Saturday, September 3, 2011

From Primetime to Daytime: Hannah Montana (2006)

Most rock stars use stage names, or pseudonyms, if their given names don't sound, well, flashy enough for  the media. The creators of Hannah Montana decided to take this to an extreme.

Hannah is not only the stage name of teenager Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus), but a full-on alter-ego, as if she were a superhero or something. See, Miley doesn't want the obsessive, 24/7/365 media coverage that most pop stars get, like it or not (i.e. Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, et al). Hence, all she needs is a blonde wig to become Hannah and go on stage and sing her heart out. Being she's still a kid, she has to balance her two lives and preserve her private life. Imagine if Peter Parker (Spider-Man) was a musician instead of a budding scientist, and.....!

EmmaMermaid uploaded the open to season 1, with the theme song, "Best of Both Worlds", sung by Miley herself:



For the series' final season, co-star Mitchel Musso left to pursue a music career of his own, and the series' title was changed to Hannah Montana Forever, for whatever lame reason Disney could think of. Miley's dad, country star Billy Ray Cyrus, had starred in a primetime cable drama, Doc, for a few years before signing on to work with his daughter, giving her the ultimate in on-the-job training, if you will, and it has the added benefit of getting him back on the charts, right along with Miley, who's crossed between pop, country, and adult alternative. Miley's hit, "Party in the USA", is regularly played at Tri City ValleyCats games during the summer, so, even if she doesn't land another hit series, there's always the chance the "Party" will continue on......

Rating: B-.

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