Let’s talk about Miley Cyrus.
August 25th, at the MTV Video Music Awards, Miley Cyrus shocked America with her performance of her latest single “We Can’t Stop” onstage. Saturday at the I Heart Radio Music Festival, Cyrus turned heads once again with yet another scandalous outfit choice and risque concert.
The artist formerly known as Hannah Montana is, seemingly, on a downward spiral. Most outsiders would assume that a celebrity with lyrics implying use of the drug Molly and a strange obsession with licking a large stuffed bear is only a few bad press releases away from rehab. But is the new Miley really all that bad?
Not according to Matthew Garland, a junior Hospitality Management major here at UCF. He says her target audience has simply changed.
“She is 20 years old, she’s not a little kid anymore,” said Garland. “Compared to a lot of other female singers, see Nicki Minaj, her ‘sexuality’ in her performances isn’t really over the top.”
Matthew may be onto something. When we look at stars like Nicki Minaj who have built their careers on scandalous songs, sexual dance moves, and silly outfits, we don’t give it a second look when they give lapdances on stage. In fact, many of the top rated comments on the video of Nicki are recommending Miley watch Minaj’s performance for pointers.
It’s also interesting to note that Robin Thicke, who was onstage with Miley, didn’t recieve much backlash for his part in the infamous performance. Despite the fact that Thicke is married and was on the recieving end of a pretty sexualized twerk sesh, no headlines screamed his name and the most insulting thing I heard was that he was sort of looked like Beetlejuice.
The day after Miley’s VMA performance, she was on the front page of CNN. As a journalism major, I found this insulting, but as a marketing minor, I was intrigued. Miley Cyrus is the talk of the nation. She just broke a Vevo record by getting over 12 million views on her “Wrecking Ball” video within 24 hours of its release. She has 14 million Twitter followers, almost 4 million Instagram followers, and she is killing it in Google Trends.
People may not like her, but Miley is, without a doubt, one of the biggest names in Hollywood right now. An impressive feat for a Disney channel superstar who most assumed would fall somewhere off the map with the end of the Hannah Montana empire.
“Growing up I always watched her show,” said Tatum Cooper, a junior at UCF. “Obviously something has changed, because I personally feel like she’s doing things because she is wanting and needing attention.”
Cooper isn’t alone in her distaste for the Miley 2.0. Bruce Ayers, sophomore, also spoke to Miley’s want for attention.
“Who was her main audience when she was with Disney?” he asked. “They were little girls. Her behavior has changed from innocent Disney princess to promiscuous bad girl.
“But now those little girls’ parents don’t want their daughters emulating Miley like they did before.”
While Ayers has a point, I find it necessary to note that Hannah Montana launched in 2006, when I was in the 6th grade. I was Disney’s target audience. I am now a 18 year old girl fully capable of twerking if I want to and am now, still, 20 year old Miley Cyrus’ target audience.
And, to be completely frank, I personally think she’s totally badass.
Miley Cyrus is the embodiment of the oversexualization, overstimulation, and complete disregard for privacy we give our celebrities in America. She was 11 years old when Disney and Billy Ray signed a contract and made her a superstar, and she’s been living under that umbrella of fame ever since. Miley Cyrus isn’t the problem, Miley Cyrus’ spandex shorts aren’t the problem, Miley Cyrus twerking in a unicorn costume isn’t the problem. We are the problem.
No matter what your opinion may be, it’s clear that Miley Cyrus isn’t going anywhere. The sooner America can accept the rebel child it doesn’t know how to handle, the faster we will stop making Miley Cyrus’ outfit choice front page news.
How do you feel about Miley lately? Reply below or on Twitter @hercampusucf, and let’s keep this conversation going!