All Hail Miley Cyrus, MTV's Choice for Artist of the Year (Seriously)

Today, kicking off all 2013 year-end lists to come, MTV has anointed Miley Cyrus as their artist of the year and the new “Queen of Pop.” The “Achy Breaky Heart” offspring beat out Lady Gaga, the Queen of the Christmas Tree, and Katy Perry, the Queen of the Jungle, for the title.

To be fair, she has twerked for, or at least tried to, her life this year and did everything to remain in the conversation, from fighting with Sinead O’Connor to sticking out that ghastly tongue everywhere she went. She worked hard?

In hindsight, it seems ridiculous that we spent so much time focusing on the supposed “a-POP-calyptic” showdown between Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. Miley came in like a Wrecking Ball, declaring her independence and dominating the pop-culture landscape. Whether it was the tongue, the twerk-tastic VMA performance or the Terry photo shoot, there’s no denying there was a method to Miley’s madness, the kind that could only be orchestrated by a 21-year-old who’s been in the business for nearly a decade. She schooled — and shocked — us all in 2013, and did so on her own terms. All hail the new Queen of Pop.