Miley Cyrus goes on the record with "Good Morning America," speaking in an exclusive interview for the first time since her Vanity Fair shoot -- calling the provocative pics "a mistake."

"I think I was just in a stage where I was just trying to get things done, and maybe look for an older audience. I was working with a big magazine just trying to go with what they were saying," she told Robin Roberts this morning about the shots that caused a storm of controversy for the teen star.

"It's something where everyone made a mistake," she said.

Right now, "I feel great because I'm working so much," she says. All the hard work has helped to "get my mind off" the situation. She added that going back to her home state of Tennessee and getting away from the paparazzi helped as well.

"It's not something I'm forgetting," she adds. "But I'm looking forward to the future, not thinking about the past."