Miley Cyrus who became famous for her scandalous photos
Miley Cyrus, rebellion or pure screen?
Miley Cyrus went from Disney idol to problem child. This year she radically transformed her image to become one of the most controversial singers of her generation.
Ten million people saw Miley Cyrus dancing almost pornographically at the MTV Video Music Awards in August. The scandal she caused by vulgarly sticking her tongue out and rubbing a foam finger across her body earned her more than $79 million in free publicity.
Days after the performance, her Wrecking Ball video became the most viewed 24-hour video in Vevo history, with 19.3 million views. Her previous record was set by herself, with 10.7 million views of her We Can't Stop video in one day. In both recordings, the singer appears nak** or with very little clothing, licking objects and making obscene movements. Many of her have criticized her, but with the success of her latest singles and Time magazine's nomination for Person of the Year, Miley is living proof that it's better to talk badly than not to talk.
When she became famous she had long brown hair and did not wear low-cuts or transparencies. She played teen idol Hannah Montana, the star of a Disney show about a singer who hides her fame so she can have a normal life. At just 13 years old, Miley already had her own television series and had released her first album with great success. Her fans adored her, as she found out in 2007 when she did her first US tour and she had to play more concerts than planned at the request of the public. She grossed $54 million in total, and the tour documentary, which came out a year later, grossed $65 million.
But that angelic image of Hannah Montana soon fell apart. At the age of 15, she was already the protagonist of her first scandal: she was covered by only a sheet in some photos of Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair magazine. The reviews were harsh but did not affect the success of her next album Breakout, which reached the top of all the pop charts in a few weeks.
A year later Miley was still climbing steadily to the top: her song When I Look at You sold 5.38 million copies, one of the best-selling singles in history. She hadn't come of age when she decided she'd lived long enough to write an autobiography: Miles to Go, which she too flew off the shelves.
As is often the case with artists born thanks to Disney, the fame of her childhood character continued to haunt her. Miley, determined to get rid of Hannah, her good girl, released her album Ca n't Be Tamed in 2010, with a much s**ier and more adult image. The album did well but it wasn't enough for the young woman, who then cut and bleached her hair, shaved the sides of her head and opted for increasingly revealing outfits.
Though many think she's going through a Britney Spears-esque phase, Cyrus and her team of advisers seem to have her image under control. "I know what I'm doing, I know I'm shocking them," Miley said of her performance at the MTV Awards.
"I think what I do empowers women, especially my short hair, because it shows that there is no single definition of beauty," she added in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. I want to be the cool girl that everyone wants to be friends with. I'm not like Beyoncé: being with her is like sharing with a queen. Mine is different, I'm everyone's best friend.
According to her manager, Larry Rudolph (also Britney's manager), Miley's message to her fans is simple: “Be honest with yourself. Don't listen to the critics. Be big and bold." According to Rudolph and other experts, this attitude has a positive effect on the singer's followers. Bill Werde, editorial director of Billboard explains that “people underestimate the depth of the relationship that Miley has with her fans. A lot of them grew up with her and that builds a strong relationship."
In addition, Miley has a weapon that artists of other generations did not have: social networks. By constantly uploading photos to Instagram and tweeting information about her private life to her nearly 16 million followers, Cyrus manages to reinforce that image of the common girl that seems to work so well for her.
Peter Sealey, marketing and image expert, also defends Miley's over s**ual attitude: “She had to reinvent herself or risk being forgotten. Every generation breaks paradigms and if she hadn't, it would just be a footnote."
And it is that MTV is the stage where every year artists like Madonna, Britney or Lady Gaga put on their most spectacular and scandalous show. Miley was no exception to her and, despite her criticism, she was very successful with her vulgar dances. In fact, MTV officials are so happy with her introduction that they named her artist of the year and her latest album, Bangerz, released in October, has already sold more than 500,000 copies in the United States.
In any case there are thousands of people disappointed with her transformation. According to Celebrity DBI, a firm that rates consumer perceptions of celebrities, in the last three years Miley has declined significantly in the eyes of her fans. In 2010 the singer was one of the most influential artists, but in August this year she fell to the bottom. As for whether she is a crowd pleaser, Celebrity DBI found that 35 percent of 13-17 year olds dislike her.
It is a high percentage considering that this is her audience. It's clear that her image of her as a runaway teenager has two sides. As R. J. Garis, a damage-control publicist, puts it: “It's too extreme a makeover in too short a time. Fans don't like fake and Miley is on the line between being a good artist and being a joke. She can't afford to make even one mistake."
For now, her rebellious girl act has her where she wants to be: on the cover of the most important fashion and music magazines, in the headlines of the tabloids, on everyone's lips – for better or for worse – and at the top of top music charts.
When Vanity Fair made that profile of her in 2008, the journalist who interviewed her remembers that there was a horde of paparazzi that chased her everywhere. She at one point asked one how well the media paid for Miley's photos and he replied: "She's not Britney, but she's close to her." It seems clear that Miley is determined to bridge that gap between her and the princess of pop, no matter what it takes.
scandalous moments
As part of her makeover strategy, Miley repeatedly showed off excess skin and put on some of the most raunchy and discussed shows of the year.
Miley shocked the audience at the MTV awards dancing with Robin Thicke during the presentation of her single "We Can't Stop". She sang at the iHeart Radio festival in just a white leotard and minimal underwear.
To introduce her song 'Wrecking Ball', Miley stripped completely nak*** and hung from a wrecking ball.
