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Billboard logo

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday. A new chart is compiled and officially released to the public by Billboard on Thursday. Each chart is dated with the "week-ending" date of the Saturday two weeks after. Example:

• Monday, January 1 – sales tracking-week begins
• Wednesday, January 3 – airplay tracking-week begins
• Sunday, January 7 – sales tracking-week ends
• Tuesday, January 9 – airplay tracking-week ends
• Thursday, January 11 – new chart released, with issue date of Saturday, January 20.

The first number one song of the Hot 100 was "Poor Little Fool" by Ricky Nelson on August 4, 1958. As of the issue for the week ending June 9, 2012, the Hot 100 has had 1,015 different number-one hits. Its current number-one is "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye featuring Kimbra.^[1]

History[link]

What has always been known as the Hot 100 had existed for nearly fifteen years as numerous charts, tracking and ranking the most popular singles of the day in several areas. During the 1940s and 1950s, popular singles were ranked in three significant charts:

• Best Sellers In Stores—ranked the biggest selling singles in retail stores, as reported by merchants surveyed throughout the country (20 to 50 positions).
• Most Played By Jockeys—ranked the most played songs on United States radio stations, as reported by radio disc jockeys and radio stations (20 to 25 positions).
• Most Played In Jukeboxes—ranked the most played songs in jukeboxes across the United States (20 positions). This was one of the main outlets of measuring song popularity with the younger generation of music listeners, as many radio stations resisted adding rock 'n roll music to their playlists for many years.

Although officially all three charts had equal "weight" in terms of their importance, many chart historians refer to the Best Sellers In Stores chart when referencing a song’s performance prior to the creation of the Hot 100. Billboard eventually created a fourth singles popularity chart that combined all aspects of a single’s performance (sales, airplay and jukebox activity), based on a point system that typically gave sales (purchases) more weight than radio airplay. On the week ending November 12, 1955, Billboard published The Top 100 for the first time. The Best Sellers In Stores, Most Played By Jockeys and Most Played In Jukeboxes charts continued to be published concurrently with the new Top 100 chart.

On June 17, 1957, Billboard discontinued the Most Played In Jukeboxes chart, as the popularity of jukeboxes waned and radio stations incorporated more and more rock-oriented music into their playlists. The week ending July 28, 1958 was the final publication of the Most Played By Jockeys and Top 100 charts, both of which had Perez Prado's instrumental version of "Patricia" ascending to the top.

On August 4, 1958, Billboard premiered one main all-genre singles chart: the Hot 100. Although similar to the Top 100, the first Hot 100 chart reset all songs’ "weeks on chart" status to "1". The Hot 100 quickly became the industry standard and Billboard discontinued the Best Sellers In Stores chart on October 13, 1958.

The Billboard Hot 100 is still the standard by which a song’s popularity is measured in the United States. The Hot 100 is ranked by radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen BDS, sales data compiled by Nielsen Soundscan (both at retail and digitally) and streaming activity provided by online music sources.

There are several component charts that contribute to the overall calculation of the Hot 100. The most significant ones are shown below.

• Hot 100 Airplay—(per Billboard) approximately 1,000 stations, "composed of adult contemporary, R&B, hip-hop, country, rock, gospel, Latin and Christian formats, digitally monitored twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Charts are ranked by number of gross audience impressions, computed by cross-referencing exact times of radio airplay with Arbitron listener data."

• Hot Singles Sales—(per Billboard) "the top selling singles compiled from a national sample of retail store, mass merchant and internet sales reports collected, compiled, and provided by Nielsen SoundScan."

The chart is released weekly and measures sales of physical commercial singles. With the decline in sales of physical singles in the US, songs that become number one on this chart often do not even chart on the Hot 100. Elton John has the record for most physical singles sold in a week, with 3.4 million copies of "Candle in the Wind 1997/Something about the Way You Look Tonight" sold the week of October 11, 1997.

• Hot Digital Songs—Digital sales are tracked by Nielsen SoundScan and are included as part of a title's sales points.

• On-Demand Songs — A collaboration between Billboard, Nielsen SoundScan and National Association of Recording Merchandisers which measures every on-demand play request and plays from unlimited listener-controlled radio channels.

Hot 100 policy changes[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The methods and policies by which this data is obtained and compiled have changed many times throughout the chart’s history.

As the advent of a singles music chart spawned chart historians and chart-watchers and greatly affected pop culture and produced countless bits of trivia, the main purpose of the Hot 100 is to aid those within the music industry – to reflect the popularity of the "product" (the singles, the albums, etc.) and to track the trends of the buying public. Billboard has (many times) changed its methodology and policies to give the most precise and accurate reflection of what is popular. A very basic example of this would be the ratio given to sales and airplay. During the Hot 100’s early history, singles were the leading way by which people bought music. At times when singles sales were robust, more weight was given to a song’s retail points than to its radio airplay.

As the decades passed, the recording industry concentrated more on album sales than singles sales. Musicians eventually expressed their creative output in the form of full-length albums rather than singles, and by the 1990s many record companies stopped releasing singles altogether (see Album Cuts, below). Eventually a song’s airplay points were weighted more so than its sales. Billboard has adjusted the sales/airplay ratio many times to more accurately reflect the true popularity of songs.

Double-sided singles[link]

Billboard has also changed its Hot 100 policy regarding “two-sided singles” several times. The pre-Hot 100 chart "Best Sellers in Stores" listed popular A- and-B-sides together, with the side that was played most often (based on its other charts) listed first. One of the most notable of these, but far from the only one, was Elvis Presley’s "Don’t Be Cruel" / "Hound Dog." During the Presley single’s chart run, top billing was switched back and forth between the two sides several times. But on the concurrent "Most Played in Juke Boxes," "Most Played by Jockeys" and the "Top 100," the two songs were listed separately, as was true of all songs. With the initiation of the Hot 100 in 1958, A- and-B-sides charted separately, as they had on the former Top 100.

Starting with the Hot 100 chart for the week ending November 29, 1969, this rule was altered; if both sides received significant airplay, they were listed together. This started to become a moot point by 1972, as most major record labels solidified a trend they had started in the 1960s by putting the same song on both sides of the singles it serviced to radio.

More complex issues began to arise as the typical A-and-B-side format of singles gave way to 12 inch singles and maxi-singles, many of which contained more than one B-side. Further problems arose when, in several cases, a B-side would eventually overtake the A-side in popularity, thus prompting record labels to release a new single, featuring the former B-side as the A-side, along with a "new" B-side.

The inclusion of album cuts on the Hot 100 put the double-sided hit issues to rest permanently.

Album cuts[link]

As many Hot 100 chart policies have been modified over the years, one rule always remained constant: songs were not eligible to enter the Hot 100 unless they were available to purchase as a single. However, on December 5, 1998 the Hot 100 changed from being a "singles" chart to a "songs" chart. During the 1990s, a growing trend in the music industry was to promote songs to radio without ever releasing them as singles. It was claimed by major record labels that singles were cannibalizing album sales, so they were slowly phased out. During this period, accusations began to fly of chart manipulation as labels would hold off on releasing a single until airplay was at its absolute peak, thus prompting a top ten or, in some cases, a number one debut. In many cases, a label would delete a single from its catalog after only one week, thus allowing the song to enter the Hot 100, make a high debut and then slowly decline in position as the one-time production of the retail single sold out.

It was during this period that several popular mainstream hits never charted on the Hot 100, or charted well after their airplay had declined. During the period that they were not released as singles the songs were not eligible to chart. Many of these songs dominated the Hot 100 Airplay chart for extended periods of time:

• 1995 The Rembrandts – "I’ll Be There For You" (number one for eight weeks)
• 1996 No Doubt – "Don't Speak" (number one for 16 weeks)
• 1997 Sugar Ray featuring Super Cat – "Fly" (number one for six weeks)
• 1997 Will Smith – "Men in Black" (number one for four weeks)
• 1997 The Cardigans – "Lovefool" (number two for eight weeks)
• 1998 Natalie Imbruglia – "Torn" (number one for 11 weeks)
• 1998 Goo Goo Dolls – "Iris" (number one for 18 weeks)

As debate and conflicts occurred more and more often, Billboard finally answered the requests of music industry artists and insiders by including airplay-only singles (or "album cuts") in the Hot 100.

EPs[link]

Extended play (EP) releases were listed by Billboard on the Hot 100 and in pre-Hot 100 charts (Top 100) until the mid-to-late 1960s. With the growing popularity of albums, it was decided to move EPs (which typically contain four to six tracks) from the Hot 100 to the Billboard 200, where they are included to this day.

Paid digital downloads[link]

Since February 12, 2005, the Billboard Hot 100 tracks paid digital downloads from such internet services as iTunes, Napster, Musicmatch, and Rhapsody. With paid digital downloads added to the airplay/sales formula of the Hot 100, many songs benefited on the charts from the change. Billboard initially started tracking downloads in 2003 with the Hot Digital Tracks chart. However, these downloads did not count towards the Hot 100 and that chart (as opposed to Hot Digital Songs) counted each version of a song separately (the chart still exists today along with Hot Digital Songs). This is the first major overhaul of the Hot 100's chart formula since December 1998.

The change in formula has shaken up the chart considerably, with some songs debuting on the chart strictly with robust online sales and others making drastic leaps. In recent years, several songs have been able to achieve 80-to-90 position jumps in a single week as their digital components were made available at online music stores. Since 2006, the all-time record for the biggest single-week upward movement was broken nine times.

In the issue dated August 11, 2007, Billboard began incorporating weekly data from Streaming media and On-demand services into the Hot 100. The first two major companies to provide their statistics to Nielsen BDS on a weekly basis are AOL Music and Yahoo! Music, with more to follow in the future.^[2] On March 24, 2012, Billboard premiered its On-Demand Songs chart, and its data was newly incorporated into the equation that compiles the Hot 100.^[3]

Remixes[link]

Billboard has also answered the call of music industry insiders^[who?] who raised an issue regarding song remixes. A growing trend in the early first decade of the 21st century was to issue a song as a "remix" that was so drastically different in structure and lyrical content from its original version that it was essentially a whole new song. Under normal circumstances, airplay points from a song’s album version, "radio" mix and/or dance music remix, etc. were all combined and factored into the song’s performance on the Hot 100, as the structure, lyrics and melody remained intact. Criticisms began when songs were being completely re-recorded to the point that they no longer resembled the original recording. The first such example of this scenario is Jennifer Lopez’ "I'm Real". Originally entering the Hot 100 in its album version, a "remix" was issued in the midst of its chart run that featured rapper Ja Rule. This new version proved to be far more popular than the album version and the track was propelled to number one.

To address this issue, Billboard now separates airplay points from a song’s original version and its remix, if the remix is determined to be a "new song". Since administering this new chart rule, several songs have charted twice, normally credited as "Part 1" and "Part 2". The remix rule is still in place.

Recurrents[link]

Billboard, in an effort to allow the chart to remain as current as possible and to give proper representation to new and developing artists and tracks, has (since 1991) removed titles that have reached certain criteria regarding its current rank and number of weeks on the chart. Recurrent criteria have been modified several times and currently (as of 2010), a song is permanently moved to "recurrent status" if it has spent 20 weeks on the Hot 100 and fallen below position number 50. Exceptions are made to re-releases and sudden resurgence in popularity of tracks that have taken a very long time to gain mainstream success. These rare cases are handled on a case-by-case basis and ultimately determined by Billboard’s chart managers and staff.

The most notable exception to the recurrent entry policy applies to holiday-themed releases, which are commonly reissued year after year in anticipation of Christmas purchasing. After its initial chart run, a holiday entry cannot re-enter the Hot 100 in subsequent years.

Year-end charts[link]

Billboard's "chart year" runs from the first week of December to the final week in November. This altered calendar allows for Billboard to calculate year-end charts and release them in time for its final print issue on the last week of December. Prior to Nielsen SoundScan, year-end singles charts were calculated by an inverse-point system based solely on a song’s performance on the Hot 100 (for example, a song would be given one point for a week spent at position 100, two points for a week spent at position ninety-nine and so forth, up to 100 points for each week spent at number one). Other factors including the total weeks a song spent on the chart and at its peak position were calculated into its year-end total.

After Billboard began obtaining sales and airplay information from Nielsen SoundScan, the year-end charts are now calculated by a very straightforward cumulative total of yearlong sales and airplay points. This gives a more accurate picture of any given year’s most popular tracks, as a song that hypothetically spent nine weeks at number one in March could possibly have earned fewer cumulative points than a song that spent six weeks at number three in January. Songs at the peak of their popularity at the time of the November/December chart-year cutoff many times end up ranked on the following year's chart as well, as their cumulative points are split between the two chart-years, but often are ranked lower than they would have been had the peak occurred in a single year.

Limitations[link]

The limitations of the Hot 100 have become more pronounced over time. Since the Hot 100 was based on singles sales, as singles have themselves become a less common form of song release, the Hot 100's data represented a narrowing segment of sales until the December 1998 change in the ranking formula.

Few music historians believe that the Hot 100 has been a perfectly accurate gauge of the most popular songs for each week or year. For example, during the 1950s and 1960s, payola and other problems skewed the numbers in largely undetectable ways.^[4]

Further, the history of popular music shows nearly as many remarkable failures to chart as it does impressive charting histories. Certain artists (such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin) had tremendous album sales while being oblivious to the weekly singles charts. Business changes in the industry also affect artists' statistical "records." Single releases were more frequent and steady, and were expected to have much shorter shelf lives in earlier decades, making direct historical comparisons somewhat specious. Of the sixteen singles to top the Billboard chart for more than ten weeks since 1955, just one was released before 1992. During the first forty years of the rock era, no song had ever debuted at number one; since a 1995 change in methodology, nineteen songs have.

Strategizing also plays a role. Numerous artists have taken deliberate steps to maximize their chart positions by such tactics as timing a single's debut to face the weakest possible competition, or massively discounting the price of singles to the point where each individual sale represented a financial loss. Meanwhile, other artists would deliberately withhold even their most marketable songs in order to boost album sales. Particularly in the 1990s, many of the most heavily played MTV and radio hits were unavailable for separate purchase. Because of such countervailing strategies, it cannot be said that a Hot 100 chart necessarily lists the country's 100 most popular or successful songs. Strategies like these were the main reason behind the December 1998 change in the charts.

Some critics have argued that an overemphasis on a limited number of singles has distorted record industry development efforts, and there are nearly as many critics of the Hot 100 as there are supporters. Certain of these criticisms, however, are becoming less and less germane as digital downloads have revitalized the concept of “singles sales.”

The Billboard charts have endured as the only widely-circulated published report on songs that have been popular across the United States over the last half-century. Competing publications such as Cash Box, Record World, Radio & Records and most recently Mediabase have offered alternate charts, which sometimes differed widely.

Use in media[link]

The Hot 100 served for many years as the data source for the weekly radio countdown show American Top 40. This relationship ended on November 30, 1991, as American Top 40 started using the airplay-only side of the Hot 100 (then called Top 40 Radio Monitor). The ongoing splintering of Top 40 radio in the early 1990s led stations to lean into specific formats, meaning that practically no station would play the wide array of genres that typically composed each weekly Hot 100 chart.

Similar charts[link]

A new chart, the Pop 100, was created by Billboard in February 2005 to answer criticism that the Hot 100 was biased in favor of rhythmic songs, as throughout most of its existence, the Hot 100 was seen predominantly as a pop chart. It was discontinued in June 2009 due to the charts becoming increasingly similar.

The Canadian Hot 100 was launched June 16, 2007. Like the Hot 100 chart, it uses sales and airplay tracking compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and BDS.^[5]

The Japan Hot 100 was launched in the issue dated May 31, 2008, using the same methodologies as the Hot 100 charts for the U.S. and Canada, utilizing sales and airplay data from SoundScan Japan and radio tracking service Plantech.^[6]

See also[link]

• List of number-one hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one in the United States
• List of number-one Hot 100 Airplay hits
• Bestseller
• Billboard charts
• Chart-topper
• Single Certifications
• Billboard Music Awards
• List of best-selling music artists
• List of best-charting U.S. music artists
• Billboard Hot 100 50th Anniversary Charts
• List of Billboard Hot 100 chart achievements and milestones

Sources[link]

• Fred Bronson's Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, 5th Edition (ISBN 0-8230-7677-6)
• Christopher G. Feldman, The Billboard Book of No. 2 Singles (ISBN 0-8230-7695-4)
• Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2008, 12 Edition (ISBN 0-89820-180-2)
• Joel Whitburn Presents the Billboard Pop Charts, 1955–1959 (ISBN 0-89820-092-X)
• Joel Whitburn Presents the Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Sixties (ISBN 0-89820-074-1)
• Joel Whitburn Presents the Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Seventies (ISBN 0-89820-076-8)
• Joel Whitburn Presents the Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Eighties (ISBN 0-89820-079-2)
• Joel Whitburn Presents the Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Nineties (ISBN 0-89820-137-3)
• Additional information obtained can be verified within Billboard's online archive services and print editions of the magazine.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Billboard website
• Current Billboard Hot 100

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Miley Cyrus
Cyrus at the 2012 People's Choice Awards
Background information
Birth name	Destiny Hope Cyrus
Born	(1992-11-23) November 23, 1992 (age 19) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.[1]
Genres	Pop,[2] country pop, dance, electropop, teen pop
Occupations	Actress, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Walt Disney, Hollywood
Associated acts	Hannah Montana, Billy Ray Cyrus, Demi Lovato
Website	MileyCyrus.com Signature of Miley Cyrus.

Miley Ray Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus; November 23, 1992) is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana.

Cyrus recorded music for the soundtracks, Hannah Montana (2006) and Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus (2007), released by Walt Disney Records. With the success of the Hannah Montana franchise she established herself as a teen idol. In 2007, Cyrus signed to Hollywood Records to pursue a solo career. She embarked upon the Best of Both Worlds Tour the same year, in which she performed as both herself and in character as Hannah Montana. The tour was eventually turned into a high-grossing concert film titled Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert (2008). In July 2008, Cyrus released her first solo album, Breakout (2008), which was commercially successful.

She began her foray into film by providing the voice of "Penny" in the animated film Bolt (2008). Cyrus earned a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for her performance of Bolt's theme song, "I Thought I Lost You". She also reprised her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana in Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009). The Hannah Montana: The Movie' soundtrack introduced her to new audiences within country and adult contemporary markets.

She began to cultivate an adult image in 2009 with the release of The Time of Our Lives (2009), an extended play which presented a more mainstream pop sound, and by filming The Last Song (2010), a coming-of-age drama film. The former included Cyrus's best-selling single, "Party in the U.S.A." (2009). A studio album titled Can't Be Tamed was released in 2010 and presents a new dance-pop sound. The music video and lyrics of the album's lead single, "Can't Be Tamed", portrays a more sexualized image for the entertainer. Cyrus ranked number thirteen on Forbes' 2010 Celebrity 100.^[3] For the 2011 Guinness World Records, she was named the “Most Charted Teenager” following her 29th US Billboard Hot 100 chart entry on November 7, 2009 with “Party in the USA”.^[4]

Early life[link]

Cyrus at the 2010 Academy Awards.

Cyrus was born on November 23, 1992, in Nashville, Tennessee, to Letitia Jean "Tish"^[5] (née Finley) and country singer Billy Ray Cyrus.^[6][7] Her parents named her Destiny Hope because they believed that she would accomplish great things with her life. They gave her the nickname "Smiley", which was later shortened to "Miley", because she smiled so often as a baby.^[8] Cyrus suffers from a mild heart condition causing tachycardia which, though not dangerous, is often bothersome.^[9]

Against the wishes of her father's record company,^[10] Cyrus's parents secretly married a year after Cyrus's birth on December 28, 1993.^[7][11] Tish had two children from a previous relationship: Trace and Brandi. Billy Ray adopted Trace and Brandi when they were young.^[12] She has a half-brother, Christopher Cody, Billy Ray's son from a brief relationship, born the same year as Miley; he grew up with his mother in South Carolina.^[10] Tish and Billy Ray had two more children, Braison and Noah. Cyrus's godmother is entertainer Dolly Parton.^[13] Cyrus was very close to her paternal grandfather, Democratic politician Ronald Ray Cyrus.^[14] Cyrus has paid her grandfather several tributes since his death in 2006, including eventually changing her middle name to "Ray".^[15] According to Cyrus's father, "A lot of people say Miley changed her name to Miley Ray because of Billy Ray, but that's not true. She did that in honor of my dad, because the two of them just loved each other to pieces."^[9]

Cyrus grew up on a 500-acre (2.0 km²) farm in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville,^[16] and attended Heritage Elementary School.^[17] She was raised Christian and was baptized in a Southern Baptist church prior to moving to Hollywood in 2005. She attended church regularly while growing up and wore a purity ring.^[18] Several of Cyrus's siblings also eventually entered the entertainment business: Trace became a vocalist and guitarist for the electronic pop band Metro Station,^[19] Noah became an actress, and Brandi became a guitarist.^[20]

Career[link]

2001–05: Career beginnings[link]

In 2001, when Cyrus was eight, she and her family moved to Toronto, Canada while her father filmed the television series Doc.^[21] Cyrus said watching her father film the show inspired her to pursue acting. After Billy Ray took her to see a 2001 Mirvish production of Mamma Mia! at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Cyrus grabbed his arm and told him, "This is what I want to do, daddy. I want to be an actress."^[22] She began taking singing and acting classes at the Armstrong Acting Studio in Toronto.^[23] In her first role, Cyrus played a girl named Kylie on Doc.^[8] In 2003, Cyrus was credited under her birth name for her role as "Young Ruthie" in Tim Burton's Big Fish.^[24]

At age 11, Cyrus learned about the casting for what became Hannah Montana, a Disney Channel children's television series about a school girl with a secret double life as a teen pop star. Cyrus sent in a tape auditioning for the show's best friend role, but received a call asking her to audition for the lead, "Chloe Stewart".^[1] After sending in a new tape and flying to Hollywood for further auditions,^[25] Cyrus was told that she was too young and too small for the part.^[25][26] However, her persistence and ability to sing in addition to act led the show's producers to invite her back for further auditions. Cyrus eventually received the lead, renamed "Miley Stewart" after herself, at the age of twelve.^[25] During this time, she also auditioned with Taylor Lautner for the feature film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D and it came down to her and another actress, but Cyrus started doing Hannah Montana instead.^[27]

As Cyrus's career took off, Tish Cyrus made several critical decisions regarding her daughter's representation. She signed Cyrus with Mitchell Gossett, director of the youth division at Cunningham Escott Slevin Doherty. Gossett, who specializes in creating child stars, had arranged for Cyrus's auditions for Hannah Montana and is credited with "discovering" her.^[28][29] For Cyrus's music career, Tish followed the advice of Dolly Parton, Cyrus's godmother and a singer herself, and signed Cyrus with Jason Morey of Morey Management Group. "Dolly said the Moreys are people you can trust around your daughter," Tish Cyrus recalls, "and she said they have good morals, which is not always the case in this business."^[30] According to trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter, Parton's advice was "the best advice [Tish] could [have gotten] on who should rep her daughter."^[30] Tish also recruited Billy Ray's business manager to manage her daughter's finances. Tish herself continues to co-manage or produce many of Cyrus's career decisions.^[30] For her education, Cyrus enrolled at Options for Youth Charter Schools^[31] and studied with a private tutor on the set of her television show.^[32]

[edit] 2006–07: Hannah Montana and Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus

Cyrus performing on the Best of Both Worlds Tour

Hannah Montana became an instant hit and propelled Cyrus to teen idol status, according to The Daily Telegraph.^[24] The series premiered on March 26, 2006, to the largest audience ever for a Disney Channel show^[33] and soon became one of the highest-rated series on basic cable, elevating Cyrus's wealth and fame along with it.^[34] Time magazine reports that Cyrus's "phenom[enal]" success is due partially to her talent and partially to "Disney learning to use its vast, multimedia holdings" and market Cyrus and Hannah Montana appropriately.^[35] Cyrus eventually became the first artist to have deals in television, film, consumer products, and music within The Walt Disney Company.^[28]

The first single was "The Best of Both Worlds", the theme song to Hannah Montana, which was released on March 28, 2006.^[36] "The Best of Both Worlds" is credited to "Hannah Montana", the pop star Cyrus portrays on the series by the same name. As with other songs credited to Montana, Cyrus typically dressed as the character when performing the song live.^[37] Cyrus's first release under her own name was a cover of James Baskett's "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", released on April 4, 2006, on the fourth edition of DisneyMania.^[38] Dressed as Hannah Montana, Cyrus opened for The Cheetah Girls on twenty dates of their The Party's Just Begun Tour, beginning on September 15, 2006.^[39] On October 24 of same year, Walt Disney Records released the first Hannah Montana soundtrack. Of the nine tracks on the soundtrack performed by Cyrus, eight were credited to "Hannah Montana" and one, a duet with her father titled "I Learned from You", was credited to Cyrus as herself. The album peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.^[40]

Cyrus and her father, Billy Ray, performing "Ready, Set, Don't Go" at the Kids' Inaugural: "We Are the Future." – January 19, 2009; Washington D.C.

The second season of Hannah Montana premiered on April 23, 2007, and ran until October 12, 2008.^[41] Cyrus signed a four-album deal with Disney-owned Hollywood Records and, on June 26, 2007, released a double-disc album. The first disc was the soundtrack to the second season of Hannah Montana, while the second, titled Meet Miley Cyrus, was Cyrus's debut album credited to her own name. The double-disc album peaked at number one on the Billboard 200^[42] and was later certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).^[43] Meet Miley Cyrus generated "See You Again", Cyrus's first single to be released under her own name and her first top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100.^[44] In fall 2007, Cyrus launched her first tour, the Best of Both Worlds Tour, to promote Meet Miley Cyrus and the Hannah Montana soundtracks. With the Jonas Brothers, Aly & AJ, and Everlife as her opening acts, Cyrus toured from October 17, 2007, to January 31, 2008, with stops in the U.S. and Canada.^[45] Tickets sold out in minutes and were scalped for up to $2,500 and an average of $214, well above their $26–$65 face value.^[46] A Ticketmaster official commented, "Hell hath no fury like the parent of a child throwing a tantrum. People who have been in this business for a long time are watching what's happening, and they say there hasn't been a demand of this level or intensity since The Beatles or Elvis."^[47]

[edit] 2008–09: Breakout, transitions and film career launch

Cyrus at 2008 MTV Video Music Awards

After the end of the Best of Both Worlds Tour in January 2008, Walt Disney Pictures released Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, a 3D concert film of the tour, on February 1, 2008, for what was expected to be a one-week run. The film earned over $31 million^[48] at the box-office and an average of $42,000 per theater, twice the expected total, convincing Disney executives to extend the release for an indefinite run. "We don't want to turn away kids from the theaters who couldn't get into the concerts," said Chuck Viane, Disney's chief of distribution.^[49] The film's soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records/Hollywood Records on March 11, 2008, and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200.^[50]

On July 22, 2008, Cyrus released her second studio album under her own name, titled Breakout. Cyrus said Breakout was inspired by "what's been going on in my life in the past year."^[51] Cyrus co-wrote eight out of twelve songs on the album.^[51] "Songwriting is what I really want to do with my life forever, [...] I just hope this record showcases that, more than anything, I'm a writer."^[52] The album debuted at #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart^[53] and its lead single, "7 Things", peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[54][55] She hosted the 2008 CMT Music Awards with her father in April^[56] and the 2008 Teen Choice Awards by herself in August.^[57] Cyrus provided the voice of Penny in the 2008 computer-animated film Bolt, which was released on November 21, 2008, to critical acclaim.^[58] Cyrus also co-wrote and recorded the song "I Thought I Lost You" as a duet with John Travolta for the film, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination.^[59] In September 2009, she participated in the charity single "Just Stand Up!" in support of the anti-cancer campaign Stand Up to Cancer^[60] and in the City of Hope Benefit Concert in support of cancer research and training programs.^[61] She also became involved in Disney's Friends for Change, an environmentalist group, for which she recorded the charity single "Send It On" along with several other Disney Channel stars.^[62]

Cyrus performing on the Wonder World Tour

Cyrus had already begun transitioning to a more grown-up image in late 2008, when her representatives negotiated a deal for novelist Nicholas Sparks to write the screenplay and novel basis for a film that would serve as a star vehicle for Cyrus by introducing her to audiences older than the young fans she had gained through Hannah Montana.^[63] Sparks and co-writer Jeff Van Wie developed The Last Song.^[63] It was important to Cyrus that she not be type cast as a singer: "I didn't want to be a singer in another film. I don't want to do that anymore. You have no idea how many musicals show up on my door. I want to do something a little more serious."^[64] In March 2009, Cyrus published Miles to Go, a memoir co-written by Hilary Liftin chronicling her life through age sixteen.^[65] Cyrus starred as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana in Hannah Montana: The Movie, released April 10, 2009. Both the film and its soundtrack, which contained twelve songs performed by Cyrus,^[66] achieved commercial success.^[67][68] The soundtrack's lead single, "The Climb", became a Top 40 hit in twelve countries^[69] and introduced Cyrus to listeners outside her typical teen pop audience.^[70] Cyrus had considered ending Hannah Montana after its third season, which finished production on June 5, 2009,^[71] but Disney retained and exercised its option for a fourth season.^[72]

Production on The Last Song lasted from June 15, 2009, to August 18, 2009.^[73] In between, Cyrus launched the third Hannah Montana soundtrack, recorded the extended play The Time of Our Lives (EP), and released the EP's lead single, "Party in the U.S.A."^[74] Cyrus said The Time of Our Lives "is a transitioning album. [...] really to introduce people to what I want my next record to sound like and with time I will be able to do that a little more."^[75] "Party in the U.S.A." debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for her best-ever ranking on the chart.^[76] The Time of Our Lives was released in conjunction with a clothing line co-designed by Cyrus and Max Azria for Walmart.^[77]

From September 14, 2009, to December 29, 2010, Cyrus toured on her Wonder World Tour to promote Breakout and The Time of Our Lives.^{[citation needed]} On December 7, 2009, Cyrus performed for Queen Elizabeth II and numerous other members of the British Royal Family at the Royal Variety Performance in Blackpool, North West England.^[78]

[edit] 2010–2011: Can't Be Tamed, focus on film career, and Gypsy Heart Tour

Cyrus at 2010 MuchMusic Video Awards soundcheck.

Production on the fourth and final season of Hannah Montana began on January 18, 2010.^[79] In the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Cyrus appeared on the charity singles "We Are the World: 25 for Haiti" and "Everybody Hurts".^[80][81] Her third studio album, Can't Be Tamed, was released on June 21, 2010. The album's first single is the title track, "Can't Be Tamed". The single was released for sale on May 18, 2010, and entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number eight.^[82] Cyrus's costumes and dances while promoting Can't Be Tamed were also considerably more provocative than previous performances, arousing media criticism.^[83] After releasing the album, Cyrus intends to take a break from the music industry in order to focus on her film career.^[84] She commented, "I've not taken, like, acting lessons or anything, but it doesn't mean I don't need to because I'm sure I do [...] I'm probably going to go book an acting coach."^[85] Cyrus has also decided to opt out of college for the same reason, saying "I'm a firm believer that you can go back at any age you want, because my Grandma went back to college at 62 [...] For right now, I really want to focus on my career. I've worked hard to get to where I am now, and I want to enjoy it while it lasts."^[86][87][88]

Cyrus starred in The Last Song, which was released on March 31, 2010, and received generally poor reviews, as did Cyrus's performance.^[89] Nonetheless, the film was commercially successful, grossing more than $88 million at the worldwide box office.^[90] According to box-office analyst Exhibitor Relations, the film marked "a successful transition to adult roles for Miley Cyrus."^[91] The fourth and final season of Hannah Montana began airing on Disney Channel on July 11, 2010, and was ended on January 16, 2011.^[92] Cyrus filmed two more films, LOL: Laughing Out Loud and So Undercover in 2010. In LOL, a remake of a 2008 French teen film of the same name, Cyrus plays "a daughter who is involved with all the wrong kids, doing drugs, failing school, but [...whose] mother has her on this perfect pedestal" and says "[She] just fell in love with the story."^[93] Cyrus' character loses her virginity, smokes cannabis, gets wasted and kisses two girlfriends on the lips.^[94] She will also star in So Undercover, an action comedy film. Cyrus will play the part of "a tough, street-smart private eye hired by the FBI to go undercover in a college sorority."^[95] She learned street fighting for the role.^[95]

Despite her earlier announcement that she'd be focusing more on acting in the future, in February 2011, Cyrus confirmed she had no films lineup and was going to go on tour.^[96] On April 29, 2011, Cyrus embarked on her international Gypsy Heart Tour in South America and ended the tour on July 2, 2011, in Australia. Cyrus hosted Saturday Night Live on March 5, 2011, where she performed in several sketches. She also sang a brief song about her several controversies, such as the bong incident, the photo of her friend and she eating a Twizzler, and the "pole dance" on a hotel pole at the Teen Choice Awards, stating "I'm sorry that I'm not perfect."^[97][98] In March 2011, father Billy Ray Cyrus confirmed on talk show, The View, that Cyrus had been in talks with producer Dr. Luke on a new album.^[99] In July 2011, it was announced that she would record her fourth studio album and she has no plans to sign onto any other film projects.^[100] However, it was reported on August 2, 2011, by Contact Music that Cyrus has signed on to star in a comedy in which she plays a woman who broke a promise to God.^[101]