Miley Cyrus is riding the high of a bombastic recent collaboration with Beyoncé. A track off of COWBOY CARTER, "II Most Wanted" reached the number six spot on the Billboard Hot 100 this week. This track is a return to form for Cyrus, who released a not-so-successful track earlier this year.
In March, Cyrus released her first single of 2024, "Doctor (Work It Out)." Hit maker Pharrell Williams co-wrote and produced the track. The multi-hyphenate musician is currently in the midst of a lawsuit with Chad Hugo over his songwriting and production duo, The Neptunes.
The high energy track opens with Williams' iconic flour-count start before diving into Cyrus teasing in the chorus that she could "Be your doctor/I could be your nurse." She continues, singing, "Just show me where it hurts/I need to rock you, baby/Before your body bursts."
The song was initially intended for Cyrus' album, Bangerz, which was released in 2013. A demo of the track leaked online in 2017 under the name "Doctor." Williams and Cyrus collaborated on four tracks for Bangerz and a single, "Come Get It Bae," for Williams' album, Girl.
While discussing the song with Pitchfork, Williams divulged that he and Cyrus knew that the song was "too early" when they wrote "Doctor (Work It Out)" in 2012. The two wanted to wait until the time was right to release "Doctor (Work It Out.)"
"You just never know. And there's a moment where you feel like you feel the stickiness in something, but you may feel that the environment is not ready for it," Williams said. The current musical climate does, in fact, feel apt for the dancey track. Pop singers like Dua Lipa have seen great success with these disco-infused pop tunes.
"Doctor (Work It Out)" debuted at #74 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for only a week before dropping off of the charts entirely. However, the song received critical acclaim from some critics. The Independent called the record a "Glam-pop-rock jam," which is an accurate description of the ever-so groovy "Doctor (Work It Out.)"
In the accompanying music video, directed by Jacob Bixenman, Cyrus rocks big, luxurious hair while wearing a sparkly dress and black heels; other scenes show her in a giant, furry blue coat. The video is minimalistic, featuring Cyrus singing and dancing against an empty white background. There are no back up dancers, but instead multiple forms of Cyrus dancing behind herself in one scene.
Despite "Doctor (Work It Out)" failing to reach the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100, the song should not hold Cyrus back from her incredibly successful year. In February, she picked up multiple Grammys for her hit song "Flowers." She received awards for Record of the Year and Pop Solo Performance for the song, which spent eight weeks at the top of the Hot 100. Cyrus has received eight total Grammy nominations throughout her career.
"II Most Wanted" is Cyrus' 13th song to reach the top ten on the charts and Beyoncé's 23rd.
