Miley Cyrus Fandom


The Smilers

Miley Cyrus - YouTube

Figure 1: Miley from a recent photoshoot

 I have been a fan of Miley Cyrus ever since I was very young. I remember feeling a rush of pure excitement whenever watching her TV show, Hannah Montana. Later on in life, after her show TV ended, I found myself continuing to love everything that she did, whether it was music or starring in a movie. Over the years, not only has she become my all time favorite artist but someone that I admire and look up to. Miley Cyrus started to gain a fanbase when she was very young.  She played as Hannah Montana /Miley Stewart in a popular TV show called Hannah Montana. According to Wikipedia, Hannah Montana first aired in March of 2006 and received 5.4 million viewers (2021).This show was watched by many young people and she quickly gained a fanbase as Hannah Montana. Later, beyond the show, she began to release music as herself, Miley Cyrus. This is when she gained her fanbase called the Smilers. Her fanbase was named after her childhood nickname, Smiley. 

All about the Smilers 

Miley Cyrus' fandom looks forward to her live performances. Miley has toured all around the world to perform her songs to her excited fans. According to Wikipedia, so far, she has had five concert tours in which three of them were worldwide. The amount of people who attended these concerts ranged from 289,000+ people to 607,000 (2021). Her concerts are a way that her fans are able to enjoy her music in a live setting. Also, they are a way for both the fandom and Miley to show their appreciation for each other and her music. 

Miley Cyrus, Charlie Wilson, Wiz Khalifa, and more at Summerfest 2021

Figure 2: Miley during a performance 

Another way that her fandom express themselves is through social media. Many smilers have created Pinterest boards, instagram accounts, and Tik Toks in honor of Miley. "mileysstans" is a fan account for Miley that currently has 35.5k followers and one of them being Miley. This account has videos of interviews Miley has been in, live performances videos, pictures of her that paparazzi has taken and even funny pictures of Miley. That is just one instagram account among the many that the fandom has made for Miley. Accounts like that help keep everyone in the fandom in the loop about how Miley is doing and what she does when it comes to a day in her life and most important, her music. Miley also has a website for her own merch. This merch is usually bought by people in the fandom. The website offers tees, sweatshirts, sweatpants, and even masks. These items of clothing have her name with a picture of her on it, or quotes that she has come up with to be a part of the designs. Fans being able to purchase and wear her merch helps them to be able to express their love and passion for her.

miley photoshoots | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs | Tumgir 

Figure 3: A photo of Miley from a recent photo shoot

Who are the Smilers?

A lot of different people are a part of Miley's fandom. According to Billboard, " One word could describe us very well: "transition." Smilers have been there since 2006, and the fans have changed along with Miley Cyrus - starting from something as sweet as Hannah Montana to something as explosive as Miley is today. Miley also taught us that we shouldn't be afraid to show who we really are, to be true to ourselves and to help people (like Miley helps the youth LGBT community with the Happy Hippie Foundation)" (Billboard Staff 2015). Mileys fandom consists of the youth(young adults or kids) that have grown up alongside with her. A lot of her fandom also consists of people who a part of the LGBT community. These people look up to her as she is also a part of that community. Miley inspires her fans to be comfortable with who they really are.

Miley Cyrus has been a big inspiration and role model for her fans. She was around for her fans' childhood when she played as Miley in Hannah Montana and when she played different roles in different movies. She practically grew up with her fans. Her fans were able to watch her grow into an amazing woman and could see that she did not care what others thought. In her later teen years, when she broke out of her shell and began to change her image, she dealt with a lot critics but continued to grow as an artist and become her true self. 

Miley Cyrus Says 'Hannah Montana Was Not a Character,' It Was Her Life   
Figure 4: A side by side image of Miley when she was Hannah Montana as to now.
Works Cited

“#Miley Photoshoots: Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs.” Tumgir, https://www.tumgir.com/tag/miley%20photoshoots. 

Cox, Ebony. “Miley Cyrus, Charlie Wilson, Wiz Khalifa and More at Summerfest 2021.” Miley Cyrus, Charlie Wilson, Wiz Khalifa, and More at Summerfest 2021, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 18 Sept. 2021, https://www.jsonline.com/picture-gallery/entertainment/music/2021/09/18/charlie-wilson-wiz-khalifa-run-jewels-and-more-summerfest-2021/8317229002/. 

“Hannah Montana.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Nov. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Montana. 

“List of Miley Cyrus Live Performances.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Nov. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Miley_Cyrus_live_performances. 

“Miley Cyrus.” YouTube, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn7dB9UMTBDjKtEKBy_XISw. 

Schild, Darcy. “Miley Cyrus Said 'Hannah Montana Was Not a Character' and She Sees Herself in the Concept of the Show.” Insider, Insider, 5 Dec. 2020, https://www.insider.com/miley-cyrus-talks-about-hannah-montana-role-2020-12.                                

Staff, Billboard. “Miley Cyrus Fan on Being a Smiler: 'She Is Not Afraid of Being Different'.” Billboard, 16 Aug. 2015, https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/miley-cyrus-fans-smilers-fan-army-essay-6633523/. 



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