My favorite rock star forever! So much of my love for music, fashion, and pop culture as a whole stems from Hannah Montana, and that spark has only grown into a lifelong passion for all of those things. That fact truly cannot be overstated, as Miley Cyrus' music has been such a big part of my life since I was six years old. She has lived so many lives as an artist since the show premiered in 2006, it has been so special to witness every single one and have her music continue to be such a constant through all of those years. To celebrate two decades since the show premiered feels like honoring the younger versions of ourselves who first fell in love with this world and all of the magic, music, and fantasy within it.
This Hannah‑versary is also a reclamation of what has always belonged to her and is a true full‑circle moment amplified by the recent Disney+ special. No one else could have portrayed this character the way she did. Miley didn't just play a fictional pop star; she transformed Hannah Montana into a real‑life phenomenon we're still celebrating twenty years later.
Hannah Montana endures all of these years later because so much of Miley herself is woven into it. Her humor, her voice, and her indelible star power is are what made the character into something so much more than just another kids show on Disney Channel. No one else could have embodied Hannah and then turned her into one of the greatest pop personas of the 2000s. The magic worked because it was rooted in who she really was underneath the wig.
So much of Hannah's music still holds up in such a powerful way; they are genuinely great pop songs that are nostalgic and sweet to revisit now, yet they also feel fresh enough to inspire a whole new generation of young girls. Through her music as both Hannah and Miley, she showed an entire generation that you're allowed to dream big, to reinvent yourself, and to have the best of both worlds.
Miley was only 13 when she filmed the pilot, and she's still only 33 now. To call someone a legend at that age is almost unheard of, yet it feels entirely right for her. Her life, legacy, and career already stretch across decades, genres, reinventions, and multiple personas. Each era is unmistakably her own and has shaped pop culture again and again. Very few artists can pull off even a fraction of what Miley has accomplished with such fearlessness. Even fewer do it with the kind of impact she continues to have decades later. Miley is such a star and truly a once-in-a-generation figure in music that we will never see replicated in the same way again.
Seeing her now, with the blonde hair, the bedazzled jeans, the gold sequin scarf, singing the songs that soundtracked so many of our childhoods felt like such a beautiful way to honor the collective love and journey we have all been on for the past twenty years. There is something so special about seeing Miley now be able to fully embrace the legacy this show and this character and acknowledge the enduring impact she made as Hannah.
In 2024, she was also honored as the youngest Disney Legend, a prestigious recognition given to some of the most influential figures in the company's history. It felt so fitting and so deserved.
In her speech, she shared more insight into the casting process and what it was like moving from Nashville to Los Angeles to film the show at such a young age. When the series was finally picked up, she performed her first free concert at the Glendale Mall for the cameras. No one knew who Miley Cyrus was yet, and no one knew who Hannah Montana was either. She opened with "This Is The Life", adding, "...Which of course no one knew because in reality, I was a little girl in a blonde wig at the mall with a big dream, but in my heart, I was Hannah Montana. And I was so proud to be."
She continued, "A little bit of everything has changed since that day. But at the same time, nothing has changed at all. I stand here still proud to have been Hannah Montana because she made Miley in so many ways... To quote the legend herself, 'This is the life.'"
I've been collecting Hannah Montana's music on various physical formats for so much of my life at this point. When I was younger, I would listen to her first two albums on CD constantly. I remember watching the very first episode when it premiered, and I have so many memories tied to these songs from my childhood. This music was some of the earliest and most formative in my entire life, shaping so much of who I was at that time, and in many ways, who I still am. I can still sing along to every single word, they're truly etched into my brain forever!
Since then, my music collection has grown and evolved, and I wanted to highlight two of my favorite vinyl pressings from the Hannah Montana era. Hollywood Records started pressing Hannah Montana and the first few Miley albums released under that label a few years ago and I have loved collecting them all. One of the first they released was a greatest hits compilation vinyl featuring highlights from seasons one and two of the show.
I have two copies of Best of: Hannah Montana - the first is a beautiful translucent purple pressing, sold exclusively at Urban Outfitters in 2019 and was initially limited to 3,000 copies. If I remember correctly, this was also one of the first times Miley's music was pressed on vinyl at all, aside from Younger Now, so it was especially exciting at the time to add this to my collection back then! My collection was nowhere near the size it is now, so I love looking back on the records that made up those early years.
The second copy I have is the Disney Music Emporium exclusive clear pressing, which was first released as a limited repress of 2,000 copies in late 2019 before becoming more widely available later. I got this one as a birthday present around 2024, along with a few other soundtracks from their site. I love buying from DME, they always put so much care and attention to detail into their vinyl pressings and these are no exception! This album is an essential for any Hannah and Miley fan, featuring all of the best songs from the show, while also capturing the popstar aesthetic so perfectly.
I now have all of Miley's discography on vinyl (I'm only missing a couple of the Hannah albums!) and it has been so fun to collect over the years. I've also amassed quite a collection of vinyl from Disney Music Emporium, and I definitely want to highlight more of them soon. They have released so many stunning pressings of the albums and soundtracks I grew up listening to, and it's been so great to add them to my collection alongside all of the other music I love.
Thanks for reading! I have written about Miley Cyrus' music in-depth many times, so be sure to check some of those out linked here and below. Throughout 2026, I plan to highlight more of Hannah Montana's discography on vinyl to further celebrate the 20th anniversary - so be sure to come back soon to check more of those out too! Hannah Montana forever & ever!! 💜🌟
-Melissa ♡
All photos are my own!
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