{"id":2344009,"date":"2026-03-24T19:55:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T19:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2344009"},"modified":"2026-03-24T19:55:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T19:55:12","slug":"inside-the-hannah-montana-20th-anniversary-special-premiere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/inside-the-hannah-montana-20th-anniversary-special-premiere\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the ‘Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special’ premiere"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Get your blond wigs, sequin dresses and cowboy boots ready. The stage lights are on and Miley Cyrus, and her alter ego(s), returned this week with the \u201cHannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n

To celebrate 20 years since the release of the first episode of the Disney Channel show, Cyrus teamed up with \u201cCall Her Daddy\u201d host Alex Cooper for a documentary special that is a retrospective look at the cultural influence of her show, \u201cHannah Montana.\u201d It features appearances from \u201cHannah Montana\u201d guest stars<\/a> like Selena Gomez and sister Noah, and famous fans like Chappell Roan. At Monday\u2019s premiere event at L.A.\u2019s El Capitan Theatre, Cyrus explained that the special was a chance for her to experience what fans love about Hannah.<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight isn\u2019t about looking back into the past, but it\u2019s about what it means to us, still, tonight,\u201d Cyrus said during her opening remarks. \u201cFor me, now that I get to be a part of it that I never could when I was in the middle of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ayo Davis, president of branded television at Disney, said that \u201cHannah Montana\u201d continues to resonate with viewers two decades after her debut because she reminds fans that \u201cyou don\u2019t just have to choose one version of yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Cyrus at the premiere afterparty at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.<\/p>\n

(Ser Baffo \/ Disney)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\u201cYou can be bold. You can be silly. You can be competent and unsure of all your acts at the same time,\u201d Davis said during her opening remarks. \u201cWhat\u2019s great is that an entirely new generation is still discovering the magic of Hannah for the very first time. The love, response and feedback that we continue to get on this franchise is truly incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cyrus thanked Disney for taking a chance on a girl from Tennessee with little acting experience, saying before she was cast, she was \u201cpretty much a virgin\u201d when it came to performing. Cyrus also shouted out Gary Marsh, the former president of Disney Branded Entertainment, who, in the special, read aloud the email he wrote to the casting team after selecting Cyrus to star in the role. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe pride ourselves on not just on creating great television, but on creating stars. I am ready to pull the trigger on Miley. Is she a risk? Unquestionably. Is she a potential star? Absolutely,\u201d Marsh said. \u201cI\u2019m thrilled that all of us will be able to sit down over a drink in a few years and remember this moment when we decided to forsake the safe route for the riskier one and the greater reward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marsh\u2019s email was one of many archival pieces pulled for the anniversary special. The team behind it rebuilt Miley Stewart\u2019s living room and rotating closet, with actual outfits from the show that Cyrus had kept in storage. Cyrus and her mother, Tish, even brought out Hannah\u2019s old wigs, joking that \u201cthe better the tour got, the better the wig got.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cyrus also answers questions by Cooper candidly throughout the special, firing off rapid quips. Yes, the rumors were true \u2014 Cyrus dated actor Dylan Sprouse, who starred in \u201cThe Suite Life of Zack & Cody,\u201d during their Disney Channel heyday. When it came to the Miley-Jesse-Jake love triangle on \u201cHannah Montana,\u201d Cyrus said she would pick Jake. Sixteen years later, she still remembers the choreography to the \u201cHoedown Throwdown\u201d (watch the special to see it for yourself). And no, Taylor Swift\u2019s cameo in \u201cHannah Montana: The Movie\u201d wasn\u2019t only because Swift helped write music for the soundtrack.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was kind of the beginning of her career, and they were looking for someone that would authentically \u2014 no shade, I guess \u2014 be performing in a barn,\u201d Cyrus explained. <\/p>\n

With a reverence for the old, but excitement for the new, the special includes Cyrus performing Hannah\u2019s most iconic hits like \u201cThe Best of Both Worlds,\u201d \u201cThis is The Life\u201d and \u201cThe Climb,\u201d but also featured a new song, \u201cYounger You.\u201d At the premiere, fans sang along to the classics and sniffled during \u201cYounger You.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Miley Cyrus, left, with her mother Tish, on the recreated \u201cHannah Montana\u201d set in the anniversary special.<\/p>\n

(Ser Baffo \/ Disney)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

The premiere was also a chance for Disney\u2018s old guard to mingle with the next generation of stars, where cast members from \u201cCamp Rock 3,\u201d many of whom weren\u2019t born when \u201cHannah Montana\u201d premiered, sang along to songs from the early Disney hits. And 2000s fashion was back in full force, as partygoers sported capris with layered tank tops. As fans posed with props like the Stewart \u201cleg table\u201d and retro Hannah outfits, the event was a chance to celebrate all things \u201cHannah Montana.\u201d<\/p>\n

Irene Yu, 40, and Kiet Pham, 43, came dressed as Hannah and her best friend Lily (played by Emily Osment). Yu recreated Hannah\u2019s promo outfit, wearing a white jean jacket and pants combo, a sparkly pink top and a blond wig to round out the look. Pham donned a neon pink wig and a vest, channeling Lily\u2019s alter ego, Lola. The pair had been eagerly awaiting the event, choosing to take time off work to make it to the premiere.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started watching \u2018Hannah Montana\u2019 when I was in graduate school. Graduate school is really hard, and so I binge-watched all three seasons of \u2018Hannah Montana\u2019 at that time, and it just got me through some really rough patches during schooling,\u201d Yu explained. <\/p>\n

Yu added that the duo had entered the D23 lottery to attend the event, after constantly checking event calendars and social media to see if there was \u201cany type of opportunity to experience 20 years of her legacy.\u201d <\/p>\n

For Cyrus, fans like Yu and Pham are the reason this special exists.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t magic, which Disney is known for creating. It was the effort, the loyalty, the support of the fans who made my life possible,\u201d Cyrus said. \u201cFor that, I am so grateful to each and every one of you.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.latimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Get your blond wigs, sequin dresses and cowboy boots ready. The stage lights are on and Miley Cyrus, and her alter ego(s), returned this week with the \u201cHannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special.\u201d To celebrate 20 years since the release of the first episode of the Disney Channel show, Cyrus teamed up with \u201cCall Her Daddy\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2344010,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2344009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Inside-the-Hannah-Montana-20th-Anniversary-Special-premiere.com2F092Fe62Faae855f645b6bb2cf70c3b16.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2344009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2344009"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2344009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2344011,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2344009\/revisions\/2344011"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2344010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2344009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2344009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2344009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}