Miley Cyrus has been a pop culture icon since she first became Hannah Montana almost 20 years ago, and she knows the impact she’s had on longtime fans.
Ahead of Something Beautiful’s release, Miley sat down with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe to discuss everything from her inspirations for the project to her ongoing relationship with fans and how it’s evolved since her Disney days. She used her “II Most Wanted” collaborator, Beyoncé, as an example while describing the specific dynamic.
“Beyoncé and I are very different in her fandom. It’s Queen Bey. She feels in this way of it’s like a mother to the world. It’s a way that kind of Dolly feels,” she explained, also referencing her godmother Dolly Parton.
As for Miley and her devoted Smilers, she shared she felt connected to them in a different way.
“I felt more like a friend to the world, which is very different than a goddess. She’s kind of this queen. And it’s like, I don’t know, I’ve always felt a very motherly kind of feeling from her to her audience, but I think I feel more like your friend because we grew up together,” the “More to Lose” singer said before revealing why she isn’t as “accessible” to her audience these days.
She added, “That’s a change for my audience to feel that they don’t have this direct access the way that you would’ve had every night on your TV, because when you were little, you grew up, every night I would talk you to sleep. You would watch episodes of Hannah Montana and you would hear me all day if you wanted to listen to my music. And there was something accessible because I was on TV and I was touring, and it was a different time in media, too.”
ICYMI, check out Miley Cyrus’s full conversation with Zane Lowe here.
