Cyrus reflects on when she ‘Used to Be Young’ in series
Miley Cyrus gets emotional and nostalgic in a retrospective TikTok series. It is inspired by her new song, “Used to Be Young,” and reflects on her 30 years of life. It touches on the relationship with fame fostered by her country crooner dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, her step back from arena touring and her audition process for her hit Disney Channel series “Hannah Montana.”
She used to be young, for sure. And she has got the video footage to prove it to you.
“When I was born (in 1992), my dad had the No. 1 country song (‘Achy Break Heart’),” the singer said recently in one TikTok post. “When I see the numbers, I just see the humans behind it enjoying the music. And I just see people in numbers.
“My dad grew up the opposite of me, so I think that’s where me and my dad’s relationship to fame and success is wildly different,” she said. “Him feeling loved by a big audience impacted him emotionally more than it ever could me. When he feels special or important, it’s like healing a childhood wound. And I’ve always been made to feel like a star. I think that’s the difference,” she said, wiping away tears.
Several of the video clips she showcased in the series featured the elder Cyrus. One of them showed him playing guitar and singing to her as a child.
Cyrus said she had “a lot of great memories singing music with my dad, like, learning and absorbing.”
“I think I can see my wheels turning and watching his voice and the way that he’s using the instrument,” she said.
Another throwback interview showed the veteran musician praising his young daughter as a natural entertainer: “The more people clapped for her, the more she’d dance,” he said.
She takes that praise to heart, saying: “I’m just grateful that was projected into the universe before I even could fathom what that meant. There’s gratitude for that being the energy that was attached to my vessel because it became a reality.”
The former cheerleader also explained how her introduction to the sport set up a base for her career.
“Traveling as a cheerleader really set me up for touring. Like the show or the competition may only be a day — and that’s what people don’t really understand about touring: The show is only 90 minutes but that’s your life,” Cyrus explained in another clip.
In May, Cyrus made headlines when she revealed that she preferred performing at festivals or doing truncated album tours with five to eight performances to doing arena tours, which she feels provide “no connection” and “no safety.”
“Having, every day, the relationship between you and other humans being subject-and-observer isn’t healthy for me because it
erases my humanity and my connection,” Cyrus said in another TikTok post. “And without my humanity and my connection, I can’t be a songwriter, which is my priority.”
Cyrus also looked back at the beginning of her acting career and her audition for “Hannah Montana.” She started auditioning in 2004 as a middle school student, going out for the part of the title character’s best friend Lilly. About a year later, she landed the lead role instead and shot to fame.
“A year had gone by … and they called back saying they wanted to give me another chance ... After I had been cast, it was time for them to bring the dads in to audition. And the casting agent said, ‘Your dad is so cute, it would be amazing if he could actually play your dad on the show, but we don’t know if that’s actually possible.’ ”
That’s when her mom, Tish Cyrus, who was her manager and producer at the time, stepped in.
“My mom said we had been apart as a family because of the show he was doing in Toronto, that she would try to make it work and get him to California to audition. And we did,” she said.
“And the rest is herstory,” she added.