by Christina Pomoni

Created on: August 03, 2010

How much in common could there be between a 17-year-old TV super star that stars in Disney’s “Hannah Montana” and is a talented singer, songwriter and performer and a 29-year-old pop star with smash hits in the US Billboard 200? One could say a lot, one could some, but not as many as to claim that Miley is the new Britney.

Similarities

a) Common Start from Disney as Teen Actors

Britney Spears made her first steps at the age of 11 staring at Disney’s “New Mickey Mouse Club”, although she was originally rejected for being “too young to join the series” at the time. Similarly, Miley Cyrus became globally known at the age of 13 as being the leading star of Disney’s “Hannah Montana”, initially rejected for being “too small, too young”, at the time.  Both Britney and Cyrus carved their path to fame as teen actors staring at Disney’s successful series.

b) Successful Debut Albums

Britney’s debut album “Baby One More Time” (1999) is the top selling album by a teenage artist. Having sold 25,000,000 copies worldwide, the album peaked at #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and went 14x Platinum, while it reached the top five in 19 countries and #1 in 15 turning Britney Spears into a pop phenomenon. Besides, the title track was awarded the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (1999) and is the 25th most best performing song of all time in British chart history topping the UK charts for 2 consecutive weeks and being the fastest-selling single ever by a female artist.

Miley Cyrus’s debut album “Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus” (2007) peaked at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, and went 3x Multi Platinum. Having sold 4,000,000+ copies worldwide and 326,000 copies in the first week of release, “Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus” is the top selling album of “Hannah Montana” OST, propelling Miley to stardom and opening the door for a successful career in music.

Moreover, both Britney and Miley come from the South (McComb, Mississippi and Nashville, Tennessee respectively); both are managed by their mothers (in the case of Britney though this proved rather disastrous psychologically); and both are adored by teenage fans around the globe (Britney at her early steps as a teen). Yet, this is where similarities end, I’m afraid.

Differences

a) Miley stood out as “Hannah Montana”

Although they both started as teen stars

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>