On October 9, fans of feel-good 70s grooves were treated by a leak of a 2013 collab between Miley Cyrus, Tyler, the Creator, and Pharrell called “The Way I Feel.” The song was originally supposed to make an appearance on Cyrus’ diverging album Bangerz, but it didn’t end up making the final cut. Instead, Jennifer Hudson got ahold of the production and released the track under the title “I Can’t Describe (The Way I Feel).”
While Cyrus’ and Hudson’s two tracks sound eerily similar, Cyrus’ “The Way I Feel” resembles a different taste than her most recent release, Younger Now, which came out earlier this month on October 5. While Younger Now sees Cyrus returning to more of a acoustic-pop and country style, this song deviates from the image she’s been trying to craft, or re-craft for that matter. The leak of “The Way I Feel” couldn’t come at an odder time considering all of this, as it reflects on works of hers that were spent swinging atop a wrecking ball.
“It feels so good, it hurts,” Cyrus croons over keyboards and synths, which encapsulate the multi-colored lights projecting from a disco ball hanging above a roller rink. This love song also never falls on the side of too sappy — with help from Pharrell’s production and a classic Tyler, the Creator sampling toward the end of the track. It’s a nostalgic hit into a past we’ve never lived in, but remains modern all the while and makes for a good listen down memory lane.
Check out the full details of the group’s lost collaboration here.