Criticism has emerged on social media towards Miley Cyrus and Pharrell Williams this week over their newly released 2024 dance-pop single, “Doctor (Work It Out).” Fans of Italian rock band Måneskin‘s 2021 hit “I Wanna Be Your Slave” claim that the two tracks sound uncannily alike, citing similarities in rhythms, melody, and lyrics.
Nevertheless, other supporters of Cyrus, 31, and Williams, 50, have come to their defense, highlighting that the song had been initially written in 2013, and only recently underwent reworking and re-recording.
Jarred Jermaine, a well-known content creator on YouTube and TikTok, posted a video on March 3rd in which he played excerpts from the two songs to demonstrate their similarities. Following this, numerous viewers have flocked to the comments section of his recent post to share their opinions.
Miley Cyrus & Pharrell Williams Face 'Copying' Accusations After Fans Compare Their Song To A Måneskin Hit
Beneath the recent upload, one fan wrote: "It didn't occur to me on its own but now I can't unsee, or rather unhear it." The user added: "the beat and even the meaning of the lyrics are so similar." Someone else concurred, adding: "They sound the same to me!" Another noted: "shocked how close it sounds" as one other claimed that Cyrus and Williams were "copying" Måneskin with their new release. One also deemed the recent track to be "so disappointing."
Others, however, stressed that Cyrus and Williams' "new" song was reportedly written before Måneskin's hit ever even climbed the hard rock Billboard charts several years ago. "Absolutely not, not only does it have a much different melody but Doctor was made in 2013 during the recording sessions for Bangerz and has been online in demo form for a few years, the copyright of Miley's song predates Maneskins song by many years," one commented.
Another agreed, adding: "This song was actually written back in 2012." Cyrus recently confirmed that the song was jointly created by Williams and herself. The record producer took charge of production while the "Flowers" hitmaker provided the vocals.
The song was officially released on March 1st and serves as Cyrus's first official release of this year. This collaboration marks the first time Williams and Cyrus have worked together in a decade, having previously collaborated on "Come Get It Bae" in 2014, and several songs from Cyrus's fourth studio album, Bangerz (which "Doctor (Work It Out)" was initially intended to be on).
During a video interview on Apple Music 1 with Zane Lowe this week, Cyrus and Williams conversed about their collaboration, mentioning that the piece was first written back in 2012. "We just believe so much in timing and in everything happening when it's supposed to," Cyrus said.
Doctor (Work It Out) OUT NOW @pharrell pic.twitter.com/L2FWVntRBU
— Miley Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) March 1, 2024
The "Jaded" singer went on: "And around the Grammys, Pharrell and I were talking about putting the song out, and it just felt like it was so serendipitous, and there were so many alignments and so many moments that made me know that now was the perfect time. And then sometimes things in our past make more sense in our present than they ever did then. [So] this song, I think the nature, the celebration, the feeling, especially with the video, the joy, the dancing, the letting go, it's what this song really always needed."
Voila! So no plagiarism detected. Now, we're so down to hear a mash-up remix. Internet DJs, do your thing.
