The Hannahversary is going to tear you up — bad.
It’s not just about Miley Cyrus giving you a tour of the iconic Hannah Montana set — from the legs table and the couch to the closet every girl once dreamed of. It’s about reliving every moment with her and realising you have grown up alongside her. That 20 years have passed for you too. That somewhere along the way, you drifted from your younger self, and with this special, you are finding your way back home, just as she is. It feels like a homecoming, not just for Miley, but for every Hannah Montana fan.
I began watching the Disney show when I was seven. And something Miley says towards the end hits hard — the show made single children like us feel less lonely. Watching her on television in my room, I felt like I had a friend. Hannah Montana wasn’t just a show, it was a cultural phenomenon.
Host Alex Cooper pointed that out, and she’s absolutely right. We copied her way of talking, her songs, and of course, her fashion. I remember wanting a sparkly Hannah scarf so bad! I remember saying “sweet niblets” just to sound cool. “Whenever a scene is running dry, throw in a sweet niblets,” Miley recalled and she’s not wrong.
The final episode aired on January 16, 2011. Fifteen years later, I was still singing along as Miley performed This is The Life and The Climb in the special. Not a line forgotten — that’s how iconic Hannah Montana was....is!
She stood at the centre of the Disney phenomenon of the 2000s. From Selena Gomez to the Jonas Brothers, every major Disney star was part of the Hannah world. And while Miley said that being part of High School Musical promotions was thrilling, it felt like the film got an extra push because Hannah Montana was part of the press tour.
The show shaped our idea of friendship and family. I remember doing the finger pose with friends, copying Miley and Lily (Emily Osment). True friends, right? The bond she shared with her on-and-off-screen father Billy Ray Cyrus and her on-screen brother Jason Earles quietly defined family for us growing up.
Miley shares how, after her audition, her family moved from Nashville to LA and never looked back.
“I was never homesick,” she said, acknowledging how rare that experience was for her entire family, including her younger sister Noah. Her mother, Tish Cyrus, may not have been on camera, but she shaped Hannah’s evolving fashion. “The more successful a tour was, the better wigs we could afford,” Miley joked.
The special featured guests like Selena Gomez, who played Hannah’s arch-enemy Mikayla Skeech in the show, as well as singer Chappell Roan, who said she grew up watching Hannah Montana. “I could run because you walked and made the way for us,” said Roan.
In the special, Miley referred to other pop icons who had been a part of the Hannah legacy, including her ex-boyfriend Nick Jonas, and Taylor Swift.
In fact, Miley credited Swift for one of her iconic songs. Which one? Smilers and Swifties can watch the special to find out.
Some of the most memorable bits of the Hannahversary include Miley revisiting her audition, her Disney love interests, and the Jesse-Jake love triangle. “I’d choose Jake (played by Cody Linley) now. I love the Jake Ryan fantasy,” she admits — a win for all of us who were team Jake.
And how did the Hannahversary happen? On the advice of Dolly Parton, or as Miley calls her, Aunt Dolly. Miley began teasing the idea before it even existed, trusting her fans to show up. She was right.
“The show gave me a start. My fans gave me the life. And this special allows me to integrate Miley and Hannah,” Miley said towards the end. And as grateful as she is, we’re just as thankful for the childhood she gave us.
We still remember the Hoedown Throwdown steps and when no one’s watching we still hum The Best of Both Worlds and imagine we’re secret rockstars. Miley is a Disney Legend, and even after 20 years, the show remains one in a million.
Saying goodbye again, as she closes the door of her Malibu home, isn’t easy. And her tribute to her younger self, to all our younger selves, makes sure of one thing — letting go still hurts.
