Miley Cyrus latest album, "Bangerz," is at the top
of iTunes in 70 countries, and the expectation is that she's going to arrive at
the top of Billboard's 200 album chart as well.
While her success could be brushed off with the industry
motto "all publicity is good publicity," those who've closely watched
the 20-year-old's development say that's not the whole story.
In CNN's "The Life of Miley Cyrus," which examines
Cyrus' music, message and personal journey, insiders who've intimately come to
know the singer/actress say that her transition from a childhood of ATVs and
cheerleading to adult superstardom was no accident. Instead, Cyrus has executed
her transformation with total control.
Shirley Halperin, music editor for The Hollywood Reporter,
tells CNN she gives Cyrus "a lot of credit for her own street smarts and
her own understanding of what consumers want."
After all, Halperin says, "there was a time when people
thought Miley Cyrus would never be on Top 40 radio, because Disney was too
squeaky clean. Well ... she's certainly turned that around."
And how did she do that? By systematically shedding her
reputation as a tween celebrity. Cyrus herself has never been "squeaky
clean" -- even before she turned 18, her actual image was occasionally at
odds with the image those parents paying for tickets to "Hannah
Montana" concerts expected.
According to Josh Eells, the Rolling Stone writer who went
skydiving and to a tattoo shop with Cyrus for Rolling Stone's recent cover
story, believes the beginning of this transition happened at 17, when Cyrus was
filming the comedy "LOL" in Detroit
with Demi Moore.
While "LOL" failed to make a dent in Cyrus' rep, a
certain haircut that same year definitely did. In August 2012, the singer made
one of the biggest statements a young celebrity can make: she drastically
changed her look with a super-short, platinum blonde haircut, a clear departure
from anything she'd done before.
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