Hannah Montana at 20: Miley Cyrus Reflects on Disney Channel Fame

LOS ANGELES – Twenty years after its debut, Disney+ marked the anniversary of “Hannah Montana” with a special that reunited Miley Cyrus with the cast and creative team behind the hit series. The special, which premiered Tuesday, offered a nostalgic look back at the show’s impact and Cyrus’s own journey from a young hopeful to a global superstar.

The anniversary special opened with Cyrus revisiting the Hollywood lot where “Hannah Montana” was filmed, arriving in a Mustang with a license plate reading “HM 20.” She then took the stage, donning a familiar blond hairstyle reminiscent of her character, Hannah Montana, performing the show’s iconic opening theme. “How could it have been 20 years?” Cyrus remarked, reflecting on the passage of time.

Former Disney Channel president Gary Marsh played a pivotal role in the show’s creation, recognizing potential in a then-unknown Cyrus. Marsh recalled an email he sent to executives, stating he was “ready to pull the trigger on Miley,” despite acknowledging she was a “risk” as a relatively unknown talent from Tennessee. “Is she a risk? Absolutely. Is she a potential star? Absolutely,” Marsh wrote, according to the special. Marsh later told Cyrus and her mother, Tish Cyrus, that his ambition was to transform a fictional pop star into a real-life one.

Cyrus herself admitted she wasn’t initially driven by a burning desire for stardom. “I used to think of Hannah as something separate from myself,” she told podcaster Alex Cooper during a sit-down interview featured in the special. “I didn’t always think about that as if we were integrated.” She described feeling like a “virgin” in the entertainment industry when she first began, having only done some theater before landing the role. She recalled being cast as male characters due to her husky voice, but ultimately embracing the opportunity to play both Miley Stewart and her alter ego, Hannah Montana.

The show’s success launched Cyrus into the spotlight and helped elevate other young stars of the Disney Channel era, including Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, and the cast of “High School Musical.” Taylor Swift also made an early appearance in the “Hannah Montana” movie, and even penned the film’s closing song, “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home.”

Throughout the special, Cyrus revisited iconic sets, including Stewart’s rotating closet, and reminisced with her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, who played her father on the show. Billy Ray Cyrus remarked that the show felt “written for” them, describing it as “art imitating life imitating art.” Gomez also made a guest appearance, sharing laughs with Cyrus about their time as competing pop stars on the show.

Chappell Roan, a contemporary artist who grew up watching “Hannah Montana,” also appeared, telling Cyrus, “You literally walked so I can run.”

The special culminated with Cyrus performing a new song, “Younger You,” and reflecting on her journey. “I love being Hannah, I love being Miley Cyrus, I love my personas, but what I’m most proud of is who I am as a person,” Cyrus told Cooper. “I’m proud that that’s always stayed true.” Cyrus also noted that, as a “Disney Legend,” she now has a reserved parking spot on the Disney lot, a perk she particularly enjoys.

The special closed with Cyrus expressing optimism about the future, stating, “Everyone has a fantasy of wanting to feel loved…But to experience it now, and imagining what my next 20 years might look like, is going to be so different than it did on a TV show. But again, so much of it will hopefully be the same.”