Miley Cyrus : I wish I could be who I am without the fame

She's one of the most talked about celebrities on the planet, but Miley Cyrus argues she doesn't like attention.

Speaking exclusively to British Cosmopolitan, she states:
"The biggest misconception about me is that I like the media attention. I wish I could be who I am without the fame. If everyone would still buy my records and if everything would go to No.1 in 30 seconds or whatever… that'd be great."

But it's her out-there behaviour that's caused the media spotlight to shine brighter on her than ever before.

Discussing her joint performance of Blurred Lines with Robin Thicke at the MTV VMAs in August, she describes it as 'bittersweet':

"Yeah, that was kind of bittersweet. "It wasn't supposed to overshadow everyone else; it was meant to be fun. But hey, it got the most tweets in history…"

Just like this moment, Miley doesn't regret anything in life:
"I live without any regrets – you can't change anything, so I don't think about it. But would I ever want a 'normal' life? Yeah, there are definitely times when I wake up and wish I could go out without being photographed. I don't care if people recognise me and say 'hey', but I don't want to be stopped. I want to just walk around and see new cities."

She also doesn't pressurise herself into being a role model:
"I don't put pressure on myself to be a role model, other than hopefully inspiring people to be good and to treat people well. I'm going to be what I want, and I'm going to do what I want. When people are suffocated, that's when they end up falling off."

It's her staying true to herself attitude and always being around fame that she claims has kept her grounded:
"My parents have always been laid-back. They'd prefer us to be good people, to have good hearts and be honest with them, than pretend to be someone we're not. I've never had to hide myself."

"I've always been around fame… I think that's what's kept me grounded. I was a kid when I started – I turned 13 on the Hannah Montana set – and maybe that's affected my attitude; if it happened now, you'd overthink it."

"A lot of [famous] people get what I call 'new money syndrome' – where they didn't grow up with money, and they're so scared of losing it that they become obsessed. It's like an addiction – and once you get a taste for it… But that's never happened for me… Dolly Parton's my godmother. She's taught me a lot about how you treat people. She always says hi to the person on the bottom of the call sheet. I love that."

If there's one thing Miley can't be criticised for, it's her strong work ethic:
"It doesn't stop if the album goes to No.1. I'm thinking about touring, artists I want to work with, cool videos I want to make. It's so much like, grab the moment."

"The best advice I've been given was from Cyndi Lauper – she told me to go and lasso the moon, meaning don't be afraid of anything. Just go and do anything you want to. I thought that was pretty cool and poetic."

She's also proud of her loyalty:
"I'm good to work with. I'm proud of that; I have a good reputation."
"I'm a really loyal person and if I dig you, I'm all the way down. But if you f**k me over, I'm all the way up. It's like, once shame on you, twice shame on me. You're the dumb one if you let someone back into your life and they shit on you again."

Although many would assume she's a social butterfly, Miley is more of a stay-at-home kind of girl:
"I'm a homebody and actually not as hyper or as sociable as I seem. I have a small group of five close friends who all pretty much work for me; everyone else is just an acquaintance."

To Miley, sexiness is all about how she feels:
"I'm a feminist in the way that I'm really empowering to women… I'm loud and funny and not typically beautiful."

"When do I feel at my sexiest? After I've eaten something really healthy and done Pilates, and I'm wearing tight leggings. When I'm in gym clothes I actually feel sexy and healthy, so sometimes I'll stay in them all day!"
The full interview appears in the December issue of British Cosmopolitan, on sale 7th November.