have told her she needed an even bigger change in order to be successful in her music career.
Everyone knows which Miley came next. Personally, I love the new Miley. That's not to say that I don't miss her and Liam, or the Miley and Mandy show shenanigans, but I'm a strong advocate for being yourself without caring what other people think. To me, Miley's always seemed like someone who craves attention. I think what she's doing now is a combination of her expressing her wild side, making the kind of music that she wants to make, and being the focus of the papparazzi and tabloids. Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Justin Bieber - so many current and former young starlets have had their turn in the spotlight, and I think Miley wants to stay the center of attention for as long as she can. I don't think she's being influenced by her managers and agents. She might be acting out as a result of a recent break-up or her parent's divorce, but that's completely normal for anyone to do under those circumstances. I love Miley's carefree, ridiculous, vibrant persona. I think with or without the recent events in her life, this side of Miley would have come out eventually.
For anyone who's out of the loop on Miley's transition, or curious to learn a little bit more about her, here's the first clip to a mini-documentary that MTV recently released entitled "The Miley Movement."
So to all the haters out there: chill out, she's just being Miley.
With love,
Ciara
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