Miley Cyrus is reportedly being sued for alleged copyright infringement over her hit 2023 single “Flowers”, by a company that claims it owns a share of the copyright of pop singer Bruno Mars’s “When I Was Your Man”.
Released as the lead track from Cyrus’s eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation,“Flowers” is one of the pop star’s biggest songs to date, topping charts around the world and winning two Grammys at the 2024 ceremony, for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. It also received a nomination for Song of the Year.
“When I Was Your Man”, released in 2012, was also a No 1 hit in the US and received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance.
According to TMZ, a lawsuit has been filed by Tempo Music Investments, which alleges that Cyrus’s song copies the chord progressions and mirrors some of the lyrics featured in Mars’s ballad, as well as claiming there are substantial similarities in the melody, harmony and chorus.
“It 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’,” court documents apparently state.
Tempo Music is reportedly requesting unspecified damages and that Cyrus, 31, be barred from distributing “Flowers” or performing the song live.
Mars, 38, is not listed as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
The Independent has contacted Cyrus’s and Mars’s representatives for comment.
In 2019, Variety reported plans by Warner Music Group and Providence Equity Partners to invest $650m (£482m) in recorded-music and music-publishing catalogues via the then-newly established platform, Tempo Music Investments.
Three years later, it was reported by Billboard that Mars had sold a part of his catalogue to music publishing company Warner Chappell Music, a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group.
Around the time “Flowers” was released, Cyrus’s fans spotted apparent similarities to “When I Was Your Man”, which her ex-husband, actor Liam Hemsworth, was rumoured to have once dedicated to her.
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In her song, Cyrus seemingly flips the lyrics from Mars’s song: “I should’ve bought you flowers/ And held your hand/ Should’ve gave you all my hours/ When I had the chance/ Take you to every party/ ‘Cause all you wanted to do was dance/ Now my baby’s dancing/ But she’s dancing with another man.”
The lyrics to Flowers include the chorus: “I can buy myself flowers/ Write my name in the sand/ Talk to myself for hours/ Say things you don’t understand/ I can take myself dancing/ And I can hold my own hand/ Yeah, I can love me better than you can.”
Fans also noted that Cyrus seemed to use a similar melody in her chorus to the one in Mars’s tune.
Cyrus is named as a co-writer on “Flowers” along with songwriter and producer Aldae (real name Gregory Hein) and songwriter/producer Michael Pollack.
“When I was Your Man” was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine and Andrew Wyatt.