Just weeks after winning her first two Grammy Awards, Miley Cyrus is back with new music. On February 28, the singer announced that "Doctor (Work It Out)," her longtime collaboration with Pharrell Williams, would be released on March 1.
Cyrus unveiled the Doctor cover art on Instagram the day before, which shows her wearing a powder blue fur coat and a new Tina Turner-inspired hairdo. She also shared a trailer for her upcoming music video, which shows off her stuff just like her recent Grammy performance.
However, Cyrus' new single isn't actually new.
Back in 2013...
"Doctor (Work It Out)" was recorded more than a decade ago when Cyrus and Pharrell co-produced her 2013 album Bangerz . He produced the songs "4x4," "#GETITRIGHT," "Rooting For My Baby" and "On My Own," which all made it into the final cut.
Doctor appeared to be shelved at the time, but the demo appeared online in December 2017 along with other remnants of the era.
"Doctor" resurrected
However, Pharrell, who is also the creative director of men's wear at Louis Vuitton, brought the song back to life when he performed "Doctor" at the designer brand's fall/winter 2024 show. "I could be your doctor, or I could be your nurse," Cyrus sings. "I think I see a problem and it's only going to get worse."
Her fans immediately recognized the song but pointed out that it was different in many ways.
First, the Cyrus' voice sounds mature and more refined. While the chorus remained intact, some lyrics were rewritten. Instead of the lyrics "You're my lover, I give you everything/Somehow we switched off and became Lovers Lane," she now sings, "You're my lover, I give you my sympathy/Take off Take off your shirt and pour it into the water”. It gets inside me. "
Although the two hadn't worked together for a decade until Doctor, they've remained close since their Bangerz days. In return, Cyrus performed the song "Come Get It Bae" from Pharrell's 2014 Grammy-winning album GIRL . In 2017, she joined Ariana Grande on stage at his One Love Manchester benefit concert to perform his hit song "Happy."
