Hannah Montana is the latest in a series of Disney original TV shows. The series revolves around a young girl named Miley Stewart. She's your typical teenage schoolgirl during the day, but at night she becomes superstar singing sensation Hannah Montana. Her double life is kept totally secret from the public. Only her family and a few close friends know.
Both Miley Stewart and Hannah Montana are played by Miley Cyrus, teenage singing sensation and daughter of country singing legend/actor, Billy Ray Cyrus.
Miley Ray Cyrus actually started out as Destiny Hope Cyrus, but she soon picked up the nickname smiley because she was smiling all the time. Somehow, smiley got shortened to Miley, and the nickname stuck. Eventually Miley decided to make it official and legally changed her name to Miley Ray Cyrus. She's always looked up to her dad so when it came time to pick a name, she wanted to be named after him. So she picked Ray as her middle name.
She's always tried to follow in his footsteps too. At age 11 when she originally auditioned for the Hannah Montana show, she had already worked for years preparing for the part. As a little girl, she appeared as an extra in a number of her dad's shows. Then at age 8 she played Ruthie in "Big Fish".
But that wasn't enough to make her a shoe-in for a part in Hannah Montana. In fact when she first auditioned for the role of Lilly and then later for the part of Hannah Montana, she was one of 1000 girls trying out. She was turned down by Disney executives for both roles. They told her she was too young.
She didn't let that stop her though. Miley stayed on the big Disney executives. She kept bugging them and wouldn't let up. Finally they granted her a second audition. Either she knocked them dead this time, or they were afraid she'd be stalking them if they turned her down again, because they gave her the lead role.
She's been singing and playing guitar for years too, long before she became Hannah Montana. She's already written hundreds of songs and released a number of them on three separate albums.
Disney released her first album, "The Hannah Montana Soundtrack", in October, 2006. She followed up in June, 2007 with her second album, "Hannah Montana 2: meet Miley Cyrus". Then in July, 2008, she released her third album, "Breakout". All three of her albums debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and have gone on to become huge hits.
The popularity of the Hannah Montana TV show has soared as well. In fact, Hannah Montana is the most watched show on cable for boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 14. That's one of the big reasons behind the huge demand for the Hannah Montana costume this Halloween.
Hannah's popularity has brought in plenty of money, for both Miley and Disney. As a matter-of-fact, Miley was named "The Richest Kid in the World" by People Magazine. This was right after Miley had signed a seven figure book deal with Disney. Also, while touring, with her band (as Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana), she brings in an estimated $1 million per week. She has also sold over 6.5 million albums and is expected to sell over $1 billion worth of Hannah Montana merchandise, including Hannah Montana costumes.
She's definitely reached "super celebrity" status now. She's been featured on the cover of People, CosmoGirl, and a number of other popular magazines, and in July of 2008, People Magazine devoted an entire special issue just to Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana. She's also won numerous TV and music awards and has even been asked to host and perform at a number of the award shows.
So right now, Hannah - Miley mania is at full peak. That's why the Hannah Montana costume is so popular this Halloween. All the little girls want to be Hannah, so don't be surprised if you look out and see the streets filled with blond headed girls with microphones in their hands this Halloween.
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