During her final audition for Hannah Montana, 12-year-old Miley Cyrus wore her heart on her sleeve and her life-changing manifestation on her chest. “I should have my own TV show,” read the shirt she wore beneath a blue jacket in the tape. She was right. In the nearly two decades since she landed the role, the musician and actress has become woven into the fabric of pop culture history. Last night, at the 2024 D23 ceremony, Cyrus became the youngest-ever honoree to be presented with the title of Disney Legend.
“Before we get started, I’m going to let everybody in on a little Disney Legends’ secret — I’m the one that tells you what you’re not supposed to know,” Cyrus said early in her speech, noting from the very beginning that she 100 percent was going to cry. “And what I want to say is that legends get scared too. I’m scared right now… It’s legendary to be afraid and do it anyway. There’s no such thing as failure when you try.”
At the event, country musician Lainey Wilson introduced Cyrus with a cover of the song that started it all: “Best of Both Worlds.” The Hannah Montana theme song served as the foundation of a complete discography of songs that are inspiring an entire wave of pop singers almost 20 years later. Wilson herself called the moment “a dream come true,” adding: “Miley, I want to thank you for never being afraid to step outside the box, always staying true to yourself, and most importantly, always kicking butt.”
Cyrus has been that way from the start. During her speech, she reflected on her audition process back in 2005. “Disney was on a mission to rebuild and reimagine the company — that’s why they hired [Disney CEO] Bob Iger and me,” she joked. “There was a buzz in that Burbank Disney office where it’s rumored they create all of us Disney kids… I definitely wasn’t created in a lab but if I was, there must’ve been a bug in the system which caused me to malfunction somewhere between the years of 2013 and 16.”
The nod to her infamous Bangerz era was another instance of Cyrus embracing every moment of her career. Though that period of time was marked by a drastic distancing from the persona that made her a household name, she never managed to escape it completely. In hindsight, she might not have ever actually wanted to. “I stand here still proud to have been Hannah Montana. Because she made Miley in so many ways,” Cyrus said.
She recalled her first performance as the blond pop star. It was a free show put on at the Glendale Galleria mall. And while “Best of Both Worlds” would eventually become the all-time defining Hannah Montana song, Cyrus opened her set that day with “This Is the Life.” “Which, of course, no one knew,” she said. “Because in reality, I was a little girl in a blonde wig at the mall with a big dream. But in my heart, I was Hannah Montana. And I was so proud to be her.”
Cyrus watched the evolution of that little girl as a montage of footage from throughout her career was aired at the ceremony. She took it in tearfully and closed her speech with a moving dedication. “This award is dedicated to Hannah and all of her amazing, loyal fans and to everyone who has made my dream a reality,” she said. “To quote the legend herself: ‘This is the life.’”
