Miley Cyrus appears to be entering a new chapter of her career — and she may be leaving her surname behind.
After seemingly teasing her “new name” on 30 August, the “Wrecking Ball” singer changed her official website from mileycyrus.com to mileyofficial.com on Sunday. She then updated her social media handle to match, becoming simply “miley” on Instagram.
The change was accompanied by a bright red image of the star and the caption “MILEY.”, suggesting that she could be preparing a new era of music. Nearly 19 years after the release of her debut single “See You Again”, the move has prompted fans to recall the lyric: “Oh, she’s just being Miley.”
Fans have already embraced the rebrand, flooding the comments with reactions including: “LET’S GO MOTHER,” and “MILEY IS COMING.”
Miley Cyrus fans speculate about new music and a tour
Some fans have described the change as a “rebirth”, interpreting the removal of Cyrus from her name and the red-background imagery as signs that new music — and possibly a tour — could be on the way.
The LADbible Group has contacted Cyrus’ team for comment on the change. After such a long career in the public eye, a self-titled album or musical era would be a fitting move for the pop icon.
Miley’s surname comes from her famous father, Hannah Montana co-star and country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. However, the “Flowers” singer previously considered dropping the name in 2013 as she sought to distance herself from her past.
She celebrated the 20th anniversary of Hannah earlier this year. (Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)
“I was thinking about dropping the Cyrus and just being Miley but there’s something powerful about the fact that my name now is like a household name,” the now 33-year-old told Notion magazine.
“People have this misconception of me that I’m just one of these kids on TV and that now I go off and party and I’m just this ratchet white girl, and I’m not.”
She continued: “I’m young and living and in LA which is everyone’s dream, you know. I’m living it to the fullest. Rather than taking a blessing and making it a curse, it’s just like this is what this name is now.”
A self-titled era is well deserved for this icon. (DISNEY CHANNEL/ISABELLA VOSMIKOVA)
Fans have called the name change “feels like the most Miley move ever”. One fan wrote: “The way Miley rebrands every era and somehow makes every new version of herself work will never not impress me.”
Other fans said her surname had “officially clocked off” and that they “can’t wait to see what she has cooked up” for the “MILEY” era.
As the Instagram post quickly gained traction, some fans said they were “freaking out” and declared: “Cyrus you will live forever”. Others celebrated with “JUST BEING MILEY,” echoing her iconic 2007 single, followed by: “Oh I am SO READY.”
What is Miley Cyrus’ original name?
Although Miley Cyrus is now one of the world’s biggest pop stars, Miley was not her original name.
Born in November 1992 to Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus, she was named “Destiny Hope”. Her family soon began calling her “Miley” because she smiled frequently as a child.
During an appearance on the Tea Time with Raven & Miranda podcast, her mother explained: “Billy Ray came up with that.”
“She always smiled when she was little, so we would call her smiley Miley, and it just stuck.”
Cyrus legally changed her name in 2008 to officially become Miley. Billy Ray told US Weekly that she would always be Destiny Hope to him, explaining: “She’s a giver. She believes that we’re all put here for a reason, and that’s to give back to our fellow man. I’m real proud of her.”
“That’s why we named her Destiny Hope. Destiny Hope Cyrus is her name – at least it used to be.”
“But no matter what you call her, she still is Destiny Hope. She is a ray of sunshine. She is a special human being. She’s got a great heart.”
