Miley Cyrus has become the youngest Disney Legend ever as one of 14 honourees at the D23 fan event on Sunday. In her emotional speech, the 31-year-old singer paid tribute to Hannah Montana, the lead role of the hit Disney Channel show. The Flowers hitmaker landed the iconic role in 2006 when she was just 13 years old.
Miley Cyrus pays tribute to Hannah Montana
Cyrus took the stage after Lainey Wilson performed her breakout song, The Best of Both Worlds, during the convention held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. “I’m definitely going to cry,” the Wrecking Ball singer said as she received a standing ovation from the crowd of 12,000.
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She joked about preparing two speeches for the night, saying, “One long, in case I’m as dangerous as I need to be, and one short in case I’m scared.” Cyrus also recalled her Disney Channel days, admitting she will always be “proud” of her role as Hannah Montana.
“They gave away tickets at the Glendale Mall, where my first free concert was to be. The first song I sang was called This Is the Life, which of course nobody knew, because really I was just a little girl in a blonde wig at the mall with a big dream,” she said, “but in my heart I was Hannah Montana, and I was proud of that.”
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The Angels Like You singer admitted everything has changed for her since then as she dedicated the award to her iconic blonde role. “Everything has changed a little bit since that day, but at the same time, nothing has changed at all,” she explained.
“I’m still proud to be Hannah Montana because she made Miley what she is in so many ways. This award is dedicated to Hannah and all of her amazing, loyal fans and to everyone who has made my dream a reality. In the words of the legend herself, this is life,” Cyrus said.
