ARGANDA DEL REY, Spain? – US teen idol Miley Cyrus performed her first concert in Spain before 36,000 people on Sunday during the third day of the Rock in Rio Madrid music festival, organisers said.

Wearing a black leotard and heels, the 17-year-old sang "Can't be tamed", "The climb" and "When I look at you", which is part of the soundtrack of her latest film "The Last Song" that premiered in Spain last month.

The crowd consisted mainly of adults and young children, mostly girls. Many climbed on the shoulders of their parents to get a better view of the stage.

While Cyrus has never performed in Spain before, she enjoys a huge following in the country due to the popularity of her television series "Hannah Montana".

As a condition for playing at the festival held at Arganda del Rey located some 20 kilometres (12 miles) southeast of Madrid, she will not perform any other concert in Spain this year.

Her performance headlined a day dedicated to the family that featured two other youth-oriented acts -- British pop band McFly and Scottish singer Amy Macdonald.

"I think adding Miley Cyrus to the event added a whole new dimension to Rock in Rio and attracted a different kind of audience," Gary Bongiovonni, the president of Pollstar, a California-based company that provides worldwide concert tour information at its web site, told AFP.

Among the other artists lined up to perform at the festival, one of the world's biggest which wraps up on June 14, are heavy metal veterans Metallica, US rockers Bon Jovi and Colombian pop star Shakira.

Rock in Rio was first held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in January 1985.

This is the second Rock in Rio Madrid. The first in 2008 was attended by 290,000 music fans. Organisers expect the total audience of this edition to reach 320,000 people.