Miley Cyrus is a superstar to millions of teens around the world as Hannah Montana, but it’s a more grown-up Cyrus who emerges on her new album, “Breakout.”
The set is due for release July 22 via Hollywood Records, and the CD’s first single, “7 Thing,” shot to No. 10 this week on the Billboard Hot 100, tying her career best ranking on the chart.
“It’s grown-up,” Cyrus told Billboard in an exclusive interview. “I wrote all the songs except two. My last one, ‘Meet Miley Cyrus,’ was more just meeting me, finding out who I am, and here it’s more getting in depth of what’s been going on in my life in the past year.”
Cyrus pushed to write the songs herself this time around, saying that, “No matter how long what I’m doing here lasts, I want to be a songwriter for the rest of my life. I love it and it’s my escape. I just hope this record showcases that — more than anything — I’m a writer.”
The 15-year-old star found herself in a media firestorm in April when a photograph showing her bare-shouldered, entwined in a bed sheet, was published in Vanity Fair. The portrait, shot by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz, touched off a national furor over the sexualization of young girls.
“I was embarrassed,” she says in her rapid, self-assured clip, “but also it’s like, every career thing that I do can’t be perfect, and sometimes my decisions are wrong. I think that just makes me even more relatable.
“I don’t think people will look at me any differently because they’re like, ‘You know what, I’m going to do stupid stuff too, and I’m going to make mistakes, and that’s fine.’ It still hurts when I think about it — but you know what, it doesn’t mean that you can’t move on.”
Cyrus is in the midst of filming the third season of her hit Disney Channel hit show, “Hannah Montana,” as well as a “Hannah” movie in Tennessee. Her team is also plotting a successor to her runaway smash 2007 concert tour, which drew nearly 1 million fans.
“We’re weighing the pros and cons of having her do multiple nights in one big city, versus her doing one-night shows in a number of smaller markets,” says Chip McLean, senior vice president of Buena Vista Concerts for Disney Music Group.
“Since she is someone who appeals to families, we can’t just have her play the top 15 markets. Families won’t be able to afford to make the trip, buy the tickets and pay for the hotel if we did that,” he said.