Miley Cyrus has officially made herself one of the most talked about people in the world! Born Destiny Hope Cyrus, Miley first made her breakthrough in the entertainment scene in the popular Disney Channel sitcom, Hannah Montana. Daughter to Achy Breaky Heart crooner Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley became a teen superstar in a just a year after earning the lead role as Miley Stewart in Hannah Montana.
Miley early career already hinted that this young girl was destined for fame, but maybe not the noble one as we can all see. As Miley grew, her choices in her lifestyle started to mature too. For starters, she gave up her sweet, small-town girl image for the edgy downtown tough chick that everyone wants to hang out with. She also traded her sweet, doe-eyed smile for “ghetto” look with her tongue sticking out, and waggled around.
Miley’s look started to get more and more risqué with her image after she moved on from being Hannah Montana to unleash the real Miley Cyrus. It all started when she pulled off a Beyonce and performed in Lisbon in an Isabel Marant silk bodysuit, a biker jacket and boots! Showing off her toned legs and busty physique, her outfit earned a lot of attention. Shortly after, she ditched her clothes and opted for more skin-bearing outfits for her shows.
While she was still very much able to pull off a red carpet gown with her her vivacious locks, she did the unexpected and traded her long locks for a shorter, edgier do. But did you know that her act has turned into an actual trend called “Pulling a Miley”? Girls actress and writer did it on Instagram too!
Miley believed that her short hair made her feel more like herself, and apparently it really did. In March 2013, Miley posted a video of herself twerking in a unicorn costume and it went viral. Shortly after, twerking became a signature dance move of hers, and that was when Miley put twerking on the map of pop culture.
Associated with American hip hop culture, twerking was started by ‘The Twerk Team’ in 2005 by two African American girls from Atlanta. Waka Flocka Flame gave them an honorable mention in his track Round of Applause, and soon hip hop producer and rapper Diplo helped make it a world wide trend. However, with Miley being a household name, she made sure that she associated everything she did with twerking. The video for her latest single glamorized the dance move to the point where it stirred debate on it being a racist move.
The video for her latest single, We Can’t Stop was probably a marketing move to remind people she no longer wants to be associated with Hannah Montana. The video shows Miley twerking (a lot), moving around in bed provocatively, dressed in a sheer body suit, dancing around with life-sized teddy bears.
Her video unfortunately, wasn’t the worst. At the recent MTV Video Music Awards (VMA 2013), Miley proved just how far she can go in her controversial performance of We Can’t Stop. She also performed live with Robin Thicke as he showcased his new summer hit, Blurred Lines. Miley managed to steal the spotlight from the R’n’B singer by appearing in a nude bikini (similar to the girls in the Blurred Lines video) and then twerked against Robin’s crotch.
While many have seen Miley’s act as extremely unbecoming of a young woman, we have reason to believe that Miley’s also trying to mock the misogynist tones of his video? We’ll let you ponder on that thought for a little!
Clearly, Miley’s performance of We Can’t Stop at the MTV VMA 2013 was a brilliant way for her to constantly get people talking about her. The girl knows how to claim her fame card, and despite all the controversy, she’s still able to make herself a household name without having to put out a sextape like some stars have.
Love her or hate her, Miley Cyrus is clearly here to stay.
More about Miley Cyrus:
#We Can’t Stop: Is Miley Taking it Too Far?
Lipstiq’s Definitive Guide to Twerking