Miley Cyrus Reveals Why She Had a ‘Stripper Pole’ in ‘Party in the U.S.A.’ 2009 Teen Choice Performance
It was the dance heard ’round the world. Except, as Miley Cyrus shares during the latest video in her “Used to Be Young” TikTok series, the pole she twirled around in her infamous 2009 Teen Choice Awards performance of “Party in the U.S.A.” was not of the stripper variety.
The clip opens with presenters Shailene Woodley and The Secret Life of the American Teenager star Daren Kagasoff introducing the live debut of Miley’s enduring good-time anthem from her 2009 The Time of Our Lives EP, which was written and produced by Dr. Luke (with additional songwriting by Jessie J and Claude Kelly).
“My mom was like, ‘I think it would be really cool if she was in the trailer park, cuz that’s where we really do come from,'” Miley says in her best sassy Tish Cyrus voice in the TikTok clip while screening the throwback performance on an iPad. “So, apparently, me dancing on an ice cream cart with a stripper pole … but it wasn’t a stripper pole — it was actually just for stability!”
The star still seems confused about the reaction to the performance in which she emerged from a trailer wearing a fuzzy vest, black hot pants a tank top and high-heeled boots surrounded by four scantily clad female dancers. She then climbs up on the ice cream cart with the pole that, to be fair, she clings to as she gets pushed across the stage, with nary an adult dance move to be seen.
“I had a heel on! Guys, what did you want from me?” she wonders about the backlash that rained down on the then-16-year-old from people who thought it was a bad look for the Hannah Montana Disney Channel star with a young fanbase. “Was I really going to do my performance without dancing on top of an ice cream cart? That performance was amazing,” she says, with someone off camera adding, “it was sick.”
That said, she thought she was a bit pitchy and the bedazzled fedora “needed to go.” Miley then pulls up a tabloid headline from the time asking “Is Miley Turning Into the Next Britney?”
“Hopefully!” she says with a smile. “If God is good! Which we know She is!”
Watch Miley’s play-by-play below.
Gil Kaufman
Billboard
