Guys, We Need To Talk: Miley Cyrus Is Pretty Awesome

Guys, we need to talk. You know what? Miley Cyrus is pretty awesome. You’re probably thinking, “… but isn’t she the most annoying celeb on the face of the planet?” No, that’s probably Justin Bieber. Just give me a few moments of your attention, and I’ll convince you that, yeah, she’s pretty awesome.

Disney Kid: Do you remember a world before Miley Cyrus? I do. It was a world in which the Disney Channel had just one hit show, Lizzie McGuire, starring Hillary Duff. Remember her? During that time, Lindsey Lohan was Disney’s other big star. Well guess what? Both of those stars fizzled, and Miley Cyrus was the Hawking Radiation emitted from the resulting black hole. No one expected Hannah Montana to be as big as it was, but Miley proved that she could be a success.

Despite Her Dad: Yes, we get it. She probably got an opportunity many other kids might not have gotten because she had a famous dad, but guess what? Billy Ray Cyrus was famous for a blip, the duration of one novelty country & western song in the 90’s. Miley Cyrus has been far famous, far longer than her dad ever was. If anything, the only reason he is famous, now, is because she is famous.

Party In The USA. Just reading those words, you probably began humming the song. Why? Because it was one of those pop songs that no one, NO ONE, could deny. It is the song that the acapella group inPitch Perfect bonds over because it has something for everyone. The song owned the summer of 2009. Admit it.

Youtube: Miley was really the first celebrity to use Youtube in a big and meaningful way. Think about it, Justin Bieber got big as a result of Youtube, but what has he done on it lately? Miley Cyrus, on the other hand, took to Youtube as an outlet for her creativity, and she kicked off a dance battle between herself and the Adam Chu Dance Cru that ended at the Teen Choice Awards on Fox and spawned a couple viral videos along the way. The year was 2008, and no one was taking Youtube seriously at that point. Advantage: Miley.

Not A Screw Up: Think about all the troubles that have befallen the child stars who preceded and followed Miley Cyrus. Now, ask yourself, what’s the worst thing that Miley has ever done? So there’s a picture of her possibly holding a joint. So what? The PRESIDENT has smoked pot! For the one kid who seemed most likely to head down a wayward path, she managed to avoid it.

So, when you think about it, Miley probably deserves way more credit than anyone has been willing to give her. We talk about her hairstyles, her tweets, and her Instagram photos, and we never step back to look at the bigger picture: Miley Cyrus is pretty awesome.

This originally appeared on Pophangover.com