Here's how Miley Cyrus should handle her teen transition

Here's how Miley Cyrus should handle her teen transition

Even teen stars need to age gracefully. That is, unless they want to grow up to be Danny Bonaduce.
Lately, Miley Cyrus has been doing her damnedest to make the transition from imp to icon, with considerable help from the worldwide powerhouse that is the Disney empire. But her first move in this direction backfired big time. The quasi-nude Vanity Fair spread drew howls of outrage from parents, and shrieks from kids who thought it beneath their sweet idol.
The problem? Miley and her people went for an outdated way of "growing" a young star's public image. In the recent past, baby stars wanting to seem adult have taken a page from the early Madonna playbook: Shock people into paying you heed. Britney did that way back when she swapped spit with the grande dame. And Lindsay has done it with seemingly every move she has made in the last three years.
Certainly this has made them more famous. But has it made them more successful and respected? Not so much.
This week, Miley made more moves toward adult respectability by naming her just-released album "Breakout," and releasing it on the grownup Hollywood label rather than the baby Disney imprint of her earlier work.
That's a start. But there is more choppy water to navigate if Miley is going to follow the successful child-to-adult star trajectory of people like Jodie Foster and Christian Bale (on the acting tip) and Usher and Justin Timberlake (on the musical one). With some nudging, young Miley can make the transition while maintaining both a thriving career - and her dignity.