Miley Cyrus looking flawless in PARADE Magazine. Has her high energy ever been mistaken for ADD or ADHD? ‘When I was in middle school I was told I might have one of those and if I were in high school now they would most likely tell me I do have one or both of those and put me on some sort of crazy medication. When I was eight years old, people were going, ‘Oh, my God. She’s crazy! What’s she going to be like when she’s 17?’ Well I’m 17 now and I’m doing pretty well for whatever it is that I am.

On Lady Gaga: ‘I love her. She’s really smart. I caught her on Oprah and she was really chill. I used to be like, yeah, I guess she’s talented but how much is she really singing. But I’ve become a convert. She has to be smart to come up with all her gags and the stuff she comes up with. She gets it. She knows exactly what she’s doing. It’s like Dolly Parton. Dolly plays up that I’m-a-cute-dumb-blonde but, believe me, she’s not dumb. She’s sitting on a ba-jillion dollars.’

‘I am screwed up in the mind a little bit because I’m not like other 16- or 17-year-old girls. I have no perspective of who exactly my fans are, to tell you the truth. Teenage girls in general are hard for me. I’m not a girl’s girl. And I don’t really watch television at all. But there is one show I’m addicted to: RuPaul’s Drag Race. I love me some RuPaul. I love RuPaul’s motto. It goes something like, ‘A real lady is never bitchy, a real lady is sassy.’’

Why she’s not going country: ‘It scares me, that’s why. It feels contrived on so many levels. Unless you’re wearing a cowboy hat and cowboy boots and singing and whining about your girlfriend or boyfriend leaving you it’s not going to sell. I think that’s why my dad finally got out of it. You have to wear those cowboy boots and be sweet as pie. It makes me nervous, the politics of it all.’

On her faith: ‘The one thing I’m really strong about regarding my religious beliefs is that you should know a little bit about everything before you define your own beliefs. I think all religions have a good practice in them. Liam and I have been reading about Buddhism lately and it’s all about hope and love. To me, faith is about having a clean slate and a clean start.’

A behind-the-scenes look at PARADE’s photo shoot with Miley Cyrus.

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