Miley Cyrus looks to be this decade's version of Britney Spears. A lot of musicians are self-destructive: Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, Sr., Billie Holliday. Actors have similar problems, as do writers. Until the 1960s, performers who had evident problems were removed from the mainstream and relegated to the margins, like obscure nightclubs and the bohemian districts of cities like New York or San Francisco, the fate of Lenny Bruce or Allen Ginsburg. Vulgar performances were rare; even suggestive ones were toned down or censored, e.g., Elvis Presley's hip swivels on the Ed Sullivan Show.
American society lost its moral compass decades ago. That moral compass was based on Biblical principles.
A big difference is that those earlier stars...Elvis, JimiHendrix, Janie, Etta James etc had talent. The music they created really got to the depths of emotion and experience and their audiences felt that.
This new crowd of "stars" as I stated earlier....sluts and pimps. Are there artists out there, sure. But it's almost impossible to be that and be attractive to profit-hungry big media.