The singer opened up on the lasting effects of her childhood stardom.
It's been over 10 years since Miley Cyrus debuted as her beloved Disney Channel character Hannah Montana and became a worldwide sensation at just 13 years old. Now, the singer is reflecting on her time on the show, and the lasting impact her childhood stardom has had on her.
“I liked being in the Disney universe ’cause I didn’t know anything else," she tells correspondent Anthony Mason in a new interview with CBS Sunday Morning. "I knew I was getting to live what I wanted to do. I think now that I’m older now, I realize that’s a lot to put on a kid.”
That pressure weighed on Cyrus, who felt like she struggled to balance being a young person and a professional all at once.
“It’s a lot to put on a kid to have them have to get their makeup done and then also balance school and then also have me dress up in a wig. It’s a little Toddlers and Tiaras," she says.
But, her memories of her Hannah Montana days aren't all negative.
"I definitely look back on it as a good time," she muses. "I think what was hard for me was balancing everything. I think it got harder when I started touring as both -- I toured as Hannah Montana and as myself.”
She also jokes that juggling the dueling Hannah/Miley personalities may have impacted her as an adult.
"I think that’s probably what’s a little bit wrong with me now!” she laughs. “I mark that up to doing some extreme damage in my psyche as an adult person.”
Still, Hannah is a character that Cyrus still embraces and appreciates for the message it offered her young fans.
"I loved being that character," she admits. "And honestly, music is everything and all people wanna have is great music and for that audience, for what that was, that was great music for kids to listen to. There’s a song called ‘Life’s What You Make it, so Let’s Make it Rock.’ Never forget that -- wise words. That’s a good thing to tell kids."
The singer also acknowledges that moving on from her time as a child star was perhaps tougher for fans than it was for her.
"America feels like my aunt. ‘You know, you’ve grown up so much and we don’t want to see you grow up,’” Cyrus explains.
The 24-year-old is all grown up now though, and has had a busy 2017, from spending time with her longtime love Liam Hemsworth, to releasing her new album, Younger Now, and appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and an epic Carpool Karaoke episode with James Corden. For more, watch the video below!
