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Monday, October 14, 2013

Miley Rides Publicity to Number 1

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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