Word: channelling
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...born with the doubly optimistic name Destiny Hope Cyrus. Her father, achy-breaky country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, nicknamed her "Smiley," which was quickly shortened to "Miley." On her Disney Channel sitcom, she plays Miley Stewart, an ordinary girl with a secret identity: pop-superstar Hannah Montana. On Oct. 18, Cyrus--who has sold millions of very real albums--begins a concert tour, performing as Montana and as ... Miley Cyrus...
...mails from people saying, 'Should I not pay my mortgage this month and go to Hannah Montana?'" With the popularity of Hannah (and franchises including High School Musical, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Cheetah Girls), Disney overtook rival Nickelodeon to become the most-watched cable channel in prime time. You can't even escape Hannah on a dark street; according to CostumZee.com she's the most popular costume this Halloween...
There are lots of TV stars. What made Hannah/Miley a phenom was Disney's learning to use its vast, multimedia holdings. Its stars--young, eager and grateful for the exposure--debut on the Disney Channel. They record CDs for Disney Music. Their music is played on Radio Disney network. They make movies for Disney (a Hannah Montana flick is in the works). They appear on shows like Disney-owned abc's Dancing with the Stars. Cyrus is "really talented," says tween guru and S-Curve Records CEO Steve Greenberg, but also "she really has every arm of a gigantic corporation...
Disney has created its own hermetic media world, a mega-subculture led by the promotional power of TV. Disney Channel sound tracks, including Hannah, HSM and The Cheetah Girls 2, have sold nearly 20 million albums in 2006 and 2007, with very little Top 40 airplay. "In television we can add so much texture to the music star," says Gary Marsh, president of Entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide. "[The fans] know her parents, her friends, what's in her locker, how her bedroom is decorated...
...there's more money for Disney in being a big, inclusive tent or, rather, a theme park. Unlike, say, Shrek, Hannah Montana has no fast-flying references and in-jokes for the grownups. "People talk about The Simpsons' playing at two levels," says Rich Ross, president of Disney Channel Worldwide. At Disney, he says, "there are no two levels. There's one level that appeals to both." Parents see a retro family sitcom like Full House and its '80s ilk. Kids see themselves idealized...