When Hannah Montana first premiered on the Disney Channel in 2006, its best known star was Billy Ray Cyrus, the country music star best known for the 1990s hit “Achy Breaky Heart.” But it wouldn’t be that way for long once audiences became acquainted with his daughter Miley, who became an A-list pop star and actor following her performance in the titular role. 

The plot of Hannah Montana is fairly straightforward: teenage girl Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) lives a double life, attending school during the day and metamorphosing into pop singer Hannah Montana at night. (For those unaware of the premise, the show’s theme song, “Best of Both Worlds,” sung by Cyrus, summarizes it quite deftly.) In between juggling schoolwork and friendships with Ollie Okun (Mitchel Musso) and Lily (Emily Osment, sister of Haley Joel), Stewart attends glitzy awards shows and press conferences, all the while trying to keep her secret under wraps so she can maintain a normal life. 

The show was a huge hit, gaining traction in particular among elementary school-aged and tween girls; songs like “If We Were a Movie,” “I Got Nerve,” and “Who Said” became Radio Disney staples and chart-topping hits. There were even two film adaptations: 2008’s Hannah Montana The Best of Both Worlds, a concert film; and 2009’s Hannah Montana: The Movie. 

Towards the end of its four-season run, Cyrus started to chafe against her squeaky-clean Disney image, garnering criticism for her risque performances in music videos like 2010’s “Can’t Be Tamed” and a leaked video in which she was seen smoking salvia. In a 2010 interview, Cyrus told reporters, “I can’t base my career off of the six-year-olds. It’s the 16-year-olds, the 26-year-olds I’m trying to reach for now. I have to move on.” The show’s last episode aired in 2011, kickstarting the next stage of Cyrus’s pop career. —EJ Dickson