Miley Cyrus: Displaying Naughtiness? Or Synergy at Work?
CONGRATS TO MILEY CYRUS AND HER DADDY, BILLY RAY, WHO HAVE succeeded in turning a wholesome TV princess into a poor little rich girl. And doesn't that always make for 'more sellable' story? Because now they have to manufacture dirt to make the just-sold million dollar biography of a privileged 15-year-old more appealing. Oh, and let's point out, the book's release date is timed to Miley's scheduled 2009 tour! Marketing synergy at work, America!
Miley, 15, is the wildly popular star of the Disney tween series, "Hannah Montana,'' which makes all little girls think that it's possible to be both normal AND a rock star. 'Mommy, don't they sell the 'how-to' kit at the Disney Store at the mall?,' ask all the dollies, who then sneak off to apply lip gloss and sing into faux microphones before their bathroom mirrors. But Crabby digressses.
So now we find two contrived controversies over Miss Cyrus: Some private snaps of Miley lying on the lap of a teenage boy who looks far from wolfish showing her bra and midriff. She's wearing more than she would for a day at the pool. And you can bet several more layers than she will next year during her concert tour. But that didn't stop the tsk, tsking. And the teen queen actually looks pretty and natural in the pose.
Compare that photo to the snaps taken by Vanity Fair's famed shooter Annie Liebovitz for the mag's June issue. The shots show an unkempt Miley draped only in a sheet looking as though she's just finished a romp in the sack. And she isn't pretty: rather, she looks like an average teen you'd find shopping at the Mall of America.
Perhaps not liking the outcome, Miley and her handlers have put out a statement. "I was so honored and thrilled to work with Annie. I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be 'artistic' and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed."
Vanity Fair, in its own statement, points out that "Miley's parents and/or minders were on the set all day. Since the photo was taken digitally, they saw it on the shoot and everyone thought it was a beautiful and natural portrait of Miley."
And so the machine kicks in. Crabby bets it's mere months before Miley shows up with a different nose. Because don't you know that refined tips sell more?
Posted April 28, 2008
Home
