Miley Cyrus is the Joe Biden of teen-pop singers, prone to remarkably candid, off-the-script interviews that must drive her publicists absolutely nuts. Last November she cut down her own hit single "Party in The U.S.A.," saying that despite its chorus about grooving to Jay-Z, she'd never heard a song by the rapper. She added that she doesn't listen to pop, either, and that "Party in The U.S.A." was "not even my style of music."
More recently, in an upcoming interview with Parade magazine, Cyrus talks about being miserable on the set of "Hannah Montana," and she offers a surprisingly scathing critique of contemporary country music, saying the genre scares her.
"It feels contrived on so many levels," she says. "Unless you’re wearing a cowboy hat and cowboy boots and singing and whining about your girlfriend or boyfriend leaving you it’s not going to sell. I think that’s why my dad finally got out of it. You have to wear those cowboy boots and be sweet as pie. It makes me nervous, the politics of it all.”
It's a timeless tension between teen stars and their handlers: The star outgrows the franchise that made them famous and begins to feel resentful about it. Cyrus' case is particularly extreme, given that Disney is still dressing her in pink polka dots and making her sing Kidz Bop tunes like "Party in The U.S.A.," a song better suited for a 10-year-old than a 17-year-old. Nobody can blame her for wanting to assert her independence.
Still, if Cyrus doesn't like pop and she doesn't like country, exactly what kind of artist does she want to be? Is she hoping to grow up, marry M. Ward, then start selling acoustic adult-alternative albums through Starbucks? As mildly tragic as it is seeing somebody pigeonholed when they're so young, it's hard to imagine a career path for Cyrus that doesn't ultimately involve her singing some sort of music she doesn't like.
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