All the records broken by Miley Cyrus AND Hannah Montana as iconic character returns

THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

Disney+ has announced the much-anticipated Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special, with Miley Cyrus returning as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana and once again donning that famous blonde wig.

Hannah Montana first hit our screens on Disney Channel in March 2006 and became a television phenomenon amongst kids and teens... although many adults secretly enjoyed it too. No judgement here!

In tremendous anticipation for the special, which lands on Disney+ on Tuesday 24 March, we are looking back at all the records broken by Hannah – and Miley – over the years.

Most entries simultaneously in the US top 100 in one week

We start off right at the beginning, a few months after the show first aired. Hannah had one re-entry and six new singles from the titular album Hannah Montana enter the US Hot 100 chart on 11 November 2006. 281,000 tracks were sold that week.

Most wins of the Children's BAFTA "Kids' Vote" award for a TV series

Hannah Montana has won this public vote category twice, in 2008 and 2009. The record is shared with other beloved children’s shows SMTV Live (UK) in 2000 and 2002; Good Luck Charlie (USA) in 2011–12; Jessie (USA) in 2013–14; and The Next Step (Canada) in 2015–16.

Read about more record-breaking music, TV shows and films in our Arts and Entertainment section.

First TV soundtrack to debut at No.1 on the US albums chart

An album made up of tracks from the show, released on 11 November 2006, claimed the top spot in the US.

Youngest female solo artist to reach No.1 on the US albums chart

Miley was just14 years 233 days when her album Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus reached the No.1 spot.

Highest annual earnings for a child actor

Thanks to her titular role as Hannah, Miley was awarded this record title in 2008 after earning an estimated $25 million (£12.5 million), according to Forbes. Her Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds concert tour sold out almost instantly, as well as selling millions of CDs, a lucrative book deal AND filming Hannah Montana: The Movie, which was released a year later in 2009. Phew!

Highest grossing film of a music tour

Speaking of the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds tour, Miley was awarded with this record title after the megastar pulled in a cool $53.4 million (£26.9 million) in just two weeks in February 2008 – which turned out to be a HUGE year for the pop sensation!

But, as we know, Miley hung up the famous blonde wig when the show ended in January 2011 and continued to focus on her own music career, separate from Hannah Montana. 

The departure came with a symbolic aesthetic rebrand with the famous Instagram picture of the blonde bun being cut off (we all remember where we were when this post dropped!). Miley had officially distanced herself from Miley Stewart’s long, brown, wavy locks, and rocked a gorgeous bleached-blonde pixie cut.

The new ‘do was a statement signifying her transition into a more grown-up era, and was followed by her first album release post-Hannah Montana: Bangerz (2013).

Which leads us on to the iconic track “Wrecking Ball”…

Most viewed VEVO video in 24 hours

The video for “Wrecking Ball” garnered 19.3 million views on video website VEVO between 9-10 September 2013, and went on to attract 100 million views in just six days, overtaking One Direction’s (UK) “Best Song Ever” music video (12.3 million views). But before 1D’s famous track, the first ever holder on record was actually Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop”, also from Bangerz, which amassed 10.7 million views between 19-20 June 2013. 

The current record holder for this record title is Taylor Swift’s “Me!” featuring Brendon Urie (both USA), with an absolute staggering 65.2 million after it premiered on 26 April 2019.

Fast forward 10 years and we arrive in 2023 for the release of her album Endless Summer Vacation…

Fastest track to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify (female)

Miley’s ever-popular track “Flowers” reached 1 billion streams faster than any other track by a female artist on Spotify in 2023, doing so on its 112th day of availability: 4 May 2023. 

Fastest time for a music track to reach 100 million streams on Spotify (female)

On its way to the 1-billion mega-milestone, “Flowers” achieved 100 million streams on the eighth day after its 13 January 2023 release. The track was relatively slow to pick up, with 7.71 million streams in the first 24 hours and 17.34 million by day two. However, by 19 January of that year, “Flowers” had amassed a whopping 96.03 million plays and leaped over the 100-million threshold with another 18.42 million streams on 20 January.

Most streamed track on Spotify (female) in 2023

Perhaps unsurprisingly, “Flowers” came away with this coveted record title achieving 1.6 billion streams in the year of its release. 

As of writing this article, the catchy track sits well above 2.8 billion streams on Spotify… and still counting!

Youngest Disney Legend

In her most recent record title, Miley attained Disney Legend status at just 31 years 262 days old on 11 August 2024. She joins a long list of recipients, the first ever being Fred MacMurray in 1987, and other mega superstars such as Julie Andrews (1991), Robin Williams (2009), George Lucas (2015) and Idina Menzel (2022), to name a few.

It’s pretty safe to say that Miley Cyrus has had a phenomenal record-breaking career over these past two decades, and still just 33 years old, she’s showing no signs of stopping any time soon.

And if, like us, you're thinking, “man, I feel old!” at the news of 20th anniversary of Hannah Montana – fret not! The special will surely bring a healthy dose of much-needed nostalgia.