After three years in the spotlight, has singer-actress Miley Cyrus lost her grip on her original fans? Not a chance.

Every day these days is a “Party in the USA” for Miley Cyrus. 

“Party,” an irresistible dance tune that has the 16-year-old superstar singing the praises of Britney Spears and Jay-Z , is her hottest single yet, and she’s been officially anointed a diva after performing in VH1’s latest “Divas Live” concert.

It’s been quite The Climb to mega-fame for Miley, who first hit the radar as the country girl with dimples and bouncy curls enjoying the “best of both worlds” on Disney’s “Hannah Montana.” She’s morphed into a glam, sometimes-mischievous ingénue with a more-sophisticated sound.

But when she appears at Freedom Hall on Oct. 31, who will fill the seats? After three years in the spotlight, has Miley lost her grip on her original fans?

Ian Drew, senior music editor for US

Weekly, says she’s holding on to her original fan base, the girls who have been watching her on the Disney Channel’s “Hannah Montana” for three years, and is picking up hordes of new listeners as well.

“She’s just getting bigger,” Drew said. “Her music is maturing — for her — it’s not going out on a limb. She’s not pulling a Kelly Clarkson and getting all crazy on us and angry — and she’s still playing to the Disney crowd.”

As a side note, it seems Miley’s gay following is growing as well. “Party in the USA” has been co-opted for the Internet video “Party in the FIP (Fire Island Pines).”

Miley-mania is still in high gear. Every little thing the big star does is obsessively chronicled and criticized.

For example, when she announced she was erasing her Twitter account, the blog and tabloid worlds stood still. Miley milked the publicity even more by composing a rap explaining her choice and posting a performance of it on youtube.com.

When vaguely scandalous myspace.com pics of her surfaced, when she appeared clad only in a towel in Vanity Fair magazine, when she stood atop an ice-cream cart holding a pole for support at the Teen Choice Awards, great morality debates ensued.

“She’s good at getting herself attention in weird ways,” said Ann Donahue, a senior editor at Billboard magazine. “OK, she quit Twitter. Big deal. But it became this giant gossip thing. It’s this self-sustaining cycle where she doesn’t even have to do anything that dramatic and people talk about her.”

Whatever the scandal du jour , local Miley fans and their parents don’t let it get to them.

“I hear about some stuff. I hear she did a Vanity Fair photo shoot that caused a ruckus,” said Highlands resident Daniel Dilamarter. His twin daughters Callie and Lily, age 7, are big Miley fans.

“I figured if it was really anything serious, that would be mentioned in the news; but it wasn’t, so I didn’t really pay any attention. When she quit Twitter, I saw something about it and really couldn’t care less,” he said. “Anything about who she’s dating, I’m pretty ignorant of and my kids don’t know anything about it and I don’t and I don’t care.”

Dilamarter adds that his daughters spend their supervised Internet time on webkinz.com and other kiddie sites instead of perezhilton.com, and they like Miley just as much as when they first encountered her.

Dilamarter’s wife, Cindy, says she might listen to Miley even if her daughters didn’t insist on it.

“‘The Climb’ is really good,” she said, referring to Miley’s hit ballad from “Hannah Montana: The Movie.” “Just the lyrics themselves are extremely good.”

Miley hasn’t done anything to offend the Dilamarters so much that they’d forbid their daughters from listening to or watching her. Cindy Dilamarter credits much of Miley’s career success to her very attentive dad, Billy Ray Cyrus.

“Miley has the drive and has someone who’s been in the business and knows how completely sleazy it can be,” she said. “He has probably helped guide her through a lot of things Britney’s parents didn’t have the experience to help guide her through.”

Jeffersontown resident Chad Rediker, father of 9-year-old Miley fan Maddie Rediker, says her love for Miley has not waned over the years. The Redikers took Maddie to a Miley concert in Lexington two years ago, but they’re not going to the upcoming show.

Miley’s music has also helped bring father and daughter closer.

“I like (the music) fine,” he said. “She’s always been kind of happy pop. It’s good for singing songs with your daughter in the car. That’s what I became a dad for.”

Rediker has no worries about Miley maturing.

“I think she’s a 16-year-old girl and has a lot of money and fame,” he said. “She’s handled the whole thing pretty good. As long as she’s not out there getting caught doing cocaine or something, I have no problem with her growing up. That’s what they do.”

Parents and pre-tweens aren’t afraid to shout out their Miley love loud and proud. It’s a different story for the 20- and 30-somethings without kids who get a kick out of her.

“There’s an influx of people who like her more-adult music,” Billboard’s Donahue said. “I bet the concert in Louisville will be 60 percent teenybopper and 40 percent curious (people). More and more, the parents are totally OK with going.”

Local artist Carla Terwilleger, 29, is brave enough to come forward as an admirer of Miley’s music.

“It’s kind of like a closet thing with me and my friends,” she said. She adds that she and her friends love some of Miley’s songs, but most wouldn’t admit to it. Terwilleger got hooked on Miley’s music two years ago when the song “See You Again” came out.

“We literally could not stop playing it,” she said. Miley’s music is all over Terwilleger’s workout mixes because, “It’s fun, it’s upbeat, it gets you going. … It’s what people might not admit liking, but need.”

Still, Terwilleger has to draw the line somewhere.

“I like her on the radio,” she said. “But I wouldn’t go see her.”

Perhaps when and if Miley breaks entirely from Disney, the stigma will completely fade.

But Miley is still very much in the Disney fold. The Disney Channel’s “Hannah Montana,” in which Miley plays a pop star with a double life, is slated to continue for a fourth season. How long Miley will stay entwined with Hannah is anyone’s guess.

“What they could always do is spin it off into ‘Hannah Montana: The High School Years’ or ‘Hannah Montana: The College Years,’” Drew said. “It could go on forever. It could get spun off and picked up by a major network and become a huge hit.”

All of Miley’s albums are also still on the Hollywood Records label, which is a subsidiary of Disney.

Is there any chance of Miley totally reinventing herself at any point? Her birth name is Destiny Hope Cyrus. Perhaps she will create a fresh new image and become country-music superstar “Destiny Cyrus.”

“Anything could happen,” Drew said. “But right now, the formula’s working. And as long as it works, I don’t really see her diverting from it too much.”

Original Article Source: By Tamara Ikenberg • Courier-Journal.com • October 25, 2009

 My Comments to the Author:

I’m an adult and not afraid to admit I like Miley Cyrus’ music.

As a Billy Ray fan. I first heard of Miley (Destiny) in 1992 when she was born. I didn’t start paying attention to her until Disney premiered Hannah Montana 3 years ago. As a kid, I wanted to be a rock star. That’s not unusual, but I wanted to be a secret rock star living a double life. That’s why HM is my favorite TV show.

I’ve seen every HM episode and HM the movie 51 times at the theater. I went to 2 concerts (Best of Both Worlds & WonderWorld), and I have every CD. I’ve read Miles to Go. Now I’m reading The Last Song to prepare for her movie. I’m really just an average fan.

What I like most, is that Miley chased her dreams, and with some hard work became a great success. That’s a good example for all – young or old. Even with all her success, she doesn’t let it go to her head. She is still down to Earth.

Anyway, I want to thank you for this wonderful article. It is a fair appraisal and very well written.