American singer Miley Cyrus is facing a lawsuit over her Grammy-winning hit “Flowers.”
The lawsuit, filed by Tempo Music Investments, claims that Cyrus copied Bruno Mars’ 2012 song “When I Was Your Man” in creating her popular track.
According to TMZ, Tempo Music alleges that Cyrus’ song shares “many musical similarities” with Mars’ ballad, including the chorus, melody, harmony, chord progressions, and lyrics. Tempo Music claims to own part of the copyright for Mars’ track and is seeking financial compensation, as well as an order to stop Cyrus from distributing or performing “Flowers.”
“The likeness of the songs is undeniable based on the combination and number of similarities between the two recordings that ‘Flowers’ would not exist without ‘When I Was Your Man,'” the lawsuit states.
Bruno Mars himself is not named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit. Representatives for both Cyrus and Mars have yet to comment on the situation.
Cyrus released “Flowers” in 2023, and the song quickly became a hit, winning her two Grammy Awards earlier this year for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.
During her acceptance speech, Cyrus said, “This award is amazing, but I really hope that it doesn’t change anything because my life was beautiful yesterday.”
Tempo Music claims that Cyrus’ song “intentionally copies” Mars’ track, particularly in the lyrics.
Mars sings in his chorus, “I should have bought you flowers, and held your hand,” while Cyrus responds in her song, “I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand.”
The similarities between the two choruses have raised concerns about potential copyright infringement.
Cyrus has acknowledged that “Flowers” was inspired by her past relationship with Australian actor Liam Hemsworth.
The couple was married from 2018 to 2020 before going through a public breakup. The singer told British Vogue last year, “The chorus was originally: ‘I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand, but I can’t love me better than you can.’ It used to be more like a 1950s sad song.”
However, she decided to turn the song into an empowering anthem. “The song is a little fake it till you make it,” she added. “Which I’m a big fan of.”
