New Miley OC Register interview

On having a long career in show business: "That's why this movie is so important to me. By working on this movie, I got out of the public eye for a while. I don't want to be in the press every day because I don't want people to burn out from seeing me all the time. I really can't help it, though, because the paparazzi follows me everywhere I go. This movie allowed me to feel as if every move I made wasn't being watched every second. It was kind of a good break for me. Then I went on tour for three months and I was in the public eye but not really. You'd have to go on tour to understand how it's a different world. Like, when you're on tour, nothing else exists. It's the weirdest thing. I don't even know what dad or little sister's doing half the time. You wake up in a different time zone every day. You get up late because you work real late. Our show ends at 11 p.m., and then once you've been bouncing around for an hour-and-a-half, you can't, like, go right to sleep. Your energy's still up. You get up at 5 in the morning to get to a new hotel, you sleep for two hours; it's crazy. I hadn't been to my house in literally, like, seven or eight months. When I got back to my house, I was, like: 'Half this stuff doesn't fit me anymore. This isn't even who I am anymore.' It's weird how much I changed in that time."

Do you mean physically? "I mean everything. I mean who I am. I think I became more fit on tour. I felt like this is what my body needed to be like to be healthy and strong. When I got back, even my room was so different. The things I wrote on the wall, the quotes, have all become true for me. It was such a crazy period of changing. I got to spend about two weeks at home before I was off on the tour."

Has the media been too hard on you? "I think at times it has, but everybody wants to sell their magazines. They want to sell a magazine like I want to sell a CD. I say what people want to hear to sell my CDs, and I guess other companies tell people what they want to hear to sell magazines."

On changing during her hectic touring schedule: "In the beginning, I felt like I had to do what everyone said, or otherwise this will all be taken away from me. But, you know something? At the end of the day, I have to live with myself. I feel a lot more independent now because I'm not going to be working for one single company anymore. It's not like I'm going to have to get new music out for the TV season, or I have to do this, or I have to do that. I don't have to do anything. If I want to take a break, I can take it. The ball's in my court, which is great, but it's also scary because I'm so used to the job security of the TV show. That was like having a normal job."

What is your career plan? "I'm the world's worst planner, but I have good people around me who are good planners. I'm kind of weird because I want to work, work, work. But I do get run down after a while. My New Year's resolution thing was to take one step at a time, don't over-think anything and only do things that are really, really important."

Does being a brand ever take the fun out of it? "Sometimes, it's a weight. But I think that getting away from "Hannah Montana" might help because I won't be part of that franchise thing anymore."

But you acknowledge that you are a brand? "Oh yeah, I'm a walking doll."

Where did your attitude come from? "I have no idea. I've always been super-driven. My little brother is a way better guitar player than me, and he wants nothing to do with the fame. That's the way he is, and this is the way I am. It's all I ever lived for, to be on a stage in front of people."