Miley Cyrus got on a "Wrecking Ball" and blasted her way into becoming a pop phenomenon, but the 21-year-old singer revealed in an interview with Barbara Walters that she also has insecurities.

A signature Cyrus move is sticking out her tongue at the camera, which Cyrus said she does because she is uncomfortable with having her picture taken.

"I get embarrassed to take pictures. That's actually the truth," Cyrus told Walters in the interview for the upcoming ABC News special, " Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2013."

"I'm so embarrassed, because people are taking pictures of me, and I just don't know how to- I don't know how to smile, and just be awkward, so I stick my tongue out, because I don't know what else to do," she said.

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This has been the year of Miley. Because of her, twerking became not just a mainstream activity, it became a new word in the Oxford dictionary. Her music video "Wrecking Ball," in which she appears nude, shattered online viewing records, and has o 414 million views as of this writing. Her provocative dancing at the MTV Video Music Awards with singer Robin Thicke featured perhaps the most creative use of a foam finger ever. Not to mention that her new album "Bangerz" debuted at the top of the Billboard charts and she is about to go on a world tour.

While her antics certainly got her noticed, they also brought on a wave of bad publicity. Several critics accused the pop star of being desperate, even troubled, which Miley said was hurtful but that wasn't going to hold her back.

"I know I'm not, so that's why I just kind of laugh," she said. "I refuse to Google myself. The minute I stopped Googling myself, you don't imagine what a happier person I am."

Watch Barbara Walters' full interview with Miley Cyrus in the ABC News special, "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2013," TONIGHT at 9:30 p.m. ET.

Miley Cyrus shown here with Barbara Walters for the ABC News special, "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2013." Credit: Heidi Gutman/ABC