Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus became an overnight sensation in 2006 as the lead of the Disney Channel television series Hannah Montana, but as the years went on, she established herself as a pop star in her own right. Overnight popularity wasn’t a new thing for the Cyrus family; Miley’s father, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, went from obscurity to stardom in a few short months in 1992, when “Achy Breaky Heart” became a crossover hit. The success of “Achy Breaky Heart” was hardly the only memorable event for Billy Ray that year, though, as he and his wife welcomed their daughter Destiny Hope Cyrus into the world on November 23, 1992. Destiny’s cheerful disposition as a child earned her the nickname Smiley, which stuck when it was shortened to Miley.
After making a number of television appearances and appearing in the films LOL and So Undercover, Cyrus decided to return to music, choosing to go in a more grown-up direction by enlisting a number of popular rap producers, including Pharrell Williams. The resulting effort, entitled Bangerz, combined crunky beats with synth pop, electro, and stadium rock tropes. Released in October 2013, it was promoted by Cyrus with a controversial performance at the MTV VMAs, which seemed to get the whole world talking about her.