November 1, 2007

Lucky few Inland tweens, parents to see 'Hannah Montana' star

By JANET ZIMMERMAN
The Press-Enterprise

Holding two tickets to the sold-out Miley Cyrus concert makes Murrieta fifth-grader Kelsey Gage not just the envy of her class, but also part of a fan frenzy that music industry officials compare to the intensity that surrounded Elvis and The Beatles.

Cyrus is the teen star of "Hannah Montana," the Disney Channel show about high school student Miley Stewart and her secret double life as a pop star.

Tickets to Cyrus' real-life 54-venue concert tour sold out in minutes, with scalper prices averaging $214 each -- well above the going rate for those for Justin Timberlake and The Police. Some seats sold for as much as $3,000.

"We knew it was hot, but we had no idea it was this crazy," said Debra Rathwell, senior vice president at AEG Live, the tour promoter. "It's like The Beatles."

The Hannah Montana phenomenon is testament to the Disney star machine and the power of marketing to "tweens" -- 8- to 12-year-olds who are not old enough to get a license but drive many of the purchases at home.

Tweens spent $51 billion of their own money from gifts and allowances in 2005, and their families kicked in another $170 billion on purchases directly for them, according to youth-oriented Alloy Media and Marketing in New York.

So intense is the marketing to this group that by age 8 they begin to replace toys with music and clothing, and by age 11 they don't consider themselves children anymore, according to Alloy.

Cyrus, 14, is the icon of the pre-teen set, but she also appeals to much younger children. Her show has a cult-like following among youngsters who pepper their conversations with "Sweet niblets," the character's catchphrase.

Kelsey, 11, who said she has always dreamed of being a famous singer, gathers in her room with friends for Cyrus singalongs, using a water bottle for a microphone and dancing on the bed.

"She's funny, she's a good singer and she's a good actor on the show," said Kelsey, adding that Cyrus' character is a good role model "because she has really cool clothes and stuff."

Scramble for Tickets

Cyrus' first Southern California concert for the Best of Both Worlds Tour is Saturday at Honda Center in Anaheim. Kelsey's father, Rick Gage, won tickets to Wednesday's show at Staples Center in Los Angeles from a radio station.

Many other fans weren't as lucky. Parents, who as youngsters longed for tickets to see New Kids on the Block or David Cassidy, scrambled so as not to disappoint their children.

"Nothing can get more rabid than a parent trying to get something their kid is dying to have," said Robert Thompson, a pop culture professor at Syracuse University in New York who equates the Hannah Montana ticket craze to the quest to get a Tickle Me Elmo toy during Christmas 1996.

Brokers using sophisticated computer software bought blocks of tickets and resold them at highly inflated prices on sites such as StubHub.com and Gotickets.com.

A federal judge issued a temporary injunction last month ordering RMG Technologies to stop selling the software that diverted tickets away from fans. Several states are investigating whether the practice violated their consumer-protection laws.

"How many people have to tell their kids, 'I'm sorry, I can't afford these tickets?' " asked Maria Ondatje, 35, of San Bernardino. "This is supposed to be a concert for the kids, not a moneymaking thing. I don't think it's fair and I don't think it's right."

Ondatje couldn't bear the look of disappointment on her son's face the first time she was outbid on TicketsNow.com. When she tried again she scored four seats at Staples Center for $125 each, twice the face value.

Her son Michael, 7, watches "Hannah Montana" at least once a day, has all her CDs and bought a poster of her at his school's book fair. When he goes to the concert with his parents and cousin, he'll also get a T-shirt, Ondatje said.

"It will give him an experience I never had when I was younger. I think it will be good for him," she said.

Ondatje's parents couldn't afford to buy her concert tickets when she was a child. But children today are more worldly and media savvy, and parents are more likely to acquiesce to the endless promotions and merchandising that accompany their children's favorite shows, she said.

Parent-Approved

Nicole Lamboo, of San Bernardino, tried to buy tickets the first day for her 5-year-old daughter at a Ticketmaster outlet but found they were gone within an hour.

She and her friends wanted to have a girls' night out with their children, complete with a limo.

"My daughter was devastated," said Lamboo, 26. "I looked on eBay, and the nosebleed section was going for $800. There's no way."

Lamboo counts herself among the show's 5 million viewers and admits that she often watches even when her kindergartner, Jaidyn, is not in the room.

Lamboo appreciates the show's wholesome family values, especially Cyrus' close relationship with her father, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, who plays her dad on the show. Though the young characters sometimes get into trouble by lying and disobeying authority, the episodes include good lessons about honesty and kindness, and the character doesn't say words that Lamboo wouldn't want her daughter to repeat, she said.

Parent approval is a driving force behind Hannah Montana's popularity, said Cynthia King, director of the Center for Entertainment and Tourism Studies at Cal State Fullerton.

"Parents ... remember what they were listening to and watching at that age (Saturday Night Fever or Madonna) and are concerned about what their own kids might get into," King said. "So if their kids are going to go crazy over Disney, they are all for it."

As for kids, part of the show's success is because children consider Hannah Montana "a friend they get to visit with every day," said Adam Bonnet, senior vice president of original programming for Disney Channel, who confirmed that Disney is in talks to produce a Hannah Montana feature film.

Staff writer Vanessa Franko and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Reach Janet Zimmerman at 951-368-9586 or jzimmerman@PE.com

TOUR DATES

The icon of the pre-teen set, Miley Cyrus, aka Hannah Montana, brings her Best of Both Worlds Tour to Southern California. She plays the Honda Center in Anaheim on Saturday; Staples Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday and the San Diego Sports Arena on Thursday.