Does Miley Cyrus + Hannah Montana = Britney Spears + ...Baby One More Time?

It is difficult not to draw similarities between Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana) and Britney Spears. Both Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears began their careers on Disney television shows. The former as the star of Hannah Montana and the later as a member of The Mickey Mouse Club - along with other pop sensations Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Christina Aguilera and Keri Russell. Unlike her Mickey Mouse Club co-stars, Britney Spears became the top pop phenom of her day. While Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Christina Aguilera and Keri Russell garnered their fair share of success, no youth has seen success of the likes of Hannah Montana since Britney Spears.

In 1999, Britney Spears' debut album "...Baby One More Time" debuted at number one on the The Billboard Hot 100 Charts. In 2007, Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana (or perhaps Hannah Montana doing an impression of Miley Cyrus performing as Hannah Montana) ousted the first American Idol, Kelly Clarkson, for a number one ranking on The Billboard 200. Both stars were pop sensations before their first albums debuted - Miley gaining a following through her TV show Hannah Montana and Britney Spears making a name for herself in catholic school girl clothing in the music video for her single "...Baby One More Time." Similarly, both seemed like nice, young, cute, innocent girls at the times of their debut album releases.

In the fall of 2007, the Cyrus family - including Miley (born Destiny Hope) and father Billy Ray (also of musical fame) - of Tennessee invited the Mississippi born and Louisiana bred Britney Spears to Thanksgiving for dinner. Estranged from her own family, Britney's invitation from the Cyrus known for the song "Achy Breaky Heart" went unused, although one must wonder what that dinner would have been like. Would Britney have seen herself eight years prior in the young Miley Ray Cyrus? Would Miley Cyrus see her future reflected in the paparazzi-hounded Britney Spears?

While Hannah Montana and Britney Spears have different familial backgrounds - Britney's father had a drinking problem and Miley's father is a musician - both come from broken homes. Although Miley Cyrus never experienced the separation of Billy Ray from his first wife, Cindy Smith, as they were divorced a year before Destiny Hope Cyrus was born in 1992, a broken home is not the thing that worries me. Super stardom worries me. There are countless tales of child stars having trouble later on in life.

Included in the pantheon of child stars who have had trouble later on in life are multiple people from the television show "Different Strokes." Dana Plato, who played a twelve year old girl in the show, later appeared in an adult movie titled "Different Strokes" and died of a drug overdose/suicide in 1999 at the age of thirty four. Gary Coleman, known for saying "what'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" sued his parents in 1989 following mismanagement of his money. In 1999, he filed for bankruptcy and has garnered legal trouble such as assault charges.

In 1989, River Phoenix was nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" for his performance in the movie "Running on Empty." In 1993, he died at the age of twenty three due to a drug overdose. Prior to his death on Halloween, the vegan had a squeaky clean public image. In 2006, Heath Ledger was nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role" for his performance in the movie "Brokeback Mountain." Subsequently, in January of 2008, Heath Ledger died of a drug overdose at the age of twenty eight.

Drew Barrymore was a child star who appeared in the movie "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" and was seven years old when it was released in 1982, propelling her to instant stardom. Later, she became hooked on drugs before becoming a teenager and entered rehab for the first time at the young age of thirteen. However, Drew Barrymore is an example of a child star turned troubled star who turned her life back around.

In the spring of 20008, the animated comedy South Park "killed off" former pop sensation Britney Spears in an all-out paparazzi fest. According to the Comedy Central show, her heir apparent: Miley 'Hannah Montana' Cyrus. The real-life paparazzi has even followed suit, transferring much of their focus from Britney Spears to Hannah Montana. So, the question at hand is "Will the young super star crack under the pressure?"

In March 2008, 15-year-old Hannah Montana was quoted as saying, "I'm not friggin' Britney Spears, okay?!" after being mistaken for the other teen pop phenom. It can be a lot of pressure having throngs of people with cameras and recording devices following your every move. The pressure got to other child stars in the past. Undoubtedly, there is more media coverage surrounding such stars now than ever. The advent of MySpace, YouTube and the total inter-connectivity of the internet has made viral stardom instantaneous, whether for good or ill.

Recently, several girls posted on MySpace a video of them beating up another girl who cast an insult via the inter-connected social networking mechanism highly touted by youngsters. The girls who posted the beating video on MySpace are now faced with being charged as adults. It's a new world, which hardly contained the internet two decades ago. MySpace did not even exist until 2003. YouTube was launched in 2005. Google, the search-engine of seemingly the entire world, was not incorporated until 1998.

Now, if a mistake is made it can instantaneously be published to the internet by a stranger capturing the occurrence on a cell phone. Those issues did not exist for the cast members of "Different Strokes" or River Phoenix or Drew Barrymore. On the other hand, Britney Spears knows best what the new world brings for a teen pop phenom. Perhaps Hannah Montana would have benefited the most from having Britney Spears over to dinner on Thanksgiving, if for no other reason, to learn from her missteps.

After all, I remember the days when Britney touted her status as a virgin, in the early stages of her pop singing career. In 2007, on the day of giving thanks, Britney was spotted at the record store bearing the label virgin, instead of appearing at the Cyrus house. Someone who is prone to drawing correlations where they may not exist might suggest that Britney was sending a message to Miley, who invited her to dinner for that very Thanksgiving: Be thankful for that status of virgin while you can.

Then again, Britney Spears is genetically prone to being an addict. I suppose that means Miley is genetically prone to being a musician. But, the question I'm interested in is: What are young pop sensations prone to? And, is Miley Ray Cyrus an exception? Or, another statistic supporting the rule?

Pop sensation Madonna once sang "Like a Virgin," Britney Spears once claimed she would be a virgin until marriage and, in 2007, Miley Cyrus vowed to remain a virgin until marriage. Granted, virginity is not the single deciding factor of the future of a teen pop sensation, but I've read this story before... when it was about Britney Spears. All I'm saying is, Miley Cyrus or Hannah Montana or whomever you are, be careful. I'm not saying you need to remain a virgin until marriage. As a matter of fact, I wonder how often that happens with anyone anymore.

However, it's a jungle out there, so try to tread cautiously, if you can. It's easy to make sweeping claims when you're young. It is much harder to follow through. Also, a constant trail of paparazzi probably doesn't do much for one's peace of mind. So, here's to hoping history does not repeat itself again. Although, I'd rather have it repeat itself than churn out something worse. If, unfortunately, Hannah Montana succumbs to the pressures of being a child star and becomes a troubled star, there's always the hope of turning it all around, which Drew Barrymore was able to do despite entering rehab twice by the age of fourteen.