Miley Ray Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus; November 23, 1992), better known by her stage name Miley Cyrus, is an American actress and singer-songwriter. Cyrus is known for starring as Miley Stewart/"Hannah Montana" in the television series Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel.Miley Cyrus became a sensation after Hannah Montana debuted in March 2006. Following the success of the show, in October 2006, a soundtrack CD was released in which she sang eight songs from the show. In December 2007, she was ranked #17 in the list of Forbes Top twenty earners under the age of 25 with an annual earning of US$3.5 million. As of December 2007, she is working on a movie spin-off of Hannah Montana, titled Hannah Montana: The Movie which is due to be released on May 1, 2009.
Miley Cyrus' solo music career began with the release of her debut album, Meet Miley Cyrus on June 23, 2007. Her sophomore album, entitled Breakout was released on July 22, 2008, which is Cyrus' first album that does not involve the Hannah Montana franchise. Both albums debuted and peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200.
Walt Disney Records released the first Hannah Montana soundtrack, on October 24, 2006. The soundtrack included eight of the songs that Miley Cyrus performed as Hannah Montana. Cyrus also signed a four-album major record deal with Hollywood Records for her own albums. The album was later re-released twice - a Holiday Edition featuring Cyrus's cover of "Rockin' around the Christmas Tree" and a Special Edition featuring "Nobody's Perfect". Cyrus also opened for The Cheetah Girls in 2006, performing on 20 dates of their 39-city tour.
On June 26, 2007, exactly eight months after the release of the first soundtrack, Cyrus released a double album, Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus. The first disc served as the second Hannah Montana soundtrack, while the second disc was Cyrus's debut solo album as herself. She wrote eight of the ten songs, credited by her birth name Destiny Hope Cyrus. The single "See You Again" became Cyrus's first song to enter the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100.
Just over a year later, Miley Cyrus released her second studio album under her own name. Breakout is the first Miley Cyrus album that has no connection with the Hannah Montana franchise. The album's first single, "7 Things", became her highest charting single.