I actually think the distinction lies within what was alluded to already, though: she’s so “middle-America” that she PROFESSES to have never heard a song, but she actually has. Britney, having come from a similar, southern background as Myley as Singer is more acceptable for her to be public about. BUT, I’d argue there is a difference between Cyrus and Spears because of their parents. Cyrus’s dad is a wealthy singer**, and not only did Spears’s parents eventually divorce, but I don’t think her dad’s income as a building contractor could pull in as much as Billy Ray. So, both Jay-Z and Spears came from rougher (to put it loosely) backgrounds than Cyrus. Now, pulling oneself up by their bootstraps is about as All-American of a concept as you can get- but she is open about her fandom and admiration of only one of them. In the song, she privately dances to Jay-Z, but her “real” personality denies his existence. I postulate, based on previous behavior (and the sheer fact that, as Sheeley said, the man sang at the Grammies for f***’s sake, so there’s no way she’s never heard a song by him), she is a closet Jay-Z fan but denies it in public for fear of seeming less wholesome than she professes herself to be (her actions otherwise notwithstanding- pole dances? Naked photo shoots? Yeah, reeeeeeeeeeal “Christian values” there, Miley…). She may not have written the song herself, but how hard would it have been for her to change the name to someone else? She kept it to cryptically say that she’s really a fan and has all sorts of secrets hidden away in the back(seat). Her acceptance of and dancing to Spears in the song is the same as her moral claims and declarations of purity in the real world: a front for her other, more dubious habits and behaviors. But it also gives her room to misbehave in ways like Spears, ways she already *does*- emulating a person already doing and getting away with what she herself gets crap for (at the moment, at least- maybe not five years from now, but she’s still not even old enough to vote) is the easy way for her to be naughty without being called on it. This isn’t to say I don’t think she’s genuinely a fan of Britney, either- just that her public acceptance of Britney in both the song and interview is an important aspect of both, especially when juxtaposed to the secret admiration of Jay-Z.

*I also find it highly stupid for Miley to talk about how “we” meaning she and Britney are “bringing that style back” as if Britney’s own cover of “I Love Rock n Roll” was recently produced. The way Miley put it, she made it sound like she just discovered it last week- but Britney’s cover was made in 2001, before Miley was even signed with Disney.

**Or, as I usually think of it, a has-been who owes their comeback to their child, imo.

Also, there *are* all-ages dance clubs. They seem really lame, and I remain unconvinced that people actually go to them, but they do exist.

Lastly, is it just me, or is she looking a little to LiLo in that interview? Should she be wearing that, and talking about her clothing line in the same context?

I think I’ve been with you at a dimly-lit bar when you were horrified to find the girl you were talking to was 16. Didn’t that happen once?

THEY WALK AMONG US!

(I also really like this piece)

So Miley is basically playing the role of a much older girl, right? Or a slightly older girl with a good fake ID?