Miley Cyrus Transformation

“Remember only God can judge ya

Forget the haters ‘cause somebody loves ya” (“We Can’t Stop” lyrics)

These lyrics from Miley Cyrus’ lead single of her 2013 album Bangerz perfectly encapsulate the new Miley Cyrus. First gaining popularity as the squeaky clean main character of the Disney show Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus has undergone a colossal change, shedding her Disney image in favor of a provocative Madonna-type figure. The twerking and tongue-twirling singer has undoubtedly transformed her star image drastically. Her debatable actions have become an integral aspect of her star text, including everything affiliated with her up until this point. Even if people disapprove of the new Miley, she is still popular within the music industry today. But what was the purpose of undergoing such a drastic transformation? Has this made her more or less popular amongst music

consumers today? Throughout Miley Cyrus’ journey, celebrity image transformation acts as both an advertising technique to renew popularity as well as proof that celebrities are rapidly changing commodities dependent on consumers.
A number of stars opt for a dramatic change to capture attention and Cyrus changed her image for similar reasons. A number of Disney stars have undergone a similar change such as in the cases of Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera. While Cyrus has also gone through the same process of going down the “sexy” route, she has become known for her flashy transition. Born in 1992 to country star Billy Ray Cyrus and wife Leticia, Miley Cyrus was destined to “evolve in front of the mechanical lens and in a fast-changing society” (Caramanica). As the pop star good girl in Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus was a role model in the eyes of the young children who tuned in to watch the popular hit show as well as the parents of these children who viewed Miley Cyrus as “totally non-threatening” (Miley Cyrus Biography). However, even before the final episode Hannah Montana aired in 2011, Miley Cyrus had already released her third studio album Can’t Be Tamed which started her transition. While there were past Miley controversies, these did not completely tarnish her good girl reputation. In her third album; however, she has a noticeably different sound and sings about more sexually explicit subjects than in her previous albums. When she released her fourth studio album Bangerz in 2013, the country singing Miley had vanished, replaced by the over the top and sexualized Miley that people know today. When prompted by interviewers why she elected to change her sound and image for her third album, Miley simply stated she was no longer inspired by her past style of music (Miley Cyrus Biography), but is this truly the case?
Similar to how countless management teams of celebrities help them undergo a change, Cyrus’ team probably encouraged her to change her image. Although good girl Miley was popular amongst her fans, the image was becoming worn out and she was not growing any younger. In order to appeal to wider audiences in addition to capturing attention, Miley’s team probably developed a strategy for her to undergo a transformation. Although heavily scrutinized by media and controversial amongst fans, Miley’s change attracted much needed publicity and as Hollywood often says “no publicity is bad publicity”. Having completely separated from her Disney image, Miley Cyrus can now continue expanding her new image and revolutionizing the music industry with her over-the-top work.
While media consumers are now fairly used to the new Miley Cyrus, when the transformation first occurred, Cyrus received a public reaction that was so varied that it made her more popular. There were the parents of the children who watched Hannah Montana who were disgusted that their children’s idol had become sexualized. On the contrary, Cyrus also appealed to more teenagers who enjoy her new style of music, which reached out to the teenage generation and “express[ed] the difference and significance of youth” (Marshall 159). Whereas she was losing her popularity amongst the older generation, Miley’s original fans that had watched Hannah Montana were conveniently at an age where they could enjoy her new music. If a concert is defined to be a type of authentication of pleasure and meaning of the original song content (Marshall 159), then all of Miley’s songs are fairly matched with performances that have "all the twerking, straddling and Bill Clinton-scandal-mocking that a person could want" (Sperry).
The paparazzi are especially helpful with the spread of news so that every time Miley does something new, everyone will know about it. In a way, this advances her popularity, as the past Miley would not have attracted this much media attention. There are a plethora of Miley-linked incidents that have popped up over the years; standout scandals include her 2009 Vanity Fair cover in which she was semi-nude, her 2012 haircut and bleached dye job, and her 2013 suggestive VMA performance with Robin Thicke (Toomey). Each of these incidents adds to the new star text that Miley has been creating for herself. Although it is difficult to tell if these antics were her own actions or the result of deliberate planning, they have worked in favor of promoting Miley’s new image. Although expected to be controversial, Cyrus attracts media attention every time she performs something debatable, such as when she first dropped the music video for Wrecking Ball. The video, which featured a naked Miley swinging on a wrecking ball, was highly publicized albeit notorious for its sexually explicit content. People are familiar with the idea of Miley performing scandalous actions and thus are waiting in anticipation for what she does next. Since celebrities are nevertheless linked to the audiences that they appeal to, the audience reaction to Miley is what keeps her on the frontlines of music.
After looking at the transformation that Miley Cyrus has undergone, the entire process of undergoing drastic change for celebrities can be viewed as a deliberate strategy.

The purpose behind change always has an element of attracting the paparazzi and catching people’s attention. Miley’s change was a descending process that was “creative” (Carmanica) and stimulating to the general public that did not see it coming. Miley’s change from good girl to bad girl was carefully crafted: from the initial shock of the transformation to the continuous scandals that penetrate the media, Miley has created and recreated her star text. First, Miley started off as an innocent popstar idol that sang about boys and crushes and breakups. Next, through promotion, Miley’s team worked on changing her sound and lyrical content to become sexual and free. After heavy publicity via media outlets, Miley’s new gaudy image was presented to shocked audiences with wide-ranging reactions. It was a combination of all of these elements, especially the debatable nature of her change that makes Miley a standout icon in the music

industry.
But moving beyond the typical purpose of advertisement within calculated celebrity image transformation, the celebrity can be seen as an ever-changing commodity controlled by media consumers. However a celebrity’s team may help with respective changes, all of it depends on what is trending at the moment and more importantly, what they think people need. In terms of image transformation being a calculation, a large part of the equation is the preferences and tastes of audiences. While countless celebrity transformations are based on audience preference, such as Taylor Swift’s music now being more about girl power and less about breaking up with boys, they are not necessarily completely agreeable with audiences. Looking at the case of Miley Cyrus again, it is evident that her change caught audiences by surprise. Her approach is calculated in a peculiar way in that many people did not adore or prefer this new Miley. However, it was exactly this polarizing aspect of her change that helped her skyrocket in fame and popularity.
Looking deeper into Miley’s transformation, it is curious to consider whether the change was her own decision or brought on by media consumers: combining the two into one evolving process makes the celebrity the product and the audiences the consumer. This cause and effect relationship between celebrity transformation and consumer response means that celebrities are constantly evolving based on what audiences desire. When the idea of celebrity is considered, the overarching idea that goes largely unnoticed is the fact that celebrities are here to serve us. While we fantasize and admire celebrities for their fame and glory and money and incredible bodies, celebrities themselves are only products created so we can consume them. We as people ultimately have the power over the celebrity since we decide who becomes popular and who tanks. But this makes the Miley situation even more fascinating since if people do not prefer the new Miley, how come they still fixate on whatever she does? This puzzle reveals an underlying factor of what people will prefer in terms of media: consumers like the safe and unthreatening but love the unexpected and puzzling.
In general, Miley Cyrus had a successful transformation of her star text since she was attention grabbing and polarizing. Her change was not only an advertising technique to reach out to wider audiences but also evidence that the celebrity exists to serve the people. Moreover, media consumers do not necessarily only buy into what they enjoy, rather they are attracted to what may be different and/or controversial. Although people are still ambivalent about Miley Cyrus, she has undeniably shaken up the music industry and will likely continue grabbing audiences by surprise.