What Happened to Miley?

I had commented on my Facebook when Miley's VMA performance was anything anyone could talk about.  Way back in August.  ;-}  Need-less-to-say, pretty much everyone had an opinion and everyone pretty much burned the poor girl at the stake.  Seriously, my Facebook friends and family were ready to flog her.

Personally, I wasn't surprised by the VMA performance.  It was the VMAs for crying out loud!  We're not talking about a posh, sophisticated gathering of intellectuals.  We're talking about a crazy, amped up, fun-filled, musical experience.  And, at the age of nearly 36, I look forward to it each and every year.  Second only to the MTV Movie Awards, but that's not the point.

The point is that Miley Cyrus and her really strange performance started a barrage of disgust among the public.  And, I just don't get it.  I did a little comparison of Miley, Britney, and Christina, all products of Disney, and I really can't see how Miley is more back lash than other young stars.

Britney and Christina had their Disney beginning on a little show called The Mickey Mouse Club, along side the likes of Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling.  Britney, a cast member from ages 12 to 16; Christina, a cast member from 13-17.

Miley starred in a little Disney series called Hannah Montana from the age of 14 to 19.  So, arguably she was a Disney star for a year longer than Britney and Christina.  But, the major difference is how Disney had re branded itself between the end of the Mickey Mouse Club and the birth of Hannah Montana.  Know what I'm talking about?  In the nineties, Disney was a premium cable channel, and that meant you had to pay extra for it.  By the time Hannah Montana arrived on the Disney scene, Disney was part of basic cable, which meant it was readily piped into every home with a cable connection.  And it had gone majorly commercial.  Majorly.  No, they didn't show typical commercials, but they were busily pimping their own products.  So then came the shameless merchandising of all things Hannah Montana.  Disney took full advantage of Miley's marketability during her five years as their queen of all things preteen.

In fact, Disney did such a fantastic job marketing Miley as Hannah Montana, that no one can seem to remember that Hannah Montana is a fictional character and Miley Cyrus is the real person.  It's like people just can't let her move on from Hannah Montana.  And I don't understand that.  Yes, I am glad that she declared Miley is dead.  Maybe people can begin the grieving process.  Anyway, moving on.

I'm guessing the hardcore Hannah fans are now in their mid-teens to early twenties.  So, ages 15-21, let's say.  Now let's think about what this age group is up to.  Parents who are in denial, you probably want to shield your eyes from this revelation.  Teens today are doing exactly the same things teens were doing when you were a teenage.  Experimenting with alcohol and drugs, being sexually active, all the while exposed to Lil Wayne and Lady Gaga and Ke$ha during their formative years.  Lil Wayne raps about all kinds of stuff kids this age shouldn't be doing.  Lady Gaga, well, she is a unique character in her own right, and I really like most of her music, she just comes off a bit odd, doesn't she?  And, well, there's Ke$ha who sings about brushing her teeth with a bottle of Jack.  Come on folks, if I had a kid in this age group, and believe me I am super thankful that I do not, I'd be happy if the message they were hearing involved standing up for yourself and learning to love everyone.

Maybe this all boils down to a wake up call for us parents, who sat week after week watching Hannah Montana with our little darlings hearing them proclaim how they wanted to be just like her when they grew up.  Yeah, the reality of what a difference a few years makes is startling.  But, stop blaming Miley for growing up and finding what she thinks is her own voice and shaking her skinny ass all over the place.  The only change I would make is her tendency to stick out her tongue.  That's just gross.  I mean, I have to draw a line somewhere.