When Sabrina Carpenter was six years old, she attended Disney's Hannah Montana and realized exactly who she wanted to be.
“I remember … watching the pilot and being like, 'I want to do this.' I want to sing, I want to act and I want to dance. I want to do all these things,” she said in one Interview 2020. Three years later, Carpenter would end up getting her big break thanks to the show's star Miley Cyrus, who was competing in MileyWorld Superstar Contest to get a record deal. She placed third, but found her way to Disney and a music career within a few years, thanks to the cast Girl meets people.
From 2006 to 2011 it was impossible to avoid the phenomenon that it was Hannah Montana and then Miley Cyrus. The premise was the ultimate childish display of brilliance: By day, Cyrus' Miley Stewart was a normal high school girl with normal high school problems. at night, she donned a blonde wig and became Hannah Montana's superstar counterpart. Montana's rock star life was bright pop fun, creating some of the best Disney-related music of its era and translating into actual Top 40 hits. It also turned Cyrus into a megastar, one who seemed to be morphing into a real Hannah Montana right in front of the world's eyes, as she began to debut songs under her name.
Carpenter isn't the only Gen Z pop star of the moment who found his calling by watching the show. Chapel Roan kept showing her Hannah Montana fans as a starting point for her own ambitions. During a show in New York in early 2023, Roan even performed in Hannah Montana drag for a few songs. Meanwhile, videos and photos from Olivia Rodrigo's childhood highlight her pre-adolescent love of the show (and like Carpenter, she also got her start on the same channel as Cyrus before launching into an even bigger singing career). The most divisive JoJo Siwa credits the show with her own origins, with her mom saying Rolling rock Years ago she wanted her daughter to “be the next Hannah Montana.” (Siwa most recently mentioned Cyrus' Bangerz era as the main inspiration for her more adult career).
Its effects Hannah MontanaHer success was immediate in many ways, boosting the careers of her then-Disney co-stars Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, the Jonas Brothers, and the shows and movies they each made. But the impact of the show and Cyrus' star power is finally being felt in full force these days. We're now entering the Hannah Montana generation of pop stars: young artists who not only evoke the show's cute and bold aesthetic and unapologetically sweet music, but also the type of larger-than-life persona that Montana had in comparison to “real-life » Stewart. Carpenter is the epitome of the Hannah Montana obsession of her own career and brand: in recent years, she has leaned into the styling, makeup and big blonde hair that has become her signature look when she performs. It's translated even more in her latest string of releases, with songs like 'Feather', 'Espresso' and 'Please Please Please' matching that cozy, pastel and bejeweled-heart, girly persona she projects on camera.
Like Carpenter, Roan's own music in the years leading up to recent global success was a mix of heartfelt confessional songs and big, bold, arena-worthy pop anthems. Recent viral hits like “Hot to Go!” and “Femininomenon” feel like exactly the kind of songs an older Hannah Montana would make, stepping up to the punch of songs like “Rock Star” paired with the worminess of “Nobody's Perfect” or “The Best of Both Worlds.”
It's probably no coincidence that during the time of her greatest influence, Cyrus herself had a career renaissance. Her 2023 single “Flowers” became her biggest song to date, a feat for someone nearly 20 years into a career full of platinum-selling hits. She also picked up her first Grammy Awards at this year's ceremony, a long-overdue honor that Cyrus celebrated on stage with a groundbreaking performance during the telecast. Unlike her numerous other head-turning TV appearances, the focus was on her singing and stage presence and nothing else.
This is just the beginning of the world, seeing the Hannah Montana generation take over. Carpenter and Roan have been trying to become the kind of hit people they are now for years respectively — and who knows how many other young kids who learned how to make and perform a really great pop song from Cyrus are still waiting in the wings for their shine. their time.
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/hannah-montana-pop-music-generation-sabrina-carpenter-chappell-roan-1235051502/
