Miley Cyrus Gives U.S. Troops a Shout-Out

The 15-year-old superstar headlines a Utah freedom festival on July 4

By Ken Baker Jul 06, 2008 5:55 PMTags
Miley CyrusAP Photo/Gus Ruelas

Teen sensation Miley Cyrus headlined America's Freedom Festival in Provo, Utah, on the Fourth of July.

Known as "one of the largest patriotic celebrations in America," the sixth annual event was telecast live to the nation's troops around the globe. The concert, dubbed the "Stadium of Fire," was emceed by conservative political TV and radio commentator Glenn Beck.

Cyrus, 15, clad in a conservative all-white outfit of jeans and a tank top, performed in front of nearly 60,000 fans, singing her biggest hits and debuting songs off her new album. The reigning tween queen dedicated "Simple Song" to American troops.

"I want to take a minute to dedicate this song to all of our troops we got out there," she told the crowd. "I know God has an ultimate plan, so I'm stoked."

E! News is told that, prior to the show, Cyrus visited with kids from a local cancer hospital and signed autographs.

Missing from the Independence Day show was Miley's best friend and backup dancer, Mandy Jiroux. But Miley & Mandy fans need not worry about a BFF split: Jiroux couldn't make the show because she was performing in Boulder, Colo., this weekend with her girl group, the Beach Girlz, at a volleyball event.

Cyrus took in a fireworks show after her concert, despite her fears. In a conference call with reporters earlier in the week to promote the concert, Miley said: "I actually am really, really scared of fireworks so I would always sit in the car. Fireworks scare me so badly. Like, on my concert tour, any time pyro goes off, I’m like crossing my fingers. I really don’t like it."

Following the concert, Cyrus flew back to Tennessee, where she is still filming the Hannah Montana movie, which is scheduled to wrap later this month.