Miley Cyrus sets record at RodeoHouston

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From The Houston Chronicle:
A Hannah Montana bonanza at the rodeo
By Alexis Grant

Reliant Park had never been so pink.

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo grounds were swarming Sunday afternoon with young girls in pink cowboy hats and boots, pink shirts and skirts, even pink boas, all for — and you've gotta scream it — Hannah Montana!

So many fans visited the rodeo to see the pop star perform that they set a new paid attendance record of 73,295. The rodeo rookie's debut beat the previous mark set last year by 15-time RodeoHouston performers Brooks & Dunn by 428.

It was obvious from the high-pitched screams that filled Reliant Stadium that Hannah Montana, a fictional Disney Channel character played by Miley Cyrus, did not let her fans down.

"I loved it!" said Katie Estelle Klaff, 8, echoing the response of nearly every girl who was lucky enough to get a seat in the packed stadium. "She sings really loud and she danced a lot and she didn't just stand there."

"It's like get up and dance!" said Maggie Boyle, 11, of Webster.

Lots of girls did just that during the 30-minute concert, while moms and dads looked on.

"For a 14-year-old, she puts on a heck of a show," said Ron Coben of West University, who brought his twin son and daughter, plus a friend for each.

Once Hannah Montana was chauffeured out of the arena in a fancy red car — typical for an everyday teenager who lives a double life as a rock star — the Cheetah Girls took the stage, and the screaming began again.

Young fans weren't the only ones who left Reliant Park happy. The large crowds made for better-than-average business for food and souvenir vendors around the park.

"I haven't moved since a quarter to 11," said Leia Copeland, who works for Henna Tattoos & Face Painting. A line formed outside of her booth as she painted a pink butterfly mask on a little girl. "This is way outta control," said her husband, David Copeland, who also was painting the face of a little girl.

At a cowboy hat stand run by Risoli Enterprises, Larry Feaster said sales had been steady all day.

"I'm selling a lot of pink, but I'm selling a lot of black, too," Feaster said. "They all come as a family and they go and get one for the young man, too."

Even alcohol, despite the heavy pre-teen turnout, was selling well, said Raymond Harvey, who works at a Miller Lite stand where machines stirred frozen margaritas.

"A lot of moms need some relaxation of some sort," Harvey said.

Indeed, some moms had worked hard for the event — like Jennifer Boyd of Crosby and Kristin Lewis of Baytown. They arrived at the park mid-afternoon with three mini Hannah Montanas in tow: their daughters and a friend, all dressed in Hannah-like black boots, pink outfits and, most importantly, blonde wigs.

"We shopped our butts off for the last month to piece them all together," Boyd said.

The concert was the rodeo's hottest ticket ever. When 70,000 tickets went on sale in January, they sold out in three minutes. And 3,000 standing-room only tickets that were up for grabs Saturday were gone in no time.

That didn't go unnoticed by scalpers, who offered tickets for at least twice their face value.

Several of the concert-goers said they felt fortunate to have gotten seats.

"We bought our tickets two months ago," said Katina Wilhite of Katy. "When they first came out, we got 'em."

[8SRLVR]

From Ken Hoffman of the Houston Chronicle:

First, Miley Cyrus broke the all-time attendance record for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo -- 73,295 -- then she broke the sound barrier.

"I've been here for 34 years and that's the loudest I've ever heard an audience in either the Astrodome or Reliant Stadium," said rodeo boss Leroy Shafer. "We monitor the sound of our performers and we let it get to a maximum of 110 decibels. When Miley Cyrus came out you could not hear her or the music because the audience was so much louder than that. If I have my way, she will be a regular at the rodeo for the next 10 years."

Cyrus, the 14-year-old star of Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel, performed 30 minutes of songs that had the mostly pre-teen audience squealing and squirming in their seats.

On the show, Cyrus plays Miley Stewart, a typical giggly teen by day -- but at night she puts on a blonde wig and becomes pop superstar Hannah Montana.

Cyrus wore her Hannah Montana wig the entire show at Reliant Stadium. Dressed in pixie spandex pants, knee-high boots and a shimmering sequined top, she performed songs from seasons one and two of Hannah Montana.

Singing to pre-recorded music tracks and assisted by a troupe of dancers, Cyrus pounded her arms in the air and commanded the stage like a veteran pro.

"Ohmigosh, look around this place!" Cyrus said to her fans. "Can you believe you sold it out in three minutes?"

Cyrus opened the show with I Got Nerve and Who Said. Her most powerful moment was the ballad Hey, in which she stood center stage alone and held 73,000 fans in the palm of her hand. She closed her show with Best of Both Worlds.

This was a rare case where the real headliner opened the show. The Cheetah Girls followed Cyrus as thousands made their way to the exits.

[8SRLVR]

Breaking News from The Houston Chronicle:
Technical glitch affects sound during the show
By Alexis Grant

The second half of Hannah Montana's performance was muffled for about a third of the audience when a circuit breaker connected to speakers failed in the upper level of the stadium. It was replaced by the time the Cheetah Girls took the stage.

Leroy Shafer, the rodeo's chief operating officer, said he heard few complaints Sunday evening but expects to get more today.

"We sincerely apologize," Shafer said. "We do everything we can to make sure that everything is in tremendous working order, but when you have that much equipment working at once, if there is a failure, there's nothing we can do about it except get it fixed as quickly as we can."

RodeoHouston officials just announced they're offering refunds to Hannah Montana fans who sat in certain sections last night -- nearly half of the people who went to the show.

Fans who sat in these areas can request a refund:
118-135
325-350
523-545
624-645

Here's how to do it:

You must have your original ticket and make your request by the end of April.

To request a refund by mail, send your original ticket, along with your mailing address and full name to:

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
Attention: Ticket Refund
P.O. Box 20070
Houston, Texas 77225-0070

To request a refund in person, visit the show's Ticket Window beginning Tuesday, March 27, between 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. It's located on the second floor of Reliant Center.

Here's a seating chart of Reliant Stadium to help you if you were seated in the affercted sections. Note the affected sections were all located on the east side of Reliant Stadium.

[mileyfan]

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