Miley Cyrus’s metamorphosis into a 2026 Hannah Montana is officially complete: On March 23, the singer debuted a blonde hair transformation at the premiere of the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special. And as soon as we put down the tissues, we started digging for details.
Cyrus has been subtly lightening her naturally brunette color over the last year, fueling rumors of a Hannah Montana reunion before the special was confirmed. But her current blonde—a light, buttery shade complete with rooty dimension, Y2K-coded highlights, and a full fringe—made us all do a double take. It’s as light as Cyrus has gone since her platinum Bangerz era, but the look is a clear homage to her Disney Channel days.
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Hannah Montana wasn’t the sole color inspiration, however. “It’s really trying to channel a high-fashion moment,” Kenny Reed, Cyrus’s hair colorist, tells Glamour. “I mean, Kate Moss is such a great reference. We were really reading into this blonde that’s sunnier but powerful.” While he says the look mainly strikes him as “forward-thinking,” he also sees a blend of ’70s rocker and Y2K pop star influence in the final result.
As for Cyrus’s input from the chair: “She’s an artist, right? She very clearly has a point of view,” Reed says. “That was one of the things that I really loved about collaborating with her, that she was like, ‘I want something that’s very customized and individual to me and where I’m at.’”
Throughout the anniversary special, Cyrus constantly referred to her Hannah Montana roots as a living part of her, not just an era gone by. “I think it’s about showing that evolution,” Reed says.
The concept behind Hannah Montana illustrates how closely hair and identity are intertwined. In the show, nearly every time Miley Stewart reveals her double life to another character, she throws her blonde wig over her naturally dark waves (with comically perfect execution) to “transform” into Hannah as proof. But according to Reed, Cyrus’s current color isn’t a character choice or a costume element.
If you ask him, it’s also here to stay. “My sense is that we’re going to be in a bit of a blonde era because I don’t think she’s trying,” Reed says. “I think she’s feeling. It feels very honest to me.”