Noah Kahan Calls Hannah Montana a ‘Cultural Icon’

Noah Kahan recently revealed that, being a public figure, he’s learned to look up to a “cultural icon” to balance his personal and professional life: Hannah Montana. Yes, the “Hurt Somebody” singer took a moment on the GRAMMY red carpet to give a shoutout to one of the most iconic Disney characters.

Like any other artist who experienced sudden fame, Kahan needed to learn how to become famous without losing his sense of self. The Vermont native told PEOPLE he’s learned how to do a “pretty good job of doing the Hannah Montana thing. I can do this [attend awards shows], and then I can turn off and be myself.”  

"So I found a really good balance. It’s taken a lot of time. But I found that balance, and I’m happy about that,” he added, before calling Hannah Montana a “cultural icon.”  

Upon the release of his latest single, “The Great Divide,” from his upcoming album of the same name, it seems Kahan has been contemplating a lot about his public persona and personal life. In previous interviews, the 29-year-old singer revealed the track reflects the “real gap growing” that he felt between the divides of his life. He explained, “I started to think about [the] divide in my life, whether that was the divide between me and this old version of me, or me and the people that I used to know growing up, or the people that are in my life that I’m still trying to keep a relationship with.”  

He added, “A lot of my life recently has been realizing the things I wish I could have said to people and the things I wish I could have done differently. And so this song is kind of just an expansion of that.”