Pharrell Williams was a big help with Miley Cyrus finding her musical footing as the former Disney star fought to escape her child star image and iconic role.
The pair just dropped their collab “Doctor (Work It Out)” on Friday (March 1), though they actually wrote it a decade ago amid that shift in her career.
Talking to Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe about their history, the Hannah Montana star recalled how supportive the legendary music maker was when she was trying to evolve past the squeaky clean image of a Disney star.
“He was really the only one that I could kind of tell him what I really wanted, what I really wanted to make, who I really wanted to be, what I really wanted to do,” she said. “I think Pharrell was perfect because it was almost like he could be a bumper for me, but he wasn’t going to be a bridle.”
The Neptunes producer was also the only one to support her drastic haircut at the time.
“I was like, ‘Pharrell, I really want to change. I really want to have a big change,’” she said. “He was kind of the only one — I knew that everyone around me would tell me no — and he was really the only one that I asked, ‘What did he think?’ And he was like, ‘Go for it today, tomorrow, as soon as you can. That sounds like exactly the perfect thing to do.’”
Pharrell also spoke on their history and why he wanted to work with her.
“I’ll never forget just meeting her at a time where people had pegged her to be one thing particularly,” he added. “She was Hannah Montana at the time, and she was growing up and really wanting to experience life no matter how far the precipice was, that was her … I just remember her just being in a place where no one really understood what she was, and I got it.”
Miley Cyrus isn’t the only artist working extensively with Pharrell as of late. Tyler, The Creator has shared his debut collection for Louis Vuitton, making sure to thank Pharrell during his reveal.
The IGOR rapper took to Instagram on Wednesday (February 21) to unveil his first collaborative offering with the luxury fashion house, of which Skateboard P is the Men’s Creative Director.
Tyler’s post also included photos of him hanging with Pharrell, who he has long cited as his biggest influence, and his LV identification card which reads: “Sir Tyler Okonma.” He also revealed that the collection will be arriving on March 21.