Back in the glory days of being 8-years-old, I woke up every Saturday at 7 a.m. to watch my idol, my hero, the most talented double-life pop star out there: Hannah Montana. Still in my pajamas, I would race downstairs, grab a bowl of cereal and curl up on the couch to watch Miley Cyrus have the best of both worlds. She was flawless in my starstruck eyes. With her beautiful voice and flowing locks of chocolate hair, she was worth waking up early for.

From 2006-2011, Cyrus put on the blonde wig for thousands of crazed tweens who  couldn’t get enough of the starlet. Cyrus produced five albums as Hannah Montana, bringing in millions for her and her father Billy Ray Cyrus, who also starred on the show. She not only had a fantastic voice, but through her music she also reminded us that nobody’s perfect, to always be a true friend and that life is what you make it.

Trying to lose her Hannah Montana alter-ego, she released her first album as Miley called Breakout in 2008, which brought her generally positive reviews from critics such as The Boston Globe and Metacritic. She continued staying positive with upbeat, fun songs I loved even more than her Hannah Montana albums.

In 2010 Cyrus released Can’t Be Tamed  with the hit song of the same name, in which she expressed her rebellious side and a hint of arrogance. The provocative album cover featuring Cyrus clad in leather with a very revealing jacket had most thinking she’d become a conceited tramp. But if you take the time to listen beyond the hit single, you might be surprised to hear heartfelt songs like “Stay” and “Scars” that reveal Cyrus’ true talent.

Since the carefree days of Disney Channel, there’s no denying Cyrus has drastically changed. Recently, the 20-year-old cut off and bleached her famous hair and released her first single “We Can’t Stop” after three years of being out of the spotlight. This song is far from the happy messages and meaningful lyrics of her previous albums.

Suddenly, my childhood idol turned into a party animal encouraging me to rage hard and twerk as often as possible. And since I still imagine her as a sweet, innocent teenager it’s hard to watch my childhood idol grind on Robin Thicke, wearing what I can only describe as plastic underwear in front of thousands on live TV. But despite her crazy rebellion against her parents and childhood innocence, I can’t ignore the fact that I still love her music

I’ve supported Miley through it all and always will. As a child, I could relate to almost all her lyrics and her sweet, smiley personality was impossible not to like. I still get just as excited as I always have about her new music because her incredible voice is still the same. Her messages have certainly changed toward us teens, but it’s our choice whether or not we agree with them. Go ahead and judge Miley all you want, but to me she will always have the best of both worlds.