{"id":358885,"date":"2026-04-01T17:09:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T17:09:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/358885\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T17:09:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T17:09:20","slug":"miley-cyrus-celebrates-hannah-montana-from-the-other-side-with-20th-anniversary-special","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/358885\/","title":{"rendered":"Miley Cyrus celebrates Hannah Montana \u2018from the other side\u2019 with 20th anniversary special"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2013 Singer Miley Cyrus has built a reputation on raw and raspy pop anthems such as Wrecking Ball (2013), Party In The USA (2009) and her Grammy-winning hit Flowers (2024).<\/p>\n

But the 33-year-old American former child star has not forgotten that it all began with Hannah Montana (2006 to 2011), the wholesome Disney Channel sitcom that launched her career when she was 13.<\/p>\n

And she looks back fondly on the series \u2013 and its profound impact on her life \u2013 in the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special, a documentary streaming on Disney+.<\/p>\n

Filmed before a live studio audience, the hour-long retrospective features musical performances by Cyrus, cast reunions and never-before-seen archival footage from the show.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Miley Cyrus in the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special.<\/p>\n

PHOTO: DISNEY+<\/p>\n

The latter revolved around Miley Stewart (Cyrus) \u2013 a high-school student living a double life as a blonde-wigged pop star named Hannah Montana \u2013 and blended slapstick humour, original songs and gentle life lessons.<\/p>\n

The special also features a sit-down interview with Cyrus \u2013 the daughter of 64-year-old American country singer Billy Ray Cyrus \u2013 as she revisits key moments, music and memories from the series.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special\u2019s Los Angeles premiere in March, she reveals she felt totally out of her depth when she moved from Tennessee to Los Angeles to start filming Hannah Montana, a role she first auditioned for at age 11 \u2013 and won despite having little experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything in my life is so amazing because Disney took a chance on me,\u201d says Cyrus, whose sister Noah Cyrus, 26, is also a singer, songwriter and actress. \u201cI had no business coming out to LA thinking that I could carry a show or pretend to be a pop star.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI had no experience. I had done some theatre before \u2013 they always made me play a dude because of the husky voice \u2013 but besides that, I was pretty much a virgin,\u201d says the star, who is engaged to Maxx Morando, a 27-year-old American drummer and fashion designer.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Miley Cyrus (right) and fiance Maxx Morando at the world premiere of the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special in Hollywood, California, on March 23, 2026.<\/p>\n

PHOTO: AFP<\/p>\n

But she gives full credit to the fans for making Hannah Montana a global pop culture phenomenon and ratings smash.<\/p>\n

It ran for four seasons and spawned three hit soundtrack albums, a 2008 concert film and 2009\u2019s Hannah Montana: The Movie, as well as sold-out tours, video games and a slew of merchandise.<\/p>\n

Cyrus believes her success then and now has been a result of the effort, the loyalty and the support of the fans, says the entertainer. She shed her kid-friendly image two years after the series ended with her provocative pop album Bangerz (2013).<\/p>\n

And the Hannah Montana franchise still has cultural pull today.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Miley Cyrus in the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special.<\/p>\n

PHOTO: DISNEY+<\/p>\n

The special hit 6.3 million views within the first three days of its March 24 premiere on Disney+.<\/p>\n

Viewing numbers for the original show rose by 1,000 per cent that week, and Disney says it has been streamed for more than 500 million hours in total.<\/p>\n

Cyrus says making the special also brought her closer to fans \u2013 and gave her a taste of what they have experienced.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I get to be a part of it in a way that I never could when I was in the middle of everything. <\/p>\n

\u201cBeing Hannah, I might be the only one in this room that never got to go to a Hannah Montana concert \u2013 because I was the Hannah Montana concert,\u201d she explains. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Miley Cyrus in the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special.<\/p>\n

PHOTO: DISNEY+<\/p>\n

\u201cBut now, I understand why it was so much fun to go to one of Hannah\u2019s shows, dress like her, wear the wig, wear the scarf. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what it felt like for me to celebrate Hannah Montana from the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n

And she feels the show still lives on.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love saying what it is, not what it was. <\/p>\n

\u201cTonight isn\u2019t about looking back into the past. It\u2019s about what it means to us still, not just for you as fans, but also for us that got to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special is available on Disney+.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES \u2013 Singer Miley Cyrus has built a reputation on raw and raspy pop anthems such as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":358886,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[156,157,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-358885","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358885"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358885\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/358886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}