Miley Cyrus Hannah Montana Photo Archive3

                               

Miley Cyrus Hannah Montana Photo Archive2

                       

It’s the hottest ticket in town

‘Hannah Montana’ sparks resale frenzy; prices reach $1,840

Every ticket for the Dec. 9 “Hannah Montana” concert at Conseco Fieldhouse sold in a flash last weekend, but hundreds of marked-up seats are available on the resale market.

Renny Harrison of local brokerage company Circle City Tickets says consumer demand and prices set by his company are higher than for any other concert in Conseco Fieldhouse history. Since opening in 1999, the basketball arena has presented popular acts ranging from Paul McCartney to the Backstreet Boys to late tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

The “Hannah Montana” tour, a spinoff enterprise of the Disney Channel television series starring Miley Cyrus, will visit 49 cities from Oct. 18 to Jan. 9. Tickets for several dates sold out quickly Aug. 18, and the buying frenzy in Indianapolis and other cities in the Midwest ensued Sept. 15.

“We were one of the later shows of the tour to go on sale,” Harrison said. “We were aware ahead of time that the demand was going to be very good. We were geared up and ready for it.”

At the Circle City Web site, which combines tickets offered by dozens of broker companies, more than 1,000 tickets are listed for the “Hannah Montana” tour.

The asking price for a second-row ticket is $1,840, with individual balcony seats in the neighborhood of $150. These tickets originally were sold for $56 and $26. Circle City’s asking price for its best ticket to the Oct. 14 Van Halen show at the venue — which will feature vocalist David Lee Roth in the band’s lineup for the first time in more than 20 years — is $1,160.

Indianapolis resident Amy Messang, mother of an 11-year-old daughter, doubts she will pay three figures for a “Hannah Montana” ticket after coming up empty last weekend.

Messang made unsuccessful attempts to connect with Ticketmaster’s Web site (no tickets available) and phone lines (all circuits busy) when tickets were offered to the general public at 10 a.m. Sept. 15. Messang made a last-ditch try at a Macy’s department store, where a Ticketmaster clerk greeted her at 10:20 a.m.

“She said, ‘Are you here for ‘Hannah Montana’ tickets?’ I said, ‘Yes,’ and all she said was, ‘Sorry, they’re gone,’ ” said Messang, who added that the clerk reported less than a minute of sales before all seats were reserved.

How does a 16,000-capacity venue fill so quickly?

Many seats aren’t in play the day concert tickets go on sale to the general public.

Fan club members are given an early shot at tickets, which numbered 4,000 for a “Hannah Montana” tour stop in Kansas City — where parents were so distressed by a quick sellout that City Council members held a public forum with representatives of the yet-to-open Sprint Center arena and Ticketmaster, according to The Kansas City Star.

Conseco Fieldhouse suite holders are the equivalent of season ticket holders, and some companies such as American Express extend presale offers to customers. The performing musicians, meanwhile, are given tickets to use as they wish.

Ticketmaster maintains it sets aside no tickets for brokers.

Kirstyn Schwartz, spokeswoman for St. Louis-based concert promoter AEG Live (the promoter of the “Hannah Montana” tour), declined to be interviewed for this report. Walt Disney Records, which distributes “Hannah Montana” recordings, could not be reached.

People shut out of buying “Hannah Montana” tickets Sept. 15 probably didn’t try their luck at Conseco Fieldhouse, arena spokesman Kevin Messenger said.

The box office sold tickets to roughly 300 customers who showed up in person, thanks to an undisclosed amount of tickets the venue held apart from the general pool available at Ticketmaster’s phone, Internet and walk-up locations.

At 9 a.m., the box office distributed numbers to randomly assign who would be first in line.

“Everybody that was here early for the lottery was satisfied,” Messenger said.

The Conseco Fieldhouse box office will be open at 10 a.m. today, when tickets go on sale for a Nov. 8 performance by country music star Keith Urban.

Members of Urban’s “Monkeyville” fan club, which charges annual dues of $24.99, were allowed to purchase presale tickets Tuesday through Thursday.

Empty-handed parent Messang said she considered but ultimately decided against joining the “Hannah Montana” fan club ($29.95 in annual dues) before Sept. 15.

About ‘Hannah Montana’

The Disney Channel series “Hannah Montana” features 14-year-old Miley Cyrus in the role of Miley Stewart, an ordinary teen who keeps her celebrity life as singer Hannah Montana under wraps. Since its 2006 debut, “Hannah Montana” has generated two top-selling soundtracks, various DVD releases and video games. Cyrus is the daughter of country vocalist Billy Ray “Achy Breaky Heart” Cyrus, who’s also part of the “Hannah Montana” television cast.

“Her initial response was to hold back tears, I think,” Messang said of her daughter’s response to the sellout. “Then it was, ‘That’s OK, Mom. It’s not the end of the world.’ “

Ticket broker Harrison said “Hannah Montana” tickets will stay hot on the resale market as long as parents want their youngsters to attend.

“It’s unusual for a family event to be of such extreme popularity, but we’ve seen it before,” Harrison said. “We’ve seen it with the success that the Colts have had, and we’ve seen it with Kenny Chesney and Jimmy Buffett concerts. This is not driven by kids with deep pockets buying tickets for themselves. This is driven by their parents.”

About Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus (born November 23, 1992) is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She is best known for starring as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel Original Series, Hannah Montana.

Born in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville, Miley Cyrus attended Heritage Middle School but she now has a private tutor. She grew up on her parents’ farm in the backwoods of Nashville. Cyrus is the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus and Leticia “Tish” Cyrus, and the granddaughter of the late Ron Cyrus and Ruth Ann Cyrus. She has two older half-brothers, Christopher Cody and Trace, who sings and plays guitar in Metro Station, an electronic rock band in California, an older half-sister, Brandi, a younger brother, Braison, and a younger sister, Noah Lindsey Cyrus, who is also an actress. She was named Destiny Hope because her parents thought that she would accomplish great things. Cyrus gained her nickname “Miley” because she kept smiling (“Smiley”) as a youngster. In an interview with USA Today, Cyrus was quoted as saying her faith is “the main thing” and is why she works in Hollywood. When interviewed by Parade, she added that she attends church regularly with her family. She also has many pets, including horses, dogs, cats, fish and chickens. Cyrus is the goddaughter of country music star Dolly Parton.

Cyrus became interested in acting at age nine when the family briefly lived in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. While on the set of her father’s television series Doc, she received a guest role, playing a girl named Kylie. In 2003, she played “Young Ruthie” in Tim Burton’s Big Fish and was credited as Destiny Cyrus. She was also featured in Rhonda Vincent’s music video for “If Heartaches Have Wings”, and appeared on Colgate Country Showdown with her father (who was hosting the television program).

Cyrus was eleven years old when she originally auditioned for Disney for the part of the “best friend”; Disney Channel executives then judged her to be “too small,” however Miley was persistent in her desire to be part of the show, so Disney called her back for further auditions when she was age 12. According to Disney Channel Executive Vice President Gary Marsh, Cyrus was chosen for Hannah Montana because of her energetic and lively performance and was seen as a person who “loves every minute of life,” with the “everyday relatability of Hilary Duff and the stage presence of Shania Twain.” She had spent several years attempting to get rid of her Southern accent, but in the end Disney wanted her to revive it. Later in an unusual twist, Cyrus had to audition her own father, Billy Ray Cyrus, to see if he would fit the role as Hannah’s dad. Cyrus currently stars in the show (Hannah Montana) as the lead character Miley Stewart, whose alter ego is the pop music sensation Hannah Montana. Cyrus also performs in character as Hannah Montana for albums and concerts.

Cyrus’s first guitar was a Daisy Rock Guitar — the Stardust Series Acoustic Electric Pink Sparkle, and was made a spokesperson for the company in 2004. It was given to her by her parents from her father’s Country Music Television fan meet-and-greet, when she was twelve years old.

On June 22, 2006, a performance of a Hannah Montana concert (featuring Cyrus as Hannah Montana) at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida was recorded for the Disney Channel. Cyrus spent the rest of 2006 opening for The Cheetah Girls on 20 dates of their 39-city tour. Cyrus also appeared in the Disney Channel Hannah Montana promotion, “Hannah Montana’s Backstage Secrets”, in which she portrays Hannah Montana in a fictional interview set in the show’s canon.

Walt Disney Records released the Hannah Montana soundtrack on October 24, 2006. The soundtrack included eight of the songs that Cyrus performed as Hannah Montana. Cyrus also signed a four-album major record deal with Hollywood Records for her own albums.

Cyrus is good friends with fellow Hannah Montana co-stars Emily Osment and Mitchel Musso, often texting and conference calling each other during busy days. Miley Cyrus also taught Emily Osment how to play the guitar and Osment taught Cyrus how to knit. She is also friends with the stars of the highly successful TV movie High School Musical, including Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale. Cyrus had a brief cameo in High School Musical 2 credited as “Girl at Pool”, where she danced in front of the pool wearing a yellow baby doll top before the end credits.

Cyrus performed as Hannah Montana at the Walt Disney Christmas Parade on December 25, 2006, singing her version of the holiday classic “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”

In June 26, 2007, exactly eight months after the release of the first soundtrack, Cyrus released a double album, Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus. The first disc served as the second Hannah Montana soundtrack, while the second disc was Cyrus’ debut album as herself. She co-wrote, credited as “Destiny Hope Cyrus”, eight of the ten songs.

While attending the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix premiere, Cyrus stated that they are working on ideas for a Hannah Montana movie. The feature-length film is to be produced by Cyrus’s both on and off-screen dad, Billy Ray Cyrus.

Disney released a Hannah Montana clothing collection in late summer. Cyrus helped to design some of the pieces from the collection. “It’s not a costume. A tween girl isn’t doing dress-up, they want to look like they could be Hannah Montana’s friend. This is a fashion line.”

Walt Disney Records has announced that Cyrus will be performing both as herself and in character as Hannah Montana on a 54-date North American Best of Both Worlds Tour starting October 18, 2007 in St. Louis, Missouri and ending January 9, 2008 in Albany, New York.. The Jonas Brothers will be the opening act. The Jonas Brothers will be the opening act. Tour tickets for each date have been selling out quickly after they have gone on sale disappointing large numbers of fans.

Miley Cyrus Photo Archive