When Sabrina Carpenter was six, she watched Disney’s Hannah Montana and realized exactly who she wanted to be.

“I remember…watching the pilot and being like ‘I want to do that. I want to sing, and I want to act, and I want to dance. I want to do all those things,’’ she said in a 2020 interview. Three years later, Carpenter would end up getting her big break because of the show’s star Miley Cyrus, competing in the MileyWorld Superstar Contest to get a record deal. She placed third but still found her way to Disney and a music career within a few years’ time, thanks to being cast on Girl Meets World.

From 2006 to 2011, it was impossible to avoid the phenomenon that was Hannah Montana and, subsequently, Miley Cyrus. The premise was peak kid show brilliance: By day, Cyrus’ Miley Stewart was a normal high school girl with normal high school problems; by night, she’d throw on a blonde wig and turned into her superstar counterpart Hannah Montana. Montana’s rock star life was glittery pop fun, churning out some of the best Disney-associated music of its era and translating to real Top 40 hits. It also turned Cyrus into a megastar, one who seemed to be transforming into a real-life Hannah Montana right before the worlds’ eyes as she began debuting songs under her own name.

Carpenter is not the only Gen Z pop star of the moment who found their calling from watching the show. Chappell Roan has continuously pointed to her fandom of Hannah Montana as the starting point for her own ambitions. During a show in NYC back in early 2023, Roan even performed in Hannah Montana drag for a few songs. Meanwhile, videos and photos from Olivia Rodrigo’s childhood show off her pre-pubescent love for the show (and like Carpenter, she had also gotten her start on the same channel as Cyrus before mounting an even bigger singing career). The more divisive JoJo Siwa credits the show with her own origins, with her mom telling Rolling Stone years ago that she wanted her daughter “to be the next Hannah Montana.” (Siwa more recently has cited Cyrus’ Bangerz era as the primary inspiration for her more adult career pivot).

The effects of Hannah Montana’s success was immediate in many ways, spurring the careers of her then-Disney peers like Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, the Jonas Brothers and the shows and movies they each carried. But the impact of the show and Cyrus’ star power is finally being felt in full-force these days. We are now entering the Hannah Montana Generation of pop stars: young artists who are not just evoking the frilly and bold aesthetic and unapologetically sugary sweet music of the show but also the type of larger-than-life persona Montana had in comparison to “real-life” Stewart. Carpenter is the prime example of leaning into the Hannah Montana-ification of her own career and brand: in recent years, she has leaned into the high-femme styling, make-up and big blonde hair that has become her signature look when performing. It’s been translating even more into her latest string of releases, with songs like “Feather,” “Espresso” and “Please Please Please” matching that coy, pastels-and-bejeweled-hearts, girlish persona she heightens on camera.

Like Carpenter, Roan’s own music in the years leading up to recent global success has been a mix of both earnestly confessional songs and big, bold arena-worthy pop anthems. Recently viral hits like “Hot to Go!” and “Femininomenon” feel like exactly the type of songs an older Hannah Montana would make, progressing the bravado of songs like “Rock Star” mixed with the ear-worminess of “Nobody’s Perfect” or “The Best of Both Worlds.”

It’s probably no coincidence that during the era of her influence looming the most, Cyrus herself has been having a career renaissance of sorts. Her 2023 single “Flowers” became her biggest song-to-date, a feat for someone nearly 20 years into a career chock full of platinum-selling hit songs. She also took home her first Grammy Awards at this year’s ceremony, a long-overdue honor that Cyrus celebrated on-stage with a head-turning performance during the telecast. Unlike her numerous other head-turning televised performances, the focus was on her singing and stage-presence and nothing else.

This is just the beginning of the world seeing the Hannah Montana Generation take over. Carpenter and Roan have been hustling to become the type of hit-makers they are now for years respectively — and who knows how many other young kids who learned how to both make and perform a truly great pop song from Cyrus’ are still waiting in the wings for their time to shine.

LAKESIDE — Lavender is a unique plant with qualities that help it survive in Montana’s harsh climate and one farm in Lakeside has been successful in farming it for two decades.

“When I started this I wanted to be a little lady walking in my in my lavender garden. And I’m here this little lady walking in my lavender garden. So how lucky am I?” said Purple Mountain Lavender owner Deb Davis.

Davis of Purple Mountain Lavender is celebrating 20 years of her lavender farm in Lakeside.

“I think the most important part is to get in there and get your hands dirty and be with the soil and smell and different scents of the different varieties of lavender. It’s really an amazing plant and you can do so much with it,” said Davis.

Purple Mountain Lavender is a working farm with over 1,500 lavender plants with 35 different varieties. Davis and her husband offer tours of the lavender farm, classes and a retail store.

“I think what inspires me is that the people when they do come up, they’re friendly, they’re positive, they love lavender. So socially, it’s great to see them meet other people that are taking the tour as well or doing a class A chance for them to relax,” said Davis.

The tours offer a chance for people to see the beautiful lavender as well as to learn from a pro how to successfully grow lavender.

“So, you’ll get a chance to smell those you get to see all the different colors. Lavenders have different colors, different lengths of the stems, different smells, and which one is the best depends on which one you like,” said Davis.

While farming the lavender only takes place during the summer, Davis uses the winter months to make products that she sells at the farm, online and to local vendors in Montana.

“And it’s just been. It’s just been a journey for us and it keeps going and it’s great because when we open up during this short period of time I just meet marvelous people like you all and it’s all good,” said Davis.

Purple Mountain Lavender is an environmentally friendly farm that does not irrigate because lavender is a drought-resistant plant, that uses no fertilizer and they use eco-friendly packaging for their products.

“Once you get it started. It’s a very hardy plant. And it can take a lot of our winters and our heat, but it’s just [that] agriculture is tough. I have so much respect for anybody who does farming,” said Davis.

Davis’s love for lavender is immense and her dedication to teaching others makes for a fun, educational Montana experience. And like any other Montanan, she encourages people to get outside.

“Get your hands dirty. Go out there and plant a flower you know do something, be outdoors and enjoy being here,” said Davis.

Visit https://purplemountainlavendermontana.com/ to learn more about Purple Mountain Lavender.

Allie Mae Redmond of Vaughn, Montana left this earth on July 1, 2024, at the very young age of 18 years old.

She was born in Sidney Montana, on December 12, 2005, to Christine Persoma and Kevin Redmond Jr. Allie was such a joy as a baby and loved her big sister Avery, fiercely as they grew into the best of friends, even at a very young age. Allie was a protector to all her brothers and sisters as well, Avery, Clayton, Bella, Aspen Letti and Wesley. She was so kind, always sharing and caring to all; Allie really believed Everyone was good and unconditionally accepted all, no matter what.

At the age of 12, Allie was diagnosed with a rare disorder, Andersen-Tawil syndrome which primarily affected the function of her heart. You’d never know she was so fragile, as she was on many medications, had limited mobility and even after being placed on a strict lifestyle, she continued to love life to the fullest including her lake Michigan cold plunges in November.

While living in Michigan, Allie impacted lives and loved many friends. At 16, She decided to make the move back to Montana, where she blossomed at Simms high school. Everyone there naturally navigated to Allie, as she was so gifted and intuitive. She volunteered her time within the school and found her passion with using her voice, which led her to speech and debate with many achievements and the ultimate reward was to be seen and heard.  Allie Bear will be forever remembered for her radiant spirit, big heart and her ability to make anyone smile and feel safe and loved.

Allie is survived by her mother Christine Persoma; father Kevin and Jamie Redmond; siblings Avery, Clayton, Bella, Aspen, Letti and Wesley; aunts and uncles Jennifer and Paul Goyne, Joshua Johnson, Heidi and Tyler Linde, and Kelly and Brian Hanson; along with her many cousins; grandparents Sherry and Les Hallgrimson, Frandella Martin, Kelly and Jackie Johnson, Neva and Kevin Redmond Sr., and Rich and Cristy Snider; great grandparents Orinne Herland, D.O Martin and Arlene Askmon. Allie‘s legacy will live on in the hearts of all that she touched, the light that shined inside of her glows through those that knew her best.

“In the end it’s not the years in life that count, it’s the life of your years. You were a beautiful melody in the rhythm of our lives. The music of your life will on”

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