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Miley Cyrus, 2013: No one could have guessed that a simple dance, specifically, twerking, would unleash one of the biggest pop phenomena of that summer and the whole decade. 

But that’s exactly what happened at the VMAs. As we know, Miley made clear she left behind her Disney image from her famous role as Hannah Montana. And this was just the beginning –a month later, she released her album Bangerz, which shook and revolutionized the music scene in the following months.  

The Bangerz Tour

Apart from the music, collaborations, and ‘shamelessness,’ Miley announced the Bangerz Tour, her largest tour to date, which took her to perform on stages in more than 70 cities. With the success and eccentricity of one of her most iconic music videos, «We Can’t Stop,» and her peculiar public appearances since the start of the album promotion, it was clear that her concerts had to match the circumstances. 

In this way, anyone who attended one of the shows will remember the start of the concerts: Miley sliding down a giant tongue that came out of her face, the display of bills with her face printed on them, people dressed as giant stuffed animals, or her epic finale: Miley on top of a giant hot dog while rising into the heights. 

In short, a series of craziness that Miley herself admitted that they were not exactly profitable. She explained in an interview for her latest single, «Used To Be Young,» that she didn’t earn a dime from the tour because she wanted it to be amazing.

She begins the interview saying that the Bangerz Tour was an investment in herself, so she paid for everything to be just the way she envisioned it, and her fans deserved that.

In a way, it was known that dancing with puppets or jumping on giant beds was so extravagant that few people could bet on it. And while it’s true that in each and every performance, you could see a maximum level of detail with the Bangerz theme, it’s also true that the artist seemed to have a great time in every song she sang. 

A Life Behind The Cameras 

Among all the elements included in the tour, Miley also revealed the reason behind one of the most striking elements of the entire show: the giant hot dog. She used it as the grand finale –at least, before two of her most popular songs at the time, «We Can’t Stop» and «Party in the USA»– to fly over the venue. And although it might seem like another of her extravagances, it had a deeply profound meaning. 

According to her, she met with Diane Martel, the director of some of her music videos, and told her that she wanted to end each show with a reference to the 1998 movie The Truman Show: «I flew away on a giant hot dog and went through the clouds, just like Jim Carrey does in the movie. 

     I feel like ‘The Truman Show’ is a reflection of my life, really.”

Let’s bear in mind that this movie centers around a man who has been under constant surveillance since birth, unnoticed to the fact that his entire life is a televised spectacle, with everyone around him being aware of this truth while he remains the involuntary protagonist. 

While Cyrus might not place great emphasis on it, one could draw parallels between her life and the world of entertainment, which has been her constant companion since childhood.

Her first appearance in the world of cinema took place in 2003 at the tender age of 8, when she appeared in Tim Burton’s Big Fish. In the subsequent years, she would go on to become the face of one of Disney Channel’s most iconic characters: Hannah Montana. 

You can also read the Spanish article by Javier Rodrigo Saavedra for LOS40.