Why we love Miley Cyrus
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We've soured on Britney and Lindsay. And who forgave Christina Aguilera when she did that "Dirrty" album with the racy videos?
Ashlee Simpson never recovered from the lip-synching on "Saturday Night Live." And then there's Hilary Duff, who ran off with some pierced, tattooed punk-rocker who gave her music a makeover, then dumped her and got Nicole Richie pregnant.
Miley Cyrus arrived at the right time. With her "Hannah Montana" series on the Disney Channel, the 14-year-old singer/actress quickly became an icon for girls ages 6 to 14. The shows on her tour instantly sold out.
We think Miley has become the best tween queen since Tiffany was seducing mall rats in the late 1980s. Here's why:
• She looks and acts her age. She'll be 15 next month. Her hair, makeup and outfits suggest that she isn't trying to grow up too soon. Moms and dads really appreciate that.
• She's a good friend. OK, it's just a character she plays on TV. So credit the writers. But on "Hannah Montana," Miley Stewart is a terrific friend to Lily -- the kind of pal we all want our kids to have.
• She's a goody-goody with a streak of mischief. Little Miss Miley Sunshine sometimes plots to thwart Amber and Ashley, her two obnoxious Valley Girl classmates, but, in the end, she always apologizes. As she sings on "Hannah Montana 2," "Nobody's perfect. I mess up sometimes."
• She comes from a well-grounded family. Even though Destiny Hope (Smiley Miley) Cyrus was born out of wedlock into a blended family (after her dad's "Achy Breaky Heart" had exploded), she seems to have both of her feet on the ground. (Her paternal grandpa was a steelworkers' union activist who served 20 years in the Kentucky Legislature and encouraged his son, Billy Ray Cyrus, to eventually branch out into acting.) She has watched the roller-coaster career of her dad, and learned about TV series when he was on "Doc" in the early '00s. Funny thing is that she makes better artistic decisions than does her "Dancing With the Stars" dad, whose music career is riding her coattails.
• She is developing a separate singing persona from her TV character. Hence, she has the "best of both worlds," which is the theme song of her TV series and the name of her current tour. Hannah does bubblegum-y pop with platitudes. Miley Cyrus, who uses a deeper, grittier voice, sings teen pop, a flavor more advanced, beyond bubblegum.
• She doesn't seem manufactured. Miley Stewart, her character on "Hannah," is believable and relatable -- even if the story line (about an everyday teen who secretly moonlights as a bewigged blonde teen pop star) is full of fantasy.
• She can sing. Better than her dad. I expect she won't be lip-synching during her shows like Britney Spears and Hilary Duff.
• She can write songs. She co-wrote eight of the tunes on "Meet Miley Cyrus" with some Hollywood pros -- but not the same song doctors (Kara DioGuardi, Robbie Nevil) who craft the Hannah tunes.
• She's not tying her musical career to covers of oldies. Smart move. Nearly every teen idol makes the fateful mistake of remaking songs recognized by her/his parents' generation.
• Her TV godmother, Dolly Parton, will keep her in line. Despite her exaggerated image, Dolly is one of the most focused and shrewdest artists in the music business. Even though Miley is not her real-life goddaughter, Dolly is the kind of person who won't let her precious little pal make any big missteps in real life.
• She started as an opening act, not an arena headliner. She got her feet wet last year opening for the Cheetah Girls, so with luck she won't freak out when she headlines "The Best of Both Worlds Tour."
Fun facts:
• She was named Destiny Hope because her parents believed that she would accomplish great things.
• She has many pets, including horses, dogs, cats, fish and chickens.
• Her first acting role was as a guest star on her father's television series "Doc," in which she played a girl named Kylie.
• Cyrus had a brief cameo in "High School Musical 2," credited as "Girl at Pool," where she danced in front of the pool wearing a yellow baby-doll top before the end credits.
• In 2003, she played "Young Ruthie" in Tim Burton's "Big Fish" and was credited as Destiny Cyrus.
• She was featured in Rhonda Vincent's music video for "If Heartaches Have Wings" and appeared on "Colgate Country Showdown" with her dad, the show's host.
• Disney released a Hannah Montana clothing collection in late summer. Cyrus helped to design some of the pieces from the collection. "It's not a costume. A tween girl isn't doing dress-up, they want to look like they could be Hannah Montana's friend. This is a fashion line."
• Last month, she was ranked No. 17 in the Forbes Top 20 Earners Under 25, with an annual earning of $3.5 million.
First Published January 3, 2008 12:00 am
