Miley Cyrus says success means being a friend to her fans for 20 years

Miley Cyrus and her fans have grown up together, which she describes as her definition of success.

Speaking to Vogue France, Miley is asked what success means to her. “What makes me successful is when I walk into a room and I feel respected and honored, not because of numbers, or what success means on paper, but when someone appreciates me as a vocalist or a songwriter, or what I even [meant] to them as a kid,” Miley says.

“I’ve grown up with my fans, and so when I think about being this person that’s, like, been a friend to them throughout the last 20 years — that to me is success.”

Miley also reveals that, like her pal Beyoncé, when she appears onstage she has an alter ego who takes over and allows her to become an incredible performer.

“Who I am onstage is somehow … it’s me but this kind of super-person comes up and really does the shows for me, because me myself would be terrified to do the things that I do,” she explains. “I’m in the shower and I just go, ‘You are that super-person. You’re the girl who’s gonna be onstage, doing the thing you’re afraid of."”

“Throughout my career, I’ve represented fearlessness. And I like people to know that I am absolutely not fearless,” she continues. “I’m fearful. And doing it anyway is what makes me feel strong … I don’t feel that titling me ‘fearless’ is actually representative of who I am at all.”

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