Happy Hannahversary! If you’re anything like me and Hannah Montana was your childhood when this special started to be teased, you were probably feeling insanely nostalgic and maybe a bit stunned at it being 20 years since the show aired (at 22 this has me feeling like I’m practically in the retirement home). The “Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special” was a way to make sure every fan who grew up with the show was honored in a way a concert wouldn’t be able to.
The special was for some reason hosted by Alex Cooper of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. I have nothing against Cooper — I don’t know much about her and I don’t listen to her podcast, but she makes absolutely no sense for this special. Sure, she was a fan of the show, but so were millions of people, and I think she could’ve just done a podcast episode with Miley Cyrus and saved the special for the people who were actually involved in the show.
With that, the special was missing a lot of people and although it felt like a nostalgic overload, I think they could’ve done so much more with it. Emily Osment, Mitchell Musso and Jason Earles were all main characters on the show yet were absent from the special, and they each probably had their reasons, but at that point it would be best to do the special when everyone is available.
The special opens with Cyrus performing “The Best of Both Worlds” and then transitions into her touring the famous set of the show where everything was set up like it never left.
As the interview starts, Cooper asks how the special came to be and Cyrus says if she learned anything from Dolly Parton, it’s that “if you start saying something is happening it’ll happen”, so in interviews she started teasing a special when nothing was actually in the works, which I think is iconic as hell. Cooper then asked what it was like auditioning for the show. Cyrus said she didn’t want the role that bad as she was on a cheer team that she didn’t want to lose her spot on and had a school crush that she wanted to get back home to in Tennessee.
Cyrus’ mom, Tish, was very present in the special, as they explored Hannah’s insane closet that everyone wanted after watching the show. Her mom was an integral part of the fashion in the show and had a vision for both Miley and Hannah as characters and was able to differentiate between what was more Hannah and what was more Miley. They played in the closet pulling out iconic pieces from different outfits throughout the show and honestly, I think most of them are on trend and could be worn today with no questions asked.
The special cut back to the prerecorded concert, during which Cyrus sings both “This is the Life” and “The Climb” which will always give me chills. One thing about this special is that a lot has happened in Cyrus’ life between family drama, the VMAs with Robin Thicke and the Liam Hemsworth of it all, but in this special she looks so good and so happy. I’d like to think coming back to celebrate the thing that made her allowed for some healing, but what do I know?
And speaking of healing, Cyrus’ father Billy Ray Cyrus, who also played with her on-screen dad, made an appearance. Cyrus expressed that it means a lot for him to be there because their relationship meant a lot to viewers. In talking with her dad, they agreed that even though the show wasn’t written for them, it still felt like it was.
“It was art imitating life imitating art.” Billy Ray Cyrus said. The pair then tried to remember their handshake from the show before sitting at the Stewart kitchen table to run through a scene together.
Also, in her sit down with Cooper, Cyrus said that in her infamous love triangle with Jake and Jesse she would pick Jake, but only because the actor has said nice things to the press about her. She also confirmed that she dated Dylan Sprouse at one point. She also explained how Taylor Swift ended up in the Hannah Montana movie and said that they were looking for someone who would realistically be playing in a barn, which was “Fearless” era Swift to a T. And a fun fact, Swift wrote the finale song “You Always Find Your Way Back Home” for the movie, which I need a duet of her and Cyrus singing immediately.
Another notable cameo was Selena Gomez, who played Mikayla in the show. Seeing the Disney girls doing well makes my heart so happy. Jamal Sim, who choreographed “Hoedown Throwdown” from “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” was visited by Cyrus to do the dance and she’s still got it. Next up, Chappell Roan made an appearance, which was hilarious considering her current controversies, and while I love Roan, why was she there? I get that she does the whole Hannah Montana double life thing, but it was so random.
As the special came to a close, Cyrus opened up about finding herself without the wig and said that she used to think of Hannah Montana as something separate from herself, and from doing this special she’s been able to reclaim both parts of herself, Hannah and Miley. She said she is proudest of who she’s become as a person and that she’s always stayed true to her heart.
And to end the special, Cyrus left the set recreating one of her iconic moments from the show when she waved goodbye to the house. She walked over to a different part of the lot to sing a brand-new song called “Younger You,” which is releasing on Friday and will probably be my new sob song.
Overall, I really enjoyed the special. I think they could’ve had some better cameos considering who came to the premiere, but other than that it was everything I could’ve wanted for a celebration of something that was so defining a lot of people’s childhood, mine included. I appreciate that Cyrus wanted to do something and truly went all out for it because there are some celebrities who won’t even acknowledge where they got their start. And hey, I think I’ve been sleeping on Cyrus’ music, so let me go get those streams up for my girl.
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars