Do you remember when Miley Cyrus, as a young country girl, first graced television screens and stole millions of hearts across the globe? It all started March 24, 2006 with the new Disney show Hannah Montana which aired with Miley Cyrus as the main character. Cyrus played Miley Stewart hiding her secret identity as famous singer, Hannah Montana, from her friends and peers. Hannah Montana is a live action comedy series that solved problems in Hannah Montana’s life while also illustrating different morals. Most were introduced to Miley through the fun, inspirational show, and didn’t want it to end. But the generation that grew up watching the show got older, and it ended in 2012, with the satisfying finale being a farewell to friends and family. Kailani Stewart, TL Sophomore, recalls that she really liked the show and her favorite character was Miley’s friend Lilly Truscott, played by Emily Osment. She also expressed her sadness about the show’s end and how much of a positive impact Hannah Montana had on her childhood by teaching her different life lessons to build upon.

Cyrus stayed out of the spotlight until the 2013 Video Music Awards where she made a grand comeback wearing a nude-colored leotard, newly cut and dyed blonde hair, and a new habit of sticking her tongue out. The biggest shock that night was when Robin Thicke performed his hit song “Blurred Lines” while Cyrus twerked all over him. After that performance, we saw how much Miley grew up since the end of her show.

Cyrus explained to Rolling Stone that she sticks her tongue out because she doesn’t like smiling in photos and that it serves as a better alternative. She speaks to girls through her music,  pushing the boundaries on stereotypes for girls to always appear prim and proper. Her confidence tells others they should be themselves instead of trying to change to “fit in.”

The VMA performance was just the start for the new Miley. On October 4, 2013, the Bangerz album came out featuring new hit songs like “Wrecking Ball” and “We Can’t Stop”. The Bangerz tour featured Cyrus dry humping giant bananas on stage, twerking, and sticking her tongue out during most of her performances. In 2015, Miley released the Her Dead Petz album which spoke to how she really missed her passed pets. It also told of her views on relationships, and her experimentation with hard drugs. Cyrus continued to do shocking things and stayed out of the spotlight after her tour. But, at the beginning of 2017, she started to tell the press about the new album she planned to release that she claimed was very different to her past albums and “went back to her roots”.

On September 29, 2017 Cyrus put out her newest album Younger Now which has more of a relaxed, spiritual vibe. It mainly focuses on how much she changed over the years, what she’s gone through with drugs, and how her journey going clean has helped her become a new, more mature person. To Rolling Stone, Miley Cyrus emphasized her point of setting a new standard for pop music and how she’s trying to live up to it by making sure every detail of her future albums are as good as they can be. Kailani Stewart explained that after seeing Miley in different stages of her life, she gained respect for her because of the confidence she has and works to instill it in others. Kailani Stewart explained that out of the whole album, she decided that she likes the song Malibu the most because of how relaxed it is and the message it sends about moving on after relationships. “Sometimes I feel like I’m drowning and you’re there to save me and I wanna thank you with all of my heart, It’s a brand new start, a dream come true in Malibu”. After facing many challenges, such as drugs, her relationships, and controversy for her Wrecking Ball video, Cyrus has been able to positively affect many people’s lives, helping to introduce people to new life lessons and send positive messages to everyone.