Even after spending five years portraying Hannah Montana on the Disney show of the same name, Miley Cyrus wasn’t allowed to perform any of the show’s songs. All that changed when she was recently inducted as a “Disney Legend.”
The musician and actress recently shared the reason why she has not performed any of the songs from Hannah Montana, as reported by the Tab. The show and its tracklist were large parts of many childhoods in the early 2000s.
As it turns out, it wasn’t that Cyrus hasn’t been singing the songs because she doesn’t like them. She simply wasn’t allowed to.
Why couldn’t Miley Cyrus sing songs from “Hannah Montana?”
According to the Tab, the artist spoke on “The Ringer” podcast over the weekend. There, she clarified for listeners the real reason why she was not singing the songs written for her over a decade ago.
Cyrus reportedly said she was not allowed to perform the songs after she left Disney Channel in 2011. Disney Channel owned the rights to the songs.
“It’s not like I wanted to. I mean, performing ‘The Best Of Both Worlds; between ‘We Can’t Stop’ and ‘Wrecking Ball,’ wouldn’t have really made sense,” the singer said on the podcast episode. “But it was still sad knowing those songs have my voice, my face, and I wasn’t allowed to sing them.”
Why can she now sing her “Hannah Montana” tracks?
“After I left Disney, I wasn’t allowed to perform any of the Hannah Montana music,” she continued. “But after being inducted as a Disney Legend, I was given permission to perform those songs in the future.” She called the ability to sing the songs “pretty cool.”
Cyrus received Disney Legend status in 2024, according to the Tab. She dedicated the award to her character, Hannah, and all of Hannah’s fans.
“I stand here still proud to have been Hannah Montana because she made Miley in so many ways,” the singer said upon being presented the award.
What is a Disney Legend?
Being inducted as a Disney Legend is similar to other halls of fame and is an award presented to people who have contributed significantly to the Disney Company, according to the Tab.
Previous Disney Legend honorees include Tim Allen, Barbara Walters, Billy Crystal, and George Lucas.
Cyrus is now taking advantage of her ability to sing Hannah Montana songs. In May, she surprised fans by performing the song “The Climb” from the 2009 film Hannah Montana: The Movie.
@billboard @Miley Cyrus singing an impromptu rendition of “The Climb” was not on our 2025 bingo card 🥲🥲🥲 #mileycyrus #livemusic #fullvideo #performance #nostalgia #y2k #hannahmontana ♬ original sound – billboard
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