Twenty years ago, no one could have guessed that a teenage girl from Tennessee with a blonde wig would change pop culture forever. Last week, that same girl— now 33, Grammy-winning and very much a pop legend — did it all over again.
The “Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special” premiered March 24 on Disney+, marking exactly two decades since the original series first aired on the Disney Channel. Hosted by Alex Cooper of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, the hour-long special finds Miley Cyrus back on a rebuilt version of the Stewart family set with the familiar walk-in closet, legs table and all. With guest appearances and throwback performances, Cyrus revisits the show that turned her from a kid from Franklin, Tennessee, to a global pop sensation.
The singer opened the special with a performance of “The Best of Both Worlds,” the show’s infamous title track, followed by “This is the Life” and “The Climb.” It was a mini concert, with Cyrus performing to a live audience that knew every word and sang them all back. With her blonde hair, bangs and a gold scarf around her waist, she was every bit of the iconic Hannah Montana of the early 2000s.
Before the nostalgia fully set in, Cyrus sat down with Cooper for a candid conversation about her Disney days — from fun beginnings to everything that came after. Without prior acting experience as a foundation to stand on, she was sure she wouldn’t land the role. Cyrus was just a small-town girl who showed up exactly as she was.
“I think I stood out because everything that I was doing was so authentic,” Cyrus said in the special.
And, as it turned out, that was exactly what Disney wanted. Gary Marsh, the former president of Disney Channel Worldwide, joined Cyrus and her mother, Tish Cyrus, backstage to share how he had always dreamed of turning a fictional pop star into a real-life superstar. After an 11-month casting process narrowed the pool of applicants to two finalists, executives were split. Marsh made the call himself, writing in an email that he was “ready to pull the trigger on Miley,” calling her both a risk and a potential star.
He bet on her, and she did not let him down.
Once on set, Cyrus found her footing fast, but she did not do it alone. Emily Osment, who played best friend Lilly, and Mitchel Musso, who played Oliver, were the first cast members she met. The three clicked immediately. For a kid with no acting background, that kind of support made all the difference. Her dynamic with Osment gave her the confidence to lead a show that would go on to define a generation.
Tish joined Cyrus for a walk-through of Hannah’s legendary rotating closet, pulling looks and flipping through archives Tish had saved for two decades. Fans got to see just how involved Tish was in the show’s foundation — from the costumes and wigs, to the culture of it all. The closet was a kind of time machine, each outfit a memory. Safe to say, it got emotional fast.
“I’ve loved being Hannah,” Cyrus told her mother. “But what I’m most proud of is who I am as a person. You really taught me to be who I am.”
The guest appearances kept coming. Selena Gomez, who guest-starred in 2007 as Hannah’s rival pop star Mikayla, made a surprise appearance. It was wholesome to see two former Disney stars reminisce about their start and their bond of over twenty years. The two sat on set, chatting about how their characters traded insults like “lip-syncher” and “bra-stuffer.” Both agreed that those insults would not sit well today. Chappell Roan also stopped by, citing “Hannah Montana” as a foundational influence. She credited Cyrus for taking the heat years ago so artists like her could push back against the media and paparazzi on their own terms today.
“You literally walked so I could run,” Roan told her.
Billy Ray Cyrus rounded out the guest appearances, joining his daughter on set that they both once called home. They read lines from one of the show’s final episodes. It was a wholesome moment for both father and daughter, who have been through everything since the start. Billy Ray called it a moment where art imitated life.
Of course, no Miley Cyrus interview would be complete without spilling some tea.
Cyrus admitted, with a laugh, that she had a crush on her co-star Mitchel Musso. She confirmed the long-rumored teen romance with “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” star Dylan Sprouse. She also spoke about Taylor Swift’s contribution to the “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” crediting her for writing the movie’s closing song, “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home,” at the very beginning of her career. And finally, for anyone still losing sleep over the show’s greatest love triangle, she finally settled it. Team Jake over Jesse, no contest.
Before the final song, Cyrus gave the internet something it was not ready for. She stepped outside, turned back to the camera, closed the door and delivered the iconic flying kiss, all while the “ooh-whoa-ooh-whoa-yeah” played in the background. Twenty years later, it still hit.
Cyrus closed the night with “Younger You,” a new song written just for the anniversary. It was a letter to her teenage self from someone who has finally made peace with where she came from. Cyrus has struggled with separating herself from her Disney image in the past. But in this moment, with photos of a young Miley flashing in the background as she sang, Cyrus seemed to accept everything the character, and the young musician, behind her had been through. Her final song was the closest thing to closure.
“I loved being Hannah then,” Cyrus said. “I’m so living for it now.”
Meghna Srikumar is an Arts & Entertainment Intern for the Spring 2026 quarter. She can be reached at msrikuma@uci.edu.
Edited by Joshua Gonzales
