Meet The Family Behind "Hannah Montana"

If you have a young daughter, chances are you know about "Hannah Montana," the hit show on the Disney Channel starring Miley Cyrus in the title role.

You also probably remember Miley's dad, Billy Ray, a country music singer who appears in the show.

As The Early Show correspondent Hattie Kauffman reports, it's hard to know what's life and what's art for 14-year-old Miley. On "Hannah Montana," she plays Miley Stewart, an average teenager with a big secret. When she dons her blond wig she becomes a rock star: Hannah Montana.

But just how much is Miley's real life like Hannah Montana's?

"It's so much like it," she says. "At first, it wasn't, because I didn't know what this whole life was about. But now, you know, having to balance school and going to the set, and friends and stuff like that, my life is very much like Hannah Montana."

That's even more so because the man playing her dad on TV is her real dad, singer-songwriter Billy Ray Cyrus.

How does the younger Cyrus like working with the elder?

"It's awesome. He's like my best friend," she says. "He's always so funny and telling us jokes. I'm in his big sweatshirt right now. I forgot to take it off."

Her dad is famous in his own right, even if it's been 15 years since his song "Achy Breaky Heart" was a hit. Now the show is bringing Billy Ray Cyrus legions of new fans.

"This is so much fun, you know, getting to work with my daughter," Billy Ray says. "As a daddy, to see my little girl go thru this, to be part of it, to watch her grow you know not only as an actress but as a young adult — you know being in this part of her life has been one of the most rewarding events of my life."

It's been rewarding for Disney, too. The show is the No. 2 show on television among the 'tween age group, second only to "American Idol."

What does the show's star think her audience sees in her?

"I think that it's, like, everyone has, like, a dream, you know?" Miley says. "Its like you can see this average girl — she really keeps persisting and keeps going that can make it, you know — so I think that it helps them really connect with me because they're like, 'OK, well, if she can do it so can I.' "

While some former pre-teen stars have gone on to become tabloid fodder, Miley doesn't plan on taking that route — even if the show keeps her from doing the things young girls do, like dating.

"I try. It doesn't work too well because I, like, will have a boyfriend for a day, and it's like, 'OK, you can never call me because yours always working,' " Miley says. "So that gets difficult, but I think my dad likes the job because it keeps the boys away. But there's always cute guest stars."

For right now, it's mostly work for Miley. She's not only acting, she's singing. Miley has appeared on stage with Disney's popular Cheeta Girls. Her Hannah Montana soundtrack has already sold more than 2 million copies, and she's coming out with her own Miley Cyrus album.

"Oh, I'm so stoked, I'm so excited," she says about the new record. "It's kind of like a meet Miley album. It's introducing them to me, which is cool."

On her CD, she sings a duet with her dad.

"It was awesome to get to sing with Miley. We get to do that a lot, you know, and that's something that we've done all of our lives," the older Cyrus says. "My earliest memory was taking Miley onstage with me as a little teeny girl and shed come out and sing 'Hound Dog,' and the crowd would just go crazy."

"When I could barely talk, I'd sing 'Hound Dog,' " Miley says. "That was the only song I knew."