Much more Hannah Montana
Wow! Miley Cyrus took a giant leap at
stardom this July. She had become an overnight sensation
at age 13 a year ago as television's Hannah Montana.
Fortunately, her family has experience with giant leaps
to stardom.
This was a big one. In July Miley
triumphed over Kelly Clarkson to score the No. 1
position on The Billboard 200 with the double
Disney album "Hannah Montana 2 (Soundtrack)/Meet Miley Cyrus."
Nielsen SoundScan
reports the Disney project sold a whopping
326,000 units in the United States
the first week.
Clarkson's embattled "My December" (RCA) opened at No. 2
with 291,000.
That's pretty big stuff when
you're 14.
Disney has a way of making huge young stars fast. Ask
Britney Spears.
The "Hannah/Miley" album is a two-disc, 20-song set
evenly divided between music from Cyrus' TV series
"Hannah Montana" and her debut studio album. On one side
of the album is cover art for "Hanna Montana 2," while
the other side boasts artwork for "Meet Miley Cyrus."
The first "Hannah Montana" soundtrack also debuted at
No. 1 on The Billboard 200 last October with 281,000.
Hugely
popular among teens and preteens, Cyrus giggles back and
forth between a seasoned veteran showgirl and an
adolescent who still has to clean her room. In fact, Miley's
life seems to parallel her character Hannah Montana,
who's a big star at night and a regular teen in the
daytime. The hit album, though somewhat confusingly
titled, also fits right into the Montana mold.
Disney
reportedly already has Miley's first feature film in the
works and a big tour is coming up.
In July the big hype began.
Miley's dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, was also a quick hitter
when his first single, "Achy Breaky Heart," became a
giant country hit in 1992, only a few months before
Miley was born. Dad's debut hit
stayed five weeks at number one on the country charts,
and reached reached number 4 on the Billboard pop
chart.
On "Entertainment Tonight," Miley let everyone know she doesn't share Mom's memory
that Dad's achy-breaky song was once her favorite. Hey,
she's 14 -- she couldn't afford to admit liking Dad's
music.
Dad was probably pleased to hear that Miley also let the world
know she does not have a boyfriend.
Miley
is truly fun to watch. She's been on stage with her
country hunk Dad since she was two. Which explains the
seasoned stage presence. Hopefully, she can maintain the
freshness of the "real" kid that she really is.
But that has to be difficult when you have the top album
in America and every entertainment reporter on Earth
soon to be asking why she doesn't have a boyfriend.
For
some reason, I keep thinking of Tanya Tucker, the
talented child I interviewed when she
was 14 and had already begun to stack up hit singles. We
talked about her favorite subjects, Elvis and rodeos.
Tanya was a delightful, marvelous child talent who went on to become
a huge country singing star. But she endured some potholes
in her personal life, probably due to the pressures of
fame on a
child.
I can
imagine the pressures coming for Miley Cyrus.
She's already a Christian and, hopefully,
she can mature in her faith fast enough to keep well-grounded
in the midst of all the hype and showbiz hoopla.
Obviously, she has great family support, but
the pressures will still be there.
Ask
Britney.
Miley
Cyrus' story-book life is off and running with
Hannah Montana's writers actually supplying wisdom Miley
can learn from Hannah.
If
only the rest of the world will give Miley time to soak it
up.
Here's hoping she can live a Hannah Montana life as a
teen, and come out of it as a grown woman with no aches
and breaks of the heart.
In the meantime, maybe she can
spend a little time helping Dad with his dancing.
