I like Miley

I am putting my hand up high. I am a Miley supporter and I am not ashamed to admit it. Yes, she is doing some daring things. Yes, she apparently doesn’t like to be constrained by clothes. And yes, she is front-page news almost every day but I think that is exactly what she is aiming for.

I used to be indifferent to Miley. After her controversial VMA performance my reaction was more shocked than appalled. The other night I was watching her documentary Miley: The Movement on MTV and my mind changed. I am now 100% pro Miley.

She refers to the new direction she is taking as ‘The Movement’. Everything Miley is doing at the moment is planned. Her VMA performance, for example, was supposed to be funny and shocking. So my ‘What was that?’ reaction was exactly the sort of response Miley was trying to get out of her audience. Elton John was on Ellen recently in support of Miley, ‘the artists are competing against each other for attention and it is the goal to flatten the opposition and she flattened the opposition. Nobody talked about anybody else except Miley.’

Image by Terry Richardson

Despite all the controversy surrounding her, Miley’s professional career has hit new heights. I think she is actually handling herself quite well for someone 20 years young. By 15 years old she had become a sensation that was taking over the world. Every move she made was followed, controlled and scrutinized. Now, she is just trying to be herself. When Miley was younger, in the middle of her Hannah Montana fame, her face was plastered over anything it could fit on; posters, CD’s, games and lunch boxes. In her documentary she insists that she doesn’t regret anything she did as a kid but does note that she had no control over her career. Now nothing has Miley’s name to it unless she approves it, unless it’s a part of ‘the movement’.

What it comes down to is that Miley is a performer. She wants to push the limits and do something shocking and entertaining. Whether you like her music or not, she is becoming more and more successful, if that’s even possible for someone who came in at number 13 on Forbes’ 2010 Top 100 Most Powerful celebrities list.