Long before becoming a country music superstar, Lainey Wilson impersonated Miley Cyrus’ iconic Disney character, Hannah Montana, for most of her teenage years.
“I was making bank in high school,” the singer told Taste of Country in a 2021 interview.
“One day I would be playing a 3-year-old’s birthday party and later that day, I would be playing a nursing home, so I really had to figure out how to adjust to my crowd.” Lainey told People magazine of her experience. “I was doing three or four parties a weekend and fairs and festivals. All my friends in high school were going to the LSU football games and living it up. I never even thought twice about it. I never felt like I was missing out. I felt like I was putting some notches on my belt.”
On Sunday, the “Yellowstone” actress had a “full circle moment” when she honored Cyrus as a Disney Legend at a D23 event in Anaheim, California. Cyrus, who portrayed Hannah Montana on the hit sitcom from 2006 to 2011, made history as the youngest person to ever be named a Disney Legend.
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“Miley, you might not know this, but I am truly one of your biggest fans,” the “Watermelon Moonshine” singer said at the event in a video obtained by Entertainment Tonight. “My very first job was taking my portable sound system and a wig and 15 tracks I learned from back to back and… and impersonating Hannah Montana. I’m talking about birthday parties, fairs, festivals, you name it. It was me, Lainey Wilson, opening up for me, as Hannah Montana.”
“You inspired me to believe in myself,” she added, “That I, too, could be an ordinary girl living in an extraordinary world. So on behalf of Hannah Montana fans everywhere, I’d like to dedicate this song to you.”
After performing the “Hannah Montana” theme song, “Best of Both Worlds,” Cyrus and Wilson embraced in a hug onstage.
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“Before I get started, I’m going to let everybody in on a little Disney legend secret,” Cyrus said during her acceptance speech. “I’m the one that tells you what you’re not supposed to know. What I want to say is that legends get scared, too. I’m scared right now. But the difference is, we do it anyway. All of you can do that every single day. It’s legendary to be afraid and do it anyway. There’s no such thing as failure when you try.”
That exact go-getter attitude is what resonated with Wilson throughout the early years of her career.
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“I got the best of both worlds, that’s for sure. From performing as Hannah Montana on flat bed trailers at birthday parties to honoring the legend herself…now that right there is what ya call a full circle moment,” Wilson wrote on Instagram one day after the moment. “@mileycyrus you’re such an inspiration. Thank you for letting me honor you. Still pinching myself about last night.”
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Earlier this year, Wilson spoke with Fox News Digital about her 13-year run in the music business and the challenges she’s faced.
“I think a lot of the rejection really just kind of made me want it that much more. I am hardheaded. I really am, and if you could sit down and talk to my parents, you would realize why I am the way that I am,” she said. “Both of them, when they have their mind made up, that’s it. And I’ve had my mind made up from the very beginning that I was going to do this.”
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Nearly 13 years ago, the “Yellowstone” star packed up her belongings and moved from the 200-person town in Baskin, Louisiana, and headed to Nashville to pursue her dream of being a country music star. In February, Wilson took home her first Grammy.
“I didn’t know what it was going to look like, but I truly do think that that rejection and the time that it has taken me to get to this point, because, I mean, this year it’ll be 13 years that I’ve been in Nashville doing it,” Wilson told Fox News Digital.
“I think it’s really just a part of my story. And I think the Lord kind of wanted me to live a little bit more life, so I could have more stories to tell, so I could relate to more people,” she added. “That’s what it’s about when you kind of zoom out and you think about all of this. It’s important to remember and realize, why are we doing this? And what are we doing this for?
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“It’s just because we all want to feel something. And, I think, because of that rejection, I think people can relate to some of my stories.”
Fox News Digital’s Janelle Ash and Larry Fink contributed to this report.
