Top 10 Best Songs from Hannah Montana

Though the infectious melodies of 'If We Were a Movie' sound upbeat, Hannah Montana slowly tells a more heartbreaking story in this song. By evoking handfuls of clichés from rom-coms, Montana reflects how dire romance can be in reality. Hannah also cleverly uses the theme of acting to both explore dating and the complexity of her dual character in the series. The seemingly preppy rock sound of the song manages to mix in weird synth and rhythms too, which mirror the lyrics well. With this contrast, “If We Were a Movie”'s number 47 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 isn't surprising, but its dark take on love certainly is.

While “The Best of Both Worlds” looks at all the upsides of Hannah Montana's life, “The Other Side of Me” gives a more complex look at her reality. The track interestingly dissects the issues of playing someone colorful on stage, but also having to play a bland person in your daily life. In this way, Montana exposes a dilemma where only seeing both people will tell someone her whole story. Though the bubbly energy of the track could distract from this idea, it actually does a great job of emulating her overwhelming life. And with its shift between simple verses and over-the-top choruses, “The Other Side of Me” is a great musical representation of Miley Cyrus's double life.

Amongst all of its high-energy rock chords, “Just Like You” is really about reminding people that Hannah is a human being off-stage. Though this theme runs through lots of Hannah Montana's songs, here we see her approach it in a more intimate conversational style. Hannah particularly engages fans by explaining how hollow success can actually feel when you can't share it with others. Even the aggressive rock of the choruses is used to contrast the highs and lows of the celebrity life. Thanks to the deep yearning for normalcy that Cyrus exposes in “Just Like You,” the track works as one of her most surprisingly vulnerable pieces from the show.

Rather than lamenting her troubles, Hannah Montana wholeheartedly celebrates herself on “I Got Nerve.” In one of her more new wave pop sounds, Hannah unabashedly sings about the power of knowing herself. Montana's confident reflection on self-worth uses pop to create an empowering anthem for those who feel passionate about what they do. The powerful high notes from Cyrus also helps this message of strength hit home with gusto. Alternatively, the quirky keyboard lines sonically sets this track apart within her catalogue, and had it climbing up American charts. Whether you liked it for the story or just its more intense sound, “I Got Nerve” has a unique heft for Hannah Montana.

“Rock Star,” like so many other Hannah Montana songs, looks at Miley’s double life, and explores the power that comes from working hard at everything to become a rock star on a more metaphorical level. Montana's boasts about her unexpected talents, effectively defying several gender stereotypes in the process. Not one to stray away from a theme however, Hannah has some of her grimiest guitar tones on this track and a solo that goes wildly off the rails. So by layering a message about being all you can be, “Rock Star” gives us a look at how impactful Hannah's music can still be next to Miley Cyrus releases.

At the end of her movie outing, Hannah Montana performed one last song to sum up her whole adventure. “You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home” discussed how your roots stick with you in stardom, which was a powerful lesson even without the film's story to back it up. The song didn't avoid the highs and lows of celebrity living either, but instead showed how home could be a constant comfort in all of that. Lyrics aside, this Taylor Swift and Martin Johnson-penned track mixed country twang and strong backup vocals with a seemingly endless supply of amazing pop hooks. Sprinkle in some infectious breakdowns, and “You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home” closed out Montana's film on a memorable note.

In a nice change of pace from Hannah's mostly personal tracks, “Let's Do This” sees her focusing on her fans. There's plenty of upbeat party rock to get crowds moving, but it's Montana's encouraging attitude that helps the song feel like a celebration. Hannah also finds common ground with her audience, by comparing the journeys they both take to get to the show. There's plenty of weird vocal moments and sing-along harmonies to keep fans shouting too. And the rock breakdown really pushes the level of grit for Montana's music, while keeping the track from growing dull. With so much life behind the song, “Let's Do This” not only sends the love back to Cyrus's admirers, but also gives them a reason to love her more.

Pop rock meets exceptional pop-country in one of Hannah Montana's most radio friendly bops, “He Could Be the One”. While the lyrics sound like a classic love song, it's cool to see Hannah speaking so vulnerably about relationships. To this end she also interestingly broaches falling for someone because they make you feel comfortable. With such strong writing behind it, the track is still one of Montana's biggest chart successes internationally and on the Billboard Hot 100. It doesn't hurt that it has a more crisp sound than her TV hits too. So by taking some subtle cues from powerfully accessible pop, “He Could Be The One” brings Montana to a more mature crowd.

While Hannah Montana sings about stardom a lot, nothing sums up her entire character with more of a sense of fun than “The Best of Both Worlds.” The oddly specific lines about the high-life colliding with school assure that the song can't be mistaken for anyone else's work. Intriguingly, the entire topic of a star with two lives also opens the song to being as much about Miley Cyrus as her on-screen characters. Luckily, Montana's larger-than-life personality and all the instantly catchy rock choruses use sonic quirks to stand out rather than diminish the song. In fact, it's really the combination of all these otherwise unusual factors that solidify “The Best of Both Worlds” as a signature Montana track.

Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

"One in a Million"

"Let's Get Crazy"

"Bigger Than Us"

"Life's What You Make It"

"Who Said"

Though Montana's music is often some mix of rock and pop, there are few songs that fully embrace the futuristic sounds of electronics. This dynamic sound leads “Nobody's Perfect,” as Hannah herself talks about taking risks and learning when you slip up. This helps reinforce the message to fans that good intentions and moving forward are more important than a mistake. And her spoken plea to listeners in the bridge keeps the track refreshingly earnest. Heck, even Miley herself still seems to love rocking out to the song these days. So in practicing what it preaches, “Nobody's Perfect” excels as Montana's most ambitious and empowering track.