Miley Cyrus reflects on 'Hannah Montana' legacy, 20th anniversary special
"You get the best of both worlds," and now, nearly 20 years later, Miley Cyrus is looking back at the show that started it all.
Nearly two decades after "Hannah Montana" premiered, Cyrus sat down with "Good Morning America" to reflect on the show's legacy and its 20th anniversary special.
Cyrus said that today, 20 years later, returning to the character feels different because she has worked to build her own identity outside of the show's namesake, Hannah Montana.
"I've worked so hard to get to the place where Miley is recognizable in the same way that Hannah once was," Cyrus told ABC News entertainment contributor Kelley Carter in an interview that aired Tuesday on "GMA." "And so I felt like there would be this happy hybrid by I was, I'd give myself some bangs and blonde and put in my little clip in, but I still got to feel like Miley."
When "Hannah Montana" premiered in 2006, the Disney Channel series quickly became a global phenomenon, following Cyrus's character, Miley Stewart, a teenager living a double life as pop star Hannah Montana.
The show ran for four seasons, spawned hit songs, sold-out tours and a feature film, turning Cyrus into one of the biggest teen stars in the world.
But Cyrus admitted the sudden fame was overwhelming at first.
"I was so not ready," she said, recalling how her fame changed as soon as a promo for the show aired during the premiere of "High School Musical." "The next day I was going to ride roller coasters and people started asking for my autograph, and the show wasn't even out yet."
The series also famously starred her real-life father, Billy Ray Cyrus, as her on-screen dad, something Miley Cyrus said was her family's idea from the beginning.
"Me and my mom threw out like, what if my dad was the dad on the show," she shared. "And it was immediate, like, you can't fake the kind of chemistry that we had, the songs, the storytelling... we even did a secret handshake for our audition, and they all melted."
The "Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special," streaming now on Disney+ and Hulu, features an in-depth conversation with Miley Cyrus as well as new performances, a new song and appearances from some familiar faces, including Selena Gomez and Billy Ray Cyrus.
Ahead of the special, "GMA" got a sneak peek inside one of the most iconic parts of the show -- Hannah's famous closet entrance.
Cyrus said stepping back onto the set felt like returning to a childhood playground.
"It's really a playground in here," she said. "As you can see, the set, the closet, it's so much fun to play pretend for a living when you're a little kid, it's what you usually want to do anyways, but we get to do it in a way that is daily, that's creative, that's inspiring."
Cyrus also reflected on working on "Hannah Montana" alongside her godmother, music superstar Dolly Parton, who appeared on the original series.
One of the biggest lessons she said she learned from Parton was to start promoting something before it's real.
"I just started talking about a Hannah-versary special before one even existed," Cyrus said. "Then I went to Disney and said, 'Look how excited everyone is about this imaginary Hannah-versary.'"
Looking back now, Cyrus said she wouldn't change anything about her journey, even the difficult moments that came with growing up in the spotlight.
"I'm so in love with the way my life has landed that I wouldn't want to give her any advice that would change the outcome," she said. "Because I'm so at peace with where my life is at. I think the one thing I would just remind myself is having fun the whole time."
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