Cyrus recorded music for the soundtracks Hannah Montana (2006) and Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus (2007), released by Walt Disney Records, which helped establish her as a teen idol. In 2007, Cyrus signed to Hollywood Records for a solo career. She went on the Best of Both Worlds Tour the same year; the tour was eventually turned into a high-grossing concert film entitled Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert (2008).
In April 2008, Cyrus released her first solo album, Breakout (2008), which experienced international success and she was included in Time magazine's 2008 Top 100. She began her foray into films by providing the voice of "Penny" in the animated film Bolt (2008) and by reprising the role of Miley in Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009).
Bolt's theme song, "I Thought I Lost You", earned her a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. Hannah Montana: The Movie' soundtrack introduced her to new audiences within country and adult contemporary markets.
She began to cultivate an adult image in 2009 with the release of The Time of Our Lives (2009), an extended play which presented a more mainstream pop sound, and by filming The Last Song (2010), a coming-of-age drama film. The former included Cyrus's best-selling single, "Party in the U.S.A." (2009)
