Miley Cyrus

A new album from "Hannah Montana" star Miley Cyrus fell short of No. 1 on the U.S. pop charts in its first week of release, raising the question: Are the tween star's fans ready for her to go a little bit country? Only a year ago, Cyrus' 3-D concert film set records, and scalpers were charging thousands for tickets to her live concerts. Her last three major releases debuted at the top of the charts. But the new record's sales were a fraction of her previous studio albums' first-week sales.

IS matinee idol the next frontier for Miley Cyrus? The tween queen's new 3-D concert film, "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert," shot during her 69-city winter tour, screens nationally for one week beginning Friday, and tickets are selling fast. And that's on top of already being a TV idol, thanks to her Disney Channel sitcom, "Hannah Montana," which is among the top-rated kids' shows of all time, and a pop music idol with two hit albums.

When a 15-year-old girl flashes a hint of her green bra in a playfully naughty photo on the Internet, hardly anyone -- aside from perhaps her parents -- blinks. But when the teen is Miley Cyrus, the face of the billion-dollar "Hannah Montana" Disney Channel franchise, everyone stares. The provocative images risk tainting the squeaky-clean image that's made her a hero for young girls. Disney Channel has emerged as a powerful creative engine for the Walt Disney Co.

This is what happens when you take a 15-year-old girl and try to turn her into Mickey Mouse. Just days after trying to do damage control about candid Internet photos of Disney superstar Miley Cyrus showing her bra and generally vamping for the camera, the Cyrus family and Disney executives are screaming bloody murder about photos accompanying a piece about Cyrus in the May issue of Vanity Fair. Taken by Annie Leibovitz (who else?

How much is Miley Cyrus' first kiss worth? Anywhere from $30,000 to $150,000, depending on which paparazzo you ask. A photo's price could be higher if her designated love object happened to be camera-worthy like a Jonas brother, or Shia LaBeouf, not just some cute Kevin Federline-esque wannabe. Yes, the paps have discovered the "Hannah Montana" star, forming a scrum of ferocious men-dogs who camp outside her North Hollywood home.

There's no avoiding the talk about: Miley Cyrus' new album, "Breakout." Because as good as "See You Again" was -- and it was good -- her angry new tune "7 Things" is better. And ever since that Vanity Fair debacle and those bra-baring photos surfaced, we've decided she's pretty darn cool. You might as well give in. (Tuesday) "Shaun of the Dead" fans, please talk about: "Spaced: The Complete Series" DVD.

MILEY CYRUS doesn't look like a mouse. Or a befuddled bear. Or even a princess. But make no mistake, like Mickey, Winnie the Pooh and Snow White before her, she is a Disney franchise. Cyrus is the star of "Hannah Montana," a Disney Channel half-hour sitcom following the travails of Miley Stewart, a young girl living in Malibu who also happens to be pop star Hannah Montana.

There's been parental panic in Portland, Ore., severe tropical depression in Tampa, Fla., and a mad scramble in Minneapolis. There was so much outrage among families in Little Rock that the Arkansas attorney general promised a swift investigation, as did his counterpart in Missouri after seeing the dust-up in Kansas City. All over the country, little girls are crying that they want -- they need -- tickets to see their idol, a 14-year-old named Miley Cyrus (a.k.a.

HANNAH MONTANA mania swept into Southern California over the weekend, where it will burn unchecked until Thursday. She'll be in L.A. Wednesday when the Disney Channel superstar is scheduled to reprise her Honda Center performance at Staples Center downtown. On Saturday evening in Anaheim, the young experimental artist took the stage and spent about 90 minutes exploring the increasingly complicated relationship between television and reality.

Thousands of "Hannah Montana" fans who couldn't get concert tickets are suing the teen performer's fan club over memberships they claim were supposed to give them priority for seats. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a New Jersey woman and anyone else who joined the Miley Cyrus Fan Club based on its promise that joining would make it easier to get concert tickets from the teen star's website.