Miley Cyrus became famous for her scandalous photos
Miley Cyrus, rebellion or pure screen?
Miley Cyrus went from Disney idol to problem kid. This year, she radically transforms her image to become one of the most controversial singers of her generation.
Ten million people saw Miley Cyrus dance almost pornographically at the MTV Video Music Awards in August. The scandal she caused by vulgarly sticking out her tongue and rubbing a foam finger on her body earned her more than $79 million in free publicity.
A few days after the performance, his Wrecking Ball video became the most-watched 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 naked** or with very little clothing, licking objects and making obscene movements. Many 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 speak badly than not speak.
When she rose to fame, she had long brown hair and didn’t wear any low cuts or see-throughs. She played teen idol Hannah Montana, the star of a Disney show about a singer who hides her fame so she can live a normal life. At just 13, Miley already had her own TV series and had released her debut album to great acclaim. Her fans adored her, as she discovered in 2007 during her first American tour and she had to give more concerts than expected due to public demand. It grossed $54 million in total, and the tour documentary, which was released a year later, grossed $65 million.
But that angelic image of Hannah Montana quickly crumbled. At the age of 15, she was already the protagonist of her first scandal: she was covered by only one sheet in some photos by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair magazine. Reviews were harsh but did not affect the success of his next album Breakout, which topped all pop charts within weeks.
A year later, Miley was still climbing to the top: her song When I Look at You sold 5.38 million copies, one of the best-selling singles in history. She had not reached adulthood when she decided she had lived long enough to write an autobiography: Miles to Go, which she too flew off the shelves.
As often with artists born thanks to Disney, the notoriety of her childhood character continues to haunt her. Miley, determined to get rid of Hannah, her nice daughter, released her album Ca n’t Be Tamed in 2010, with a much safer and more adult image. The album did well but it wasn’t enough for the young woman, who then cut and bleached herself, shaved the sides of her head and opted for increasingly revealing outfits.
Although many believe 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 one definition of beauty,” she added in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. . I want to be the cool girl 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 criticism. 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 his 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 ordinary girl that seems to work so well for her.
Peter Sealey, marketing and image expert, also defends Miley’s overly sexual attitude: “She had to reinvent herself or risk being forgotten. Every generation breaks paradigms and if they 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 present their most spectacular and outrageous show. Miley was no exception, and despite her criticism, she was very good at her vulgar dances. In fact, MTV officials are so pleased with her presentation that they named her Artist of the Year, and her latest album, Bangerz, released in October, has already sold over 500,000 copies in the United States. United.
In any case, there are thousands of people disappointed with his transformation. According to Celebrity DBI, a company that gauges consumer perceptions of celebrities, over the past 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 of this year she fell to the bottom. As for whether she’s a crowd pleaser, Celebrity DBI found that 35% of 13-17 year olds dislike her.
That’s a high percentage considering that’s his audience. It’s clear that her image as a runaway teenager has two sides. As RJ Garis, a publicist who specializes in damage control, puts it: “It’s too extreme a makeover in too little time. Fans don’t like fakes and Miley walks the line between being a good performer and being a joke. She can’t afford to make even one mistake.”
For now, her rebellious girl number puts her where she wants to be: on the covers 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 the top musical charts.
When Vanity Fair made this portrait of her in 2008, the journalist who interviewed her remembers that there was a horde of paparazzi chasing her everywhere. At one point, she asked one of them how much the media paid for Miley’s photos and he replied, “It’s not Britney, but she’s close to her.” It seems clear that Miley is determined to bridge the gap between herself and the Princess of Pop, no matter what.
outrageous times
As part of her makeover strategy, Miley repeatedly showed off excess skin and hosted some of the hottest and most talked about shows of the year.
Miley shocked the audience at the MTV Awards by dancing with Robin Thicke during the presentation of her single “We Can’t Stop”. She performed at the iHeart Radio festival in just a white leotard and minimal underwear.
To introduce her song “Wrecking Ball,” Miley stripped naked and hung herself from a wrecking ball.
