The New Hillary Duff: How Miley Cyrus Got on Top, and Why She'll Stay There

I still remember the Thursday back in 2006 when I was doing my weekly routine check of Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart, and there it was: The Hannah Montana soundtrack sitting atop the chart.

Curious, I asked, "What on Earth is this, and how did it land on top?"

As I did my research, I learned about the origins of this soundtrack and how it stemmed from the popular television show of the same name.

Forgive me Miley fans, but comparisons to Hilary immediately came to mind. I mean, come on, the Hannah character even has blonde hair. Hannah Montana did for Miley Cyrus what Lizzie McGuire did for Hilary Duff. Both of these popular shows were able to harbor fans for these two girls.

The difference is the nature of their shows and their approach. Duff did a soundtrack for her show, then a soundtrack for the show¡¦s movie, and branched off into her successful solo career afterwards. Miley started out working with her show¡¦s first soundtrack, then literally attached her solo album (Meet Miley Cyrus) with the show's second soundtrack, before preparing for a completely solo release. Miley played it safer than Duff did, more directly using her show to provide an assured segue into her solo career.

Although Duff did contribute to the Lizzie McGuire soundtrack, the series wasn't music-based like Hannah Montana, so, naturally, it didn't become the success the Montana soundtracks have become. While her 2006 Santa Claus Lane Christmas album wasn't a hit, her official debut studio album, Metamorphosis, debuted a number 2 with an impressive 203,000 copies. Like the first Montana soundtrack, it's success wasn't totally expected, eventually amassing more than 3 million copies in the U.S. alone. Her follow-up albums, Hilary Duff and Most Wanted were successful as well, but her most recent album, Dignity, in which she used a more mature dance-pop sound, had disappointing sales.

Hopefully, Miley can avoid the same transitional slump. But right now, things are looking great. She's fresh off an enormously successful tour (Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert) and already making strong chart impressions with the lead single ("7 Things") off upcoming solo album Breakout--her first to be free of any attachment to Hannah Montana.

In many ways, this is like her Metamorphosis. It's her first album of new material that she can really call her own, since her last one was pretty much guaranteed for success. With a movie idea in the works and various other endorsements flying around, she truly is ready to breakout in her own right. It's her world, we're just living in it.