Pharrell Williams Compares Miley Cyrus To Justin Timberlake

Idolator Staff | January 13, 2013 7:46 am

Pharrell Williams gave Miley Cyrus a gigantic compliment when he compared her career trajectory to Justin Timberlake‘s and called her an “old soul.” In an interview with Hypebeast, Williams broke down his reasoning for working with the tween pop star-turned-edgy singer. He also elaborated on the previously reported studio time with Cyrus and Odd Future‘s Tyler, the Creator.

“What we all have in common is that we like new stuff, we like making music that doesn’t exist. That’s what Tyler has in common with me and what I have in common with Miley,” Pharrell says of the strange trifecta. Williams continued on to say how thrilled he was to be a part of Cyrus’ transformation — and he didn’t mean the bleaching and shaving her head part, either.

Calling Cyrus an “old soul that was trapped in a younger situation,” Pharrell explained that he was interrogated in a similar fashion when he chose to work with JT right around the time of his *NSYNC breakup. “I remember when they use to ask me about the same questions with Justin,” Williams explained. “People be like why you going in with *NSYNC? Because there’s somebody in there that you don’t know.”

Cyrus’ last project was 2010’s Can’t Be Tamed, which debuted at Number 3 on the Billboard charts. But she’s been hard at work on her new album — even putting her wedding on hold until it’s done — which she promises will be “sick” with “a dirty South hip-hop feel” with some old school soul thrown in.

[via Hypebeast]