Opinion: Miley Cyrus is no less than an icon

Cyrus+poses+for+photoshoot.

Billboard

Cyrus poses for photoshoot.

Isabelle Burden, Online Managing Editor

Hip-hop music is a culture… an artistry that not many outsiders ever come to understand, yet for the millions of people inside the world of ‘twerking’ and blinged-out jumpers, hip-hop is a way of life. There seems to be an organization spewing out heinous performers who are full of perfectly sketched out schemes that will boost their careers.

The latest is Miley Cyrus. Yes, that former Hannah Montana sweetheart has really grown into her shoes…or as some would say, grown out of her shoes and become a completely different figure.
The massive reaction to Miley’s transformation from Disney days to twerking on the VMA’s shows that her fans are just not really to let go of “Miley Stewart”. Cyrus caught the eye of Disney in 2005 as a young teen. She starred in the hit TV series, “Hannah Montana” where she lived a double life as pop superstar, Hannah Montana, and ordinary teenager, Miley Stewart.

The show captivated young audiences around the globe, giving Cyrus quite a large fanbase at a young age.

Criticizing Cyrus for growing up is ineffective because she actually has done just that: grown up. You cannot expect a 21 year old woman to act the same as she did when she was 13. To criticize Cyrus at her age for acting more mature is exactly counter-productive, because she is more mature and intends to act like it.

Maybe the obsessive sticking out of the tongue and twerking habit aren’t exactly Disney Channel appropriate, but that isn’t her goal. Her goal is to get a reaction from everyone, and she has done just that.

If you think that all of these publicity stunts with the bleached eyebrows, new dress code, and R-rated performances and music videos weren’t part of her grand plan to gain popularity, then you seriously need to think again.

A couple years after Hannah Montana went off the air, Miley Cyrus was a figment of the past, merely an afterthought. She was out of the limelight and therefore needed to do something to get back in it, and her former path obviously wasn’t leading anywhere.

Now, Cyrus is raking in over 500 thousand copies of her new album “Bangerz” and gaining national attention for being a significant hip-hop figure of the new decade. TIME Magazine has named Cyrus one of the final candidates for the ‘Time’s Person of the Year”.

This honor would not go to anyone who was not a master of the music scene and had a good and strategic head on their shoulders.