Miley Cyrus and Pharrell Release Bangerz From the Vault

Miley Cyrus’s Bangerz era was quite something to behold. While promoting her 2013 album, she came in like a wrecking ball, was literally naked riding a wrecking ball, twerked on Robin Thicke with a foam finger in her right hand and a mic in her left, and triggered blackfishing criticisms (for which she later apologized). Now, a little over a decade after that album became the soundtrack of every vaguely rebellious teen’s hotboxing sesh, she’s returning with a track from the Bangerz vault. Cyrus released “Doctor (Work It Out),” a collaboration with Pharrell, on March 1, complete with a minimal video that contains no signs of Bangerz-era attempted debauchery. Apparently, you can take a song out of 2013, and take the 2013 out of the song. In the visuals, we see Cyrus in a glittering minidress dancing like Wednesday Addams in a Vegas revue, her voluminous hair moving in the wind like a Pantene commercial. As for the music, it contains Pharrell’s typical four-count intro and groovy sound, while Cyrus goes on about being somebody’s medical professional. “Let me work you out,” she sings.

“Doctor” was first teased at Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton Men’s Fall-Winter 2024 show in January, though fans first heard an unedited version when it leaked back in 2017. With Cyrus moving like this, can we expect a new version of Bangerz, complete with old throwaways from the vault? It’s worked for other artists.