Living the Dream: Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: The Unofficial Story

147 Pages·2008·3.67 MB·English

by  Susan Janic

LivingtheDream_COVER 4/8/08 8:20 AM Page 1
Get the scoop on the girl behind that world-famous smile in Living the Dream, the first backstage
look at Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana. From Tennessean cheerleader to Oscar presenter, Miley’s
story is all captured here: her life before Hannah, her albums (and Hannah’s too), the Best of Both
Worlds tour, the upcoming Hannah Montana movie, and a month-by-month look at Miley’s meteoric
rise to superstardom. Featuring tons of full-color photos of Miley and her friends and family (some
never published before!), plus bios of Billy Ray Cyrus (“Robby Ray”), Jason Earles (“Jackson”), Emily
Osment (“Lilly”), Mitchel Musso (“Oliver”) and more, Living the Dream also includes a Hannah
Montana episode guide full of fun facts and bloopers! Sweet niblets!
THE UNOFFICIAL STORY
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ISBN-13: 978-1-55022-848-9
ISBN-10: 1-55022-848-X
ECW Press
$14.95
ecwpress.com/hannahmiley ECW
Trim Size: 8 x 10” Spine Size: .28125”
LivingtheDream_COVER 4/8/08 8:20 AM Page 1
Get the scoop on the girl behind that world-famous smile in Living the Dream, the first backstage
look at Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana. From Tennessean cheerleader to Oscar presenter, Miley’s
story is all captured here: her life before Hannah, her albums (and Hannah’s too), the Best of Both
Worlds tour, the upcoming Hannah Montana movie, and a month-by-month look at Miley’s meteoric
rise to superstardom. Featuring tons of full-color photos of Miley and her friends and family (some
never published before!), plus bios of Billy Ray Cyrus (“Robby Ray”), Jason Earles (“Jackson”), Emily
Osment (“Lilly”), Mitchel Musso (“Oliver”) and more, Living the Dream also includes a Hannah
Montana episode guide full of fun facts and bloopers! Sweet niblets!
THE UNOFFICIAL STORY
T
H
E

U
N
O
F
F
IC
IA
L

S
T
O
R
Y
ISBN-13: 978-1-55022-848-9
ISBN-10: 1-55022-848-X
ECW Press
$14.95
ecwpress.com/hannahmiley ECW
Trim Size: 8 x 10” Spine Size: .28125”
00_LivingtheDream_TEXTFinal 3/28/08 3:11 PM Page 1
THE UNOFFICIAL STORY
ECW PRESS
00_LivingtheDream_TEXTFinal 4/2/08 6:51 PM Page 2
Copyright © ECW Press,
Published by ECW Press,Queen Street East,Suite ,Toronto,Ontario,Canada  
.. ⁄[email protected]
All rights reserved.No part ofthis publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted in any form
byany process — electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,or otherwise — without the prior
written permission ofthe copyright owners and ECW Press.
Living the Dream: Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus,The Unofficial Storyis not authorized or endorsed
by Miley Cyrus,her management,the Disney Channel or the Disney-ABC Television Group.
Hannah Montanaand its characters are all copyright Disney.
      
Janic,Susan
Living the dream:Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus,the unofficial story / Susan Janic.
 ----
.Cyrus,Miley,–—Juvenile literature..Singers —United States —Biography —Juvenile literature.
.Actresses —United States —Biography —Juvenile literature..Hannah Montana (Television program)..Title.
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Editor:Jennifer Hale
Cover,text design,and production:Tania Craan
CoverImages:AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes (Hannah) and The Canadian Press/Kimberly P.Mitchell/Detroit Free
Press/MCT/Abacapress.com (Miley)
Printing:Transcontinental
The publicationofLiving the Dream has beengenerously supported by the Government ofCanada
throughthe Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP).
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INTRODUCTION
What is it that makes a phenomenon? What are the key ingredients that result in the per-
fect storm ofcircumstances to result in a pop culture sensation? It’s a difficult question that
could only be answered with uncertainty or else everythingwould be a phenomenon.
But actress/singer Miley Cyrus is that perfect storm.Or maybe it’s her dual on-screen
Disney Channel personas of Miley Stewart and Hannah Montana.The bottom line is that
the stars aligned in such a way that Miley,the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus,
persisted in auditioning for the Hannah Montana role,and was consistently turned away
but nonetheless kept picking herselfup,dusting herselfoffand trying again.And obviously
that persistence paid off.Miley was cast — as a pop superstar who is trying to balance her
celebrity with a normal life,thus living a secret identity along the lines of Clark Kent and
Superman — and instantlyconnected with the television audience,which turned the char-
acter and Miley herself into a sensation.
And since that debut there have been CDs that have sold in the millions, fashion and
book lines,best-selling DVDs,a concert tour that sold out literally within seconds oftickets
going onsale (with one woman going so far as to spend $13,000 on a set offour tickets!),a
3D concert film and a full-length feature film.
What’s most impressive about all of this is the fact that Miley seems so incredibly
unaffected by it all. Miley has often expressed her amazement at the speed at which
everything has changed,though she has been sure to emphasize that she’s still the same
person,and that her family dynamic has remained the same.They still go to church as a
familyevery Sunday and hang out together as often as they can.On a personal level,she’s
filled with inner contentment over the fact that she’s finally accomplished her dreams,
though at a considerably faster rate than she ever expected.
Well, if the past year is any indication, things are only going to get faster and more
intense. But Miley,surrounded by her friends and family,has given every indication that
she’llbeable tohandle everything that comes her way in a style that’s all her own.It’s what
being a phenomenon is all about.
Susan Janic
December 
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“I knew that I loved
the entertainment business
enough to keep acting and
singing for the rest of my life.”
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Miley (far right), her brothers and mom join Billy Ray Cyrus on stage during a Fan Fair fan
club party at their home in June 2001
With a name like Destiny Hope, it was been smiling,” offers Billy Ray in explana-
inevitable that the girl the world would tion.“As a little baby,she just had that smile
come to know as Hannah Montana would on her face and as you talk to a little baby,
ultimately be fated for show business great- it’s,like,‘Oh,she’s smiling,’and all ofa sud-
ness.It also didn’t hurt that her father was den she became Smiley.”
country singer Billy Ray Cyrus,he of“Achy “My dad made all these cute poems and
Breaky Heart”fame. all of these things about saying when I was
Born on November , , in ababy,I used to smile all the time.He used
Nashville, Tennessee, to Billy Ray and his to do this baby talk or whatever and he
wife Leticia “Tish” Cyrus, Miley was given started dropping letters every now and
the moniker Destiny Hope out of sheer then,which is how he went from ‘Oh,she’s
optimism:her parents felt that she was gen- smilin’ to Miley. And by the time I started
uinely destined for great things. Growing grade school, my mom suggested they
up, she was also given the nickname shorten it to Miley so it wouldn’t be embar-
“Smiley” by her parents.“She’s just always rassing.I could imagine being fifteen years
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old and my dad would be picking me up at Over the years,Miley has pointed out that
school and be yelling, ‘Hey, Smiley Miley, herfaith and values were instilled in her at
get in the car.’So my mom had a point.My a young age, and that family is one of the
grandma is the only one who still calls me most important things to her.
Destiny Hope, but my mom and dad love Mileydiscovered her desire to be part of
the name Miley and it stuck with me.” the entertainment world at a very young
Growing up, Miley found herself in a age, largely because even as a toddler she
loving family environment — and what a became absolutely mesmerized by the
family it was. Besides her parents, there response her father got every time he took
was her older half-brother Christopher, to the stage.By the age of two or three,she
fromaprevious relationship Billy Ray had could sense the magic there; a connection
been in; older half-sister Brandi and half- between the man she called Dad and the
brother Trace from a previous relationship audience that was calling out his name.
of Leticia’s; younger brother Braison “Having a famous dad was kind of
Chance and younger sister Noah Lindsey. cool,” she smiles. “That’s where I got the
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Eight-year-old Miley and actress Sarain Boylan
“She would always escape,” he clarifies.
goof around on the set of Doc
“IfI was up on stage,singing,performing,if
she broke free,she was coming out and get-
ting a hold of that microphone.”
idea that I wantedto sing and act,because I Remembers Miley,“It was an Elvis trib-
sang onstage with him. If it wasn’t for my ute and there were all ofthese legends there.
dad, I never would have discovered that I And my nanny — bless her,I have no idea
love it. I was singing on the stage with my how she did this — let me escape.I kicked
dad when I was two. I would sing ‘Hound and ran and I went up there and grabbed
Dog’and silly songs for the fun of it.” the microphone and started singing. And
“When she was three,”Billy Ray says,“I they started passing me around. It was so
would be on stage and she was supposed to much fun that I would escape whenever I
be off to the side ...” could to try and grab the microphone.”
Mileyinterjects,“He says I escaped from Yet while she was trying to hog the
my nanny.Occasionally.” spotlight,she also did her best to hide the
8