Miley Cyrus

Someday, when Miley Cyrus is shaving her head and entering rehab, we'll hear her cover of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" as a cry for help. But Billy Ray's little girl is under a very different pressure: namely, to not be Britney. For someone who's meant to embody America's wholesome ideal of teendom, then, Miley's proper debut is pretty adult. Not in a Vanity Fair sense as much as just an undue focus on hard breakups and serious relationships. Except on the tween-tastic title track and the sassy "Fly on the Wall," Miley doesn't sound like she's having much fun.

History teaches us not to dismiss kiddie pop. Stevie Wonder was once Little Stevie Wonder,
just as Lil Wayne was once little Lil Wayne, child gangsta rapper. And let's not forget
ex-Mouseketeers Britney and Justin. Purists disdain teenybopper music as cynical pap,
foisted on the young by Svengalis who lurk in the shadows, counting money. But
bubblegum can be a great farm system, honing skills that pay dividends in later lif... More >