FOR EVERY ALBUMS-WORTH of music released by coveted pop producers, countless other records are left on the cutting room floor — verses that never build into anything more, choruses that loop over a beat but formulate an entire song, original demos that completely transform throughout the creation process. Beyond the occasional online leak, most of these songs never make it off whatever hard drive they’ve been stored on. But when Pharrell Williams took up the mantel at Louis Vuitton, he brought his files with him and waited for the perfect moment to resurface an unreleased Miley Cyrus collaboration.
On Tuesday, in a livestream of the Maison’s presentation of the Men’s Fall-Winter 2024 Collection, the singer’s unmistakable voice blared while models navigated a maze-like runway at Jardin d’Acclimatation in Paris. The song, known to fans familiar with the previous leak as “Doctor,” first surfaced online in December 2017. It is rumored to have been created over a decade ago during recording sessions for Cyrus’ fourth studio album, Bangerz, which was released in 2013.
“I could be your doctor and I could be your nurse/I think I see the problem, it’s only gon’ get worse/The medicine she gave you, well, that will never work,” Cyrus sings on the record. The lyrics to the opening verse match what fans have documented from the less polished leaked version, however, the version that played has been rewritten in certain areas and seemingly completely re-recorded.
Four songs on Bangerz, including a few bonus tracks, feature writing and/or production credits from Williams. The pair haven’t released music together since Cyrus’ vocals appeared on “Come Get It Bae” from the producer’s 2014 solo album GIRL. Most of their rumored collaborations remain unreleased.
Williams, who has succeeded the late Virgil Abloh as Men’s Creative Director at Louis Vuitton, also placed a release from Mumford & Sons in the Fall-Winter 2024 show. Their new single “Good People” was slotted in between non-distinct instrumental tracks, another apparently unreleased song with a male vocalist, and Cyrus’ updated recording of “Doctor.”
Last year, a few months after Cyrus released her latest album, Endless Summer Vacation, an album full of her unreleased material surfaced on Spotify and Apple Music under the name Clara Pierce. Eventually removed, the album titled Down With Me was made up of a dozen high-quality leaks from Cyrus’ past albums, including Bangerz, Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz, and the 2019 EP She is Coming.
