Miley Mendler

**Kelly Victoria McCarthy** (born June 14, 1984) known professionally as **Miley Mendler**, is a Kazakh-American singer, actress. Mendler began her career in musical theatre, performing on Broadway as a teenager. Known for her earworm pop hits, she earned the title "Queen of Radio".

Mendler rose quickly to fame at a young age with her debut album *Life of the Party* (2000) at only 16 years old. The album earned two number one singles: "Call Me Maybe" and "Girlfriend". She followed up with her sophomore album Breakthrough (2002), which spawned singles "Stronger", "S&M", "Give Your Heart a Break", and "Catch My Breath", the former two also topped the Billboard Hot 100.

## Life and career

### 1984–1997: Early life and career beginnings

Kelly Victoria McCarthy was born on June 14, 1984 in Semey, Kazakhstan. She was put up for adoption shortly after birth and her birth name is unknown. She was adopted in 1986 by her parents Jason and Kristen McCarthy, where she relocated to West Jordan, Utah for a brief period of time. Mendler moved around Massachusetts, where she spent the rest of her childhood. Coming from a lower-middle class family, she attended public schools for her entire educational career.

Mendler always had an interest in the performing arts, receiving keyboard and a guitar as gifts early in her childhood. Mendler describes herself as a "self-taught musician". She began roller figure skating lessons at age nine, and went onto place third in the national championships in 1995. She additionally played the cello and took ballroom dance lessons during her teen years. Mendler most notably acted in various school and regional theater productions. She performed in both recognizable shows like *Beauty and the Beast*, *Fiddler On The Roof*, *Chicago*, *Pippin*, and *Our Town*, and original works. She earned numerous local awards from her roles. In addition to theater, Mendler joined her a cappella group at her high school, where she also competed in international competitions and won awards. Mendler credits her experiences in theater and a cappella for inspiring her to be a performer as a career.

### 1998-2001: Broadway and *Life of the Party*

In 1998, Mendler attended various open-calls for both Broadway and touring musical theater productions. She was eventually hired to originate the role of Sally Brown in the US tour of the first revival of the musical *You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown*. She toured with the show from November 1998 to January 1999, before moving to the Ambassador Theatre in New York City from February 1999 to June 1999, making her Broadway debut. She went on to win both a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for her portrayal.

During her stay in New York City, Mendler expressed interest in pursuing a career in music professionally. She reached out to numerous record labels in the city, performed covers, and submitted CDs of her singing. A staff member in *You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown* connected her to a studio manager at Atlantic Records where she was interviewed and sang TLC's "No Scrubs" (1999) for executives and was signed on the spot. The executives recalled "she had a rare confidence that you don't see with everyone. A lot of people come in here and sing for us - but she *performed* for us." Work began on Mendler's first record the following week. She was offered a variety of songs and additionally co-written a few, before turning in a total of ten tracks to Atlantic.

"Want U Back" was released as the lead single on November 18, 1999. It debuted on at number 75 on the *Billboard* Hot 100 and climbed the charts for several weeks before peaking at number 12. The song was met with generally positive reviews, with critics saying Mendler has "a natural and charismatic vocal presence" and the song being "packed with hooks and has Miley's personality stamped all over it." The song has sold over 2,000,000 copies worldwide. The album's second single "Call Me Maybe" saw international success, spending nine weeks at number one on the *Billboard* Hot 100, topped charts in 18 other countries, became the best-selling single of 2000, and earned Grammy nominations for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards.

*Life of the Party* was released as Mendler's debut studio album on June 16, 2000, and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. She spent the summer promoting the album through performances at shopping malls, music festivals, and various events.

### 2018–2019: *Bleeding Heart*, *Honestly*, and return to Broadway

On September 14, 2019, it was announced that Mendler would play Velma Kelly in the long-running production of *Chicago* on Broadway. She previously appeared as Liz in the original 2002 film. This marked Mendler's first Broadway production in seventeen years, her last being *Hairspray* in 2002. She began performances at the Ambassador Theatre on October 14, 2019, and departed the show on December 15, 2019.

### 2020–2022: *Garden of Eden*

Mendler remained silent on social media throughout the first half of 2020. On July 31, 2020, she released her twenty-track eighth studio album *Garden of Eden* (2020) as a surprise - the first indication of the record being social media posts at midnight announcing its release. It continued the surprise release rollout she did with *Honestly* (2019). The album was her first concept album, with lyrics exploring religious and natural themes, and diving deeper into the synth-pop and dream pop genres she explored in the past. The album has been described as Mendler's most cohesive work, departing from the criticism she received from prior releases. The album was recorded over the course of two years, additionally being a visual album. The album debuted at number one and was eventually supported by three number one singles: "Cruel Summer", "Rain on Me" with Ariana Grande, and "E.T.". "Levitating", the album's second single, was named the #1 song of 2021, despite only peaking at number two. A deluxe version of the album was released on December 25, 2020, also as a surprise with five new songs. *Garden of Eden* was nominated for three Grammy Awards at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, ultimately taking home Best Pop Vocal Album.

On February 26, 2021, Mendler released "Fever" with Belgian singer Angèle. One week later, she released an extended play titled *Divine* (2021). The EP was released due to fan demand, as it consisted of unreleased material from the singer's seventh album *Honestly* (2019), and due to the fact Mendler was unable to tour for *Garden of Eden* that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mendler embarked on the Garden of Eden Festival to promote *Garden of Eden* (2020), two years after its release on May 13, 2022. The tour took place in all stadiums in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America and concluded on September 15, 2022.

Mendler reprised her role of Nancy Tremaine in the Disney+ movie *Disenchanted*, and it was released on November 18, 2022.

### 2023–present: Super Bowl LVII halftime show and *Wonderland*

On September 25, 2022, the NFL announced that Mendler would be headlining the Super Bowl LVII halftime show on February 12, 2023. Mendler's performance included guest appearances by Nicki Minaj, Britney Spears, and Ariana Grande. The show was critically acclaimed, and gained a total of 118.7 million viewers across TV and digital platforms, overtaking the Lady Gaga-headlined Super Bowl LI halftime show in 2017 to become the second most-watched halftime show in history behind Katy Perry's performance at the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show.

Hours before the performance, Mendler posted a trailer for her upcoming ninth studio album, ending with the words "sneak peek tonight". Mendler opened the show with a brand new song, "Kings & Queens", which was later released that night alongside a visualizer. The official music video was released on February 17, 2023.

## Filmography

* *Chicago* (2002)
* *Enchanted* (2007)
* *Frozen* (2013)
* *The Greatest Showman* (2017)
* *Ocean's 8* (2018)
* *Frozen 2* (2019)
* *Disenchanted* (2022)

## Discography

**Studio albums**

* *Life of the Party* (2000)
* *Breakthrough* (2002)
* *Unconditionally* (2006)
* *Dream* (2013)
* *Diamond* (2016)
* *Bleeding Heart* (2018)
* *Honestly* (2019)
* *Garden of Eden* (2020)
* *Wonderland* (2023)

## Live performances and tours

### Broadway

 2002
 2019

### Tours

#### Headlining

* Life of the Party Tour (2001)
* Breakthrough Tour (2003)
* Unconditionally World Tour (2007-2008)
* Black & White Tour (2011)
* Dream World Tour (2014-2015)
* Diamond World Tour (2017)
* Bleeding Heart Stadium Tour (2019)
* Garden of Eden Festival (2022)