Miley Cyrus’ Blunt Bangs and Chunky Highlights are Giving Hannah Montana

There’s a handful of pop stars whose musical eras are defined by hairstyles. Lady Gaga comes to mind, as does Rihanna, but I’d argue the O.G. pop star hair chameleon has to be Miley Cyrus. Her blonde alter ego, Hannah Montana, raised a pack of 2000s girlies—myself included—and even after the show ended, Cyrus’s hair anchored her different albums and aesthetics. Remember her Bangerz pixie cut? Or her warm blonde hair with dark roots that she wore for the cover of Malibu? In 2024, Cyrus is still on her hair game, with a new cut possibly signaling a new era.

On June 27, Cyrus posted two photos of herself to Instagram—which is rare for the star. The 31-year-old has gone pretty quiet on social media, rarely does interviews, and hasn’t been seen out and about since the Grammys. So, her new post took us by surprise, as did her throwback haircut.

In the photos, Cyrus swapped her big ’70s hair for a very Hannah Montana-inspired cut. She got the best of both worlds with chocolate brown hair that was styled in soft waves. New, wispy bangs framed her face, and pops of warm blonde highlights stood out throughout the brunette. Half of her bangs were blonde which was giving serious Y2K energy.

For makeup, the “Flowers” singer’s complexion was glowy, and she opted for no blush but sculpted her cheeks with a soft swipe of bronzer. Her eyelids were covered with black shadow to create a smoky eye, and she finished off the look with a peachy nude lip gloss.

Commenters caught on to the Hannah Montana of it all. “She looks like she’s about to tell Nick Jonas the 7 things she hates about him,” one said. Another wrote, “I can hear the Hannah Montana intro laugh in the 2nd photo.” Of course, some speculated this was the start of a new era for the star, and we’re so down for a Y2K-inspired pop album. Fingers crossed, Smilers!