Hannah Montana - 20th anniversary
We’ve found our way back home
Hey, Girlie! Thanks for coming to the Fort. I know it’s been a crazy week with the Hannah Montana 20th anniversary special. I still haven’t recovered! Grab one of the Hannah wigs I stashed here for special occasions and let’s talk about the return of the legend, the Rockstar that is Hannah Montana!
The Hannah Montana 20th anniversary special opens up with an iconic sequence of Miley riding up to the studio while Rockstar plays in the background. This made me want to scream with joy. Little Dorian was happy to be home. Then she proceeds to reference Hannah Montana: The Best Of Both Worlds Tour and Hannah Montana: The Movie by being elevated onto a stage through the floor! Such begins the first performance of the special. Miley sang Best Of Both Worlds and it was incredible! I couldn’t sing along because I kept getting choked up.
The next thing we know, Miley’s on the Stewart’s living room set and it looks exactly the same as it once has on our TVs. All this time, she looks incredible as well! Later in the special, Miley revealed that she dyed her hair blonde and put in some extensions to look like one of the Hannah wigs. As someone who’s been through her Bangerz era, when she said that Hannah is dead and she’s never doing it again, this felt like she made peace with the character, while still grounding herself in the reality of being Miley Cyrus. My hunch was proven correct when I later watched a clip from Good Morning America where she says exactly that.
The show and the character of Hannah Montana meant a lot to me as a kid. It was my first encounter with non-Croatian music, taught me English, and even got me some imaginary friends. Even though Miley had moved on from it, the way she used to talk about it hurt. It was sad that something she helped create that brought me joy, seemed to bring her pain. I’m really glad that she’s in a place where she can embrace it and love it, all the while seeing Hannah Montana as a part of herself.
Onto the interview. Honestly, most of the questions asked by Alex Cooper were answered already in other interviews which Miley, Tish, or other cast members did. If you like to consume content about Hannah Montana I doubt you’ll find much new information here. This would have been a fine interview on any other show. However, for a special about 20 years of Hannah Montana I expected more. In my opinion, the interview should have been led by Jason Earles (Jackson), who’s recently started a Hannah Montana podcast. If not him, then Chappell Roan, who also grew up with the show and had great chemistry with Miley during the special. Or nostalgia creators who grew up with it as well. To give the benefit of doubt, some of the questions were probably edited out.
I loved learning about Miley and Emily’s trip to Panda Express, the tea behind Taylor Swift’s casting in the movie, and Miley’s Disney crushes. I just wish we got more of that.
Speaking of other cast members, I really wish there were more of them in the special. Being in the Stewart’s living room and Hanna’s closet without Emily Osmet (Lily), Mitchel Musso (Oliver), and Jason Earles feels weird. I liked the segment with Billy Ray Cyrus and Selena but they were the only cast members apart from Miley who were featured. For the 20th Hannahversary, that is a let-down.
The bit with Selena is one of my favourites. Miley and her seem genuinely happy to reunite and reminisce, and it is evident that they both respect each other very much. Plus, it was great to hear Selena’s work as Mikayla being acknowledged. That hat still looks great on her! Selena was quick to give Miley her flowers by saying she’s created a culture. Miley was just as fast to reciprocate. I loved seeing my two favourite Disney stars laugh, hug, and be proud of each other.
Similar to Selena, the segment with Chappell Roan was amazing. The way she talked with Miley, I could feel the respect and love for what she’s done for artists like herself, as well as the love for the show. There was so much chemistry there. I fully believe that Chappell grew up watching Hannah Montana, loving it. The segment needed to either be longer, or Chappell should’ve led the main interview.
That leads us to the performances. I loved the Best Of Both World performance. Miley’s voice sounds great and it’s evident that she’s living for the fantasy once again. I wanted more of that. Throughout the special, we heard 4 songs. The other three were This Is The Life, The Climb, and Younger You, the latter of which is a new song made for the special.
This Is The Life is the first song we see Miley ever sing as Hannah. She’s recently been saying how much the song is special to her because it was also the first one she’s ever recorded for the show. So I was so disappointed when it was cut short. We only ever get to hear the first verse and chorus. The audience seemed ready to sing the second verse, as we can hear, but it was not meant to be. Or it was edited. Either way, let me sing with Miley, please! Don’t cut me off when the song’s just started.
While The Climb is a good song, it is already a part of Miley’s discography outside of Hannah Montana and she has sung it many times throughout the years. This was an opportunity to sing Nobody’s Perfect, Rockstar, or Old Blue Jeans which we haven’t heard in nearly 20 years. Had the special featured more songs, I wouldn’t mind it. But like this, I would prefer if it was swapped with one we wouldn’t otherwise get to hear performed.
Younger You is sung before the credits roll. It’s a heart-wrenching ballad, written as a letter from one’s younger self to the current one. It is beautiful. I was scared at having a new song enter the Hannah Montana universe because it is so important to so many people. But the fear was chased away as my eyes watered and I had to hold back tears while listening to it. I’ve been refreshing Miley’s YouTube channel for a full version ever since.
Watching this felt like catching up with a family member after years of being apart. It made me look back at my younger self, as well as Miley’s early days. I am beyond happy and proud of both of us. It’s been 20 years. So much has happened, we’ve achieved a lot, we’ve grown, yet somewhere inside, we’re still the same kids at the core. Thank you for being a part of my childhood, Miley and the rest of the cast of Hannah Montana. Miley, please, rerecord some Hannah hits for the anniversary. There’s no need for a reboot, just the music would be great ❤
Girlie, thank you as well for being here and hearing me out. It means a lot to have you enjoy the Fort. Let me know what you thought of the Hannah Montana 20th anniversary special so we can keep yapping in the comments. If you’d like, you can stay here more, reading posts, watching DVDs, playing games. Keep the wig on for as much as you like, too!
Dorian
The blog’s header and the drawing featured atop this post were made by @ambybun on Instagram
The DVD cover featured on the drawing was made by me