Music <\/p>\n
Miley Cyrus celebrated the 20th anniversary of the show that introduced her to the world in a nostalgic special<\/p>\n
Twenty years ago,\u00a0Hannah Montana<\/a><\/em>\u00a0premiered on\u00a0Disney<\/a>\u00a0Channel, leaving an\u00a0indelible mark\u00a0<\/a>on pop culture for decades to come. Now,\u00a0Miley Cyrus<\/a>\u00a0has found her way back home to Disney studios to celebrate the special anniversary of the show that transformed her from an ordinary girl from Tennessee into a worldwide rockstar sensation.<\/p>\n In honor of that pivotal moment, Cyrus dyed her hair blonde and helped bring the\u00a0Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special\u00a0<\/em>to life for Disney+, teaming up with super fan Alex Cooper to put the show together. The hour-long special features Cyrus performing Hannah Montana tracks she hasn\u2019t played live in more than a decade, an interview between the singer and Cooper, celebrity appearances, a rebuilt set identical to the show\u2019s original one, and a healthy dose of late-aughts nostalgia.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a fan-forward event meant to bring everyone who diligently watched all four seasons of the show, from 2006 till 2012, back to those brighter days. \u201cHannah, she gave me my start but my fans gave me this life,\u201d Cyrus says at one point. Read our key takeaways below.<\/p>\n Cyrus opens what she called the \u201cHannahversary\u201d with the series\u2019 meta theme song \u201cThe Best of Both Worlds\u201d and later dove into a sing-along version of \u201cThis Is the Life.\u201d It\u2019s quite special seeing an adult Cyrus, dressed as Hannah, singing these old songs, especially when she whips out the cinematic number \u201cThe Climb.\u201d But Cyrus brought on all the feels with \u201cYounger You,\u201d a heartbreaking new song she penned just for the anniversary. \u201cHey you, it\u2019s younger you \/ I\u2019m just checking in to see if you still remember me\u2026 Somewhere along the way we lost touch \/ We used to be happy just because,\u201d her gravelly voice sings over soft chords and harp notes. The melancholy song is the perfect way to close out the special \u2014 and it will leave every Hannah Montana fan in tears.<\/p>\n In the\u00a0trailer<\/a>\u00a0for the special, Cyrus is in her dressing room when she \u201chear[s] high heels that are not mine.\u201d Turns out the stilettos belong to Chappell Roan and the special marks her first in-person meeting with Cyrus. From inside the famed Hannah Montana closet, the pop star raves about her role model: \u201cI\u2019m so grateful that I get to be a part of this. I mean I grew up watching\u00a0Hannah<\/em>\u00a0at my grandparents\u2019 house and it just means so much,\u201d Roan says. She also makes a point to thank Cyrus for her bold trajectory, which inspired Roan\u2019s own relentless attitude. \u201cWhat I do onstage or where I can go on a red carpet and just be\u2026 that\u2019s because you took a lot of the heat for that in 2012, 2013. I don\u2019t have to deal with that as much because the world took it out on you,\u201d Roan tells Cyrus.<\/p>\n For the unacquainted, Roan has been a vocal mega-fan of Cyrus and\u00a0Hannah Montana<\/em>\u00a0for years. After the singer-actress was inducted as a\u00a0Disney Legend<\/a>, the pop star\u00a0gushed<\/a>, \u201cI want to be like Hannah Montana,\u201d she said. In 2023, Roan even performed in Hannah Montana drag for a couple of live shows. Her brief but meaningful appearance in the special culminated a sweet, full-circle moment.<\/p>\n Back in 2007, just months before\u00a0Wizards of Waverly Place<\/em>\u00a0helped make Selena Gomez a household name, the young Disney star played a recurring role as Hannah\u2019s pop princess rival, the fierce Mikayla. For the special, Gomez returned to the\u00a0Hannah Montana<\/em>\u00a0set to reunite with Cyrus \u2014 and Mikayla\u2019s signature red fedora. The pair remembered their sassy comebacks from the two episodes which featured Mikayla, where they traded insults like \u201clip-syncher\u201d and \u201cbra-stuffer.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s pretty mean! I don\u2019t think they would get away with saying half of that stuff,\u201d Gomez exclaims. \u201cWe can make amends now,\u201d Cyrus responds. In a cutaway scene, the two Disney icons share a hug as they walked off set.<\/p>\n While Gomez and Cyrus may have been talking about their scripted insults, the moment could also be read as a final word on the rumored rift the two had shortly after they worked together. Around that time, both stars fell for the same boy, Nick Jonas, and the rest is history. The two seemed to shade each other online and in songs, but have since outgrown that petty dispute. While Gomez and Cyrus have supported each other publicly and even reunited at the\u00a02026 Golden Globes<\/a>, it\u2019s a treat watching the two stars bury the hatchet on a Disney set.<\/p>\n The crush discussion doesn\u2019t stop there; Cyrus\u2019 IDGAF energy is off the charts as she reveals which of the Disney Channel boys stole her young heart. \u201cI thought Mitchell Musso was really cute,\u201d she says of her\u00a0Hannah<\/em>\u00a0co-star, who played her best friend Oliver in the show. She also confirms what OceanUp surely rumored: She dated Dylan Sprouse. Of course, like every other tween at the time, Cyrus also had a major crush on Zac Efron.<\/p>\n As for fictional boyfriends, Cooper asked the most important question: Who would Miley pick now when it comes to Jake Ryan or Jesse? \u201cJake,\u201d Cyrus whispered sheepishly. \u201cYou know what, he\u2019s always out there saying really nice things about me in the press and\u2026 Jesse, I haven\u2019t heard a peep.\u201d As Leslie would say, oh, she\u2019s just being Miley.<\/p>\n As Cooper notes, 2006 was a special time for Disney with the history-making premiere of\u00a0High School Musical<\/a><\/em>, the introduction of\u00a0Hannah Montana<\/em>, and shows like\u00a0That\u2019s So Raven<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0The Suite Life of Zack and Cody<\/em>\u00a0in their prime. Even though Cyrus was a central part of that era, she was still enamored by the star power emanating from the\u00a0High School Musical<\/em>\u00a0cast, particularly the movie\u2019s leads. She revealed that one of her favorite memories from that time was when Efron and Vanessa Hudgens picked her up in a \u201cblack car\u201d for their press day in New York. \u201cThey loved me because I was mature for my age,\u201d she says with a knowing smile.<\/p>\n Many fans know Taylor Swift played an important part in\u00a0Hannah Montana: The Movie<\/em>: Just a few months before she released her breakout album\u00a0Fearless<\/em>, she agreed to give Disney a song for the film and even offered to perform the mushy waltz in a cameo appearance. Subsequently, the singer-songwriter also wrote the iconic closing track in the film, \u201cYou\u2019ll Always Find Your Way Back Home.\u201d But Miley suggests there was some behind-the-scenes drama. \u201cOkay, so for that scene, get the tea kettle,\u201d she says, darting her eyes to the right. But, unfortunately, she doesn\u2019t quite spill. Instead, Cyrus simply says that the film was \u201clooking for someone that would authentically, no shade, I guess be performing in a barn.\u201d She also gives Swift her flowers for penning the finale song, calling it a \u201cbanger.\u201d<\/p>\n It begs to question whether the rumors that floated around in 2009 that the two country pop singers were in a rift over actor Lucas Till are real. In the film, Till played Miley\u2019s love interest and a month later he starred in Swift\u2019s \u201cYou Belong With Me\u201d music video, leading fans to believe that the video\u2019s treatment portrayed a supposed love triangle between all three teens. But it seems we\u2019ll have to wait until the 50th anniversary of\u00a0Hannah Montana<\/em>\u00a0for any of that to be revealed.<\/p>\n While most of the cast members do not appear in the special, the Cyrus family is front and center. Trish Cyrus, Miley\u2019s mom, Billy Ray Cyrus, and even Miley\u2019s younger sister, Noah, all make an appearance. \u201cWhenever there needed to be a little girl in the scene, we would always sacrifice Noah,\u201d Miley says in one of the final moments.<\/p>\n Of course, Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley\u2019s real-life father played a loosely fictionalized version of himself in the show. So it\u2019s especially touching to watch the famous father-duo return to their fictional home and to their idiosyncratic ways. They do their famous handshake and even read a scene together from one of the series\u2019 final episodes. \u201cIt was one of the funnest things of my life being part of this show,\u201d Billy Ray says before he and Miley walk out the doors of their on-screen home, arm in arm.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the special emphasizes Trish\u2019s behind-the-scenes impact on\u00a0Hannah Montana<\/em>, from her prowess in the costume department to her marketing savvy. She and Miley take a walk down memory lane, picking out iconic pieces of Hannah\u2019s fashion through the years, and even look through a photo album dedicated to the show. In one of the most evocative moments of the entire special, Miley tears up and tells her mom: \u201cI\u2019ve loved being Hannah. I\u2019ve loved being Miley Cyrus. But what I\u2019m most proud of is who I am as a person. You really taught me to be who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n