Final Draft of Final Project

“Just An Ordinary Girl, Living In An Extraordinary World”

By Munirah McGovern


Her concerts sell out in minutes; after earning $3.9 million last year, she’s 17th on the Forbes list of the top 20 earners under the age of 25; her television show is aired in 178 countries; and in 2006 she beat the previous record set by Beatles and Elvis by having seven singles simultaneously on the Billboard singles chart. Jacques Steinberg of the New York Times describes her as “Britney Spears, only more chaste.” Time Magazine has dubbed her “Hurricane Hannah”.
Who is this sensation? None other than the name that thousands of tween (generally 8-12 years old) girls scream at remarkably high decibel levels at her concerts…Miley Cyrus, also known as Hannah Montana.
Hannah Montana is the alter ego of Miley Stewart on the wildly popular Disney channel show of the same name, in which Miley Cyrus plays the Hannah Montana/Miley Stewart character. By day, she is Miley, an everyday teenage girl in junior high, while by night she puts on a blond wig and transforms into her secret identity of Hannah Montana, the teen pop sensation. Addressing issues such as disagreements with friends, bullies, (sometimes unreciprocated) crushes on boys, and arguments with friends, the show appeals to those who seek entertainment that they can personally identify with, and has attracted fans off all ages.
The show works to portray the message is that celebrity and real life are not synonymous and that happiness comes from being true to yourself, and does a admirable job of depicting a character that is able to do just that. Geoff Edgers of the Boston Globe refers to Ms. Cyrus’ life as “a teenage girl living out a fantasy” just like the character she plays, praising her for staying true to herself without giving in to the pressures of fame.
Parents and children can agree that her appeal stems from her “girl next door” appeal and ability to connect with her fans on a personal level. Michael Cairns, managing director of Disney Channel Australia, agrees. “The fact that Miley plays such a normal girl is the key to her appeal. Hannah Montana offers an inspirational quality that tweens worldwide can relate to," he says.
“I'm definitely more like the normal girl. . . . I always want to stress to everyone who watches the show that I'm there to be like a friend and someone to help them through their lives” says Cyrus in an interview with “The Washington Post”. She is true to her word, spending time with her best friends whenever she can, and devoting as much time as she can to her fans. Her family has kept her grounded while steering her away from abusing her fame and recent earnings, giving her $300 allowance each month according to an interview with “The Daily Mail”.
Sarah Castellanos, a parent who has attended a Hannah Montana concert with her children, looks to Cyrus as someone worthwhile for her children to look up to, as she explained in an interview with Chuck Barney of “The Courier Mail”. ''She's a good role model -- all pure and wholesome. There's not that much of that going around these days.'' Andrea Morris, mother of 10-year-old Lily Morris and a recent attendee of a Hannah Montana concert, agreed in an interview with Beth Whitehouse of “Newsday”. "I think every girl - everybody - wants to be a star. She lives a regular life and had celebrity status at the same time. If you had to pick a role model or someone to be crazy about, she's not a bad one. She seems to have a good moral compass, as opposed to Britney [Spears], or Lindsay [Lohan], or somebody silly like that."
At a time with many young girls are looking for a role model, and many parents unnerved by the now well-known exploits of celebrities such as Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears, Miley Cyrus is a welcome sight. “To millions of parents unnerved by the spectacle of the Spears family, and to millions of girls still figuring out how they feel about boys, Ms. Cyrus's defiant spirit is the key to her success,” says New York Times music reviewer Kelefa Sannah. While some still follow the exploits of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan, many observers of popular culture hope that the sudden popularity of Ms. Cyrus and Hannah Montana will begin a shift in public interest to more worthwhile and praise-worthy celebrities.
Cyrus was catapulted onto the national stage less than two years ago when she auditioned for a role on a Disney channel show that was to become Hannah Montana. Rejected after her first audition because producers thought she was too young for the role at only 11 years old, she came back on her own to audition two more times, finally landing the role after executives admired her resilience and stubbornness, as well as what a Disney executive referred to as her “cool confidence, intuitive comic timing, and a husky singing voice.” Her voice has been compared to country/folk singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter’s, and her comic ability to comedienne and actress Lucille Ball. At a time where people like Paris Hilton can become famous by simply abusing their famous surname, the path that Cyrus followed to fame is a refreshing one.
Adoration of celebrity idols is common, but parents and researchers all around are glad that this new target of tween adoration is truly worthy of the attention. "Every once in a while you get a kid who is apparently a little more grounded," said Gail Satler, a professor of sociology at Hofstra University.
Some believe that Cyrus may be doing too much too soon, and others speculate that she may eventually follow the career path of celebrities like Britney Spears. Cyrus’s father, Billy Ray Cyrus –known for his 1992 hit “Achy Breaky Heart”, and currently playing a well-known role as Cyrus’s father on “Hannah Montana”—has dealt with fame himself, and spoke to Chuck Barney of “The Courier Mail”. ''Our No. 1 rule is love what you do, be happy and be true to yourself and the music.” Cyrus has had several small “scandals” in recent months, with pictures of her sharing candy with female friend at a sleepover being leaked to the public, as well as some recent pictures of Cyrus in her underwear, which proved to be photo-shopped, but the majority of her fans still believe that she is worthy of their respect.
Cyrus’s close relationship with her family has been well documented, especially her connection with her parents. "Having my parents close is the big thing. No one else is going to be there 100 percent for you except your parents and they give me a really solid grounding" said Cyrus in an interview with “The Daily Mail”. The daily support and care that she is surrounded with by her family, in addition to her often professed wish simply be an ordinary teenage girl who is lucky enough to be able to live their dream, is enough to leads observers to believe that in the case of this tween pop idol, it may all work out in the end.
Offering talent with an attitude to match, the dual personas of Hannah Montana and Miley Stewart are a dream come true, not only for parents and children seeking someone in the entertainment industry worthy of admiration, but for Miley Cyrus who has come so far. With songs such as “True Friend” and “Nobody’s Perfect”, she provides inspiration to her contemporaries who are dealing with the pressures of life as a teenager. Not in a hurry to grow up too fast, and eager to be a role model for her contemporaries, Cyrus is able to live the life she wants, full of shopping and best friends and being a teenager, while still being a figure worthy of praise and adoration.
As she sings in her song “Just Like You”, "I'm a lucky girl / Whose dreams came true / But underneath it all / I'm just like you."