Hidden Gem
Out March 1, the song was first officially teased by its producer Pharrell during a recent Louis Vuitton show, but previously only appeared online through leaked audios over the last seven years
Miley Cyrus‘ 2013 Bangerz era has been immortalized in pop culture history as both iconic and infamous. The antics of pop’s then 20-year-old wild child were attention demanding and culturally complicated, but the spectacle nearly swallowed the music whole. Bangerz was soul-stirring in some moments, a country hoedown at others, and more generally a genre-hopping showcase of one of pop’s most enigmatic performers. That was more than a decade ago, but Cyrus’ next single “Doctor (Work It Out),” out March 1, is a reminder that she had her finger on the pulse then and still does now.
Cyrus is rumored to have first recorded the song, long referred to within her fandom as “Doctor,” with producer Pharrell Williams during sessions for Bangerz. In December 2017, it surfaced online via leaks, joining her mass of unofficially distributed unreleased music. It wasn’t until last month that the song made its way out of the internet ether and onto the stage — or runway. Williams, who recently succeeded the late Virgil Abloh as Men’s Creative Director at Louis Vuitton, set a portion of the Men’s Fall-Winter 2024 Collection to an updated recording of the song in January.
The single was announced on Feb. 27 alongside the unveiling of the single cover. In the artwork, Cyrus is captured wide-eyed and wild-haired in a blue fur coat against a grey background. Above her the song title appears in bold, pink letters written in the 2013-coded all-caps font à la Beyoncé and Robin Thicke. The release date for “Doctor (Work It Out)” has now been shared just two days before its arrival. Cyrus dropped a teaser trailer for the single on Feb. 28, which features her stomping and swaying to the bass in a fringe-trimmed dress.
“I could be your doctor and I could be your nurse/I think I see the problem, it’s only gon’ get worse/A midnight medication, just show me where it hurts,” she sings on the updated recording, a change from the leaked verse that ended with: “The medicine she gave you, well, that will never work.”
Four songs on Bangerz, including a few bonus tracks, feature writing and/or production credits from Williams. The pair’s last collaboration to be officially released dates back 10 years to when Cyrus’ vocals appeared on “Come Get It Bae” from the producer’s 2014 solo album GIRL.