Miley Cyrus is facing a lawsuit for alleged copyright infringement regarding her popular 2023 single “Flowers.” The claim comes from a company that asserts it holds a share of the copyright to Bruno Mars’s song “When I Was Your Man.”
“Flowers,” released as the lead single from Cyrus’s eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, has achieved massive success, topping charts globally and earning two Grammy Awards at the 2024 ceremony for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance, with an additional nomination for Song of the Year.
Bruno Mars’s “When I Was Your Man,” which debuted in 2012, was also a number one hit in the US and garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance.
According to reports, Tempo Music Investments has filed the lawsuit, claiming that Cyrus’s song copies chord progressions and reflects some lyrics from Mars’s ballad. The lawsuit also alleges notable similarities in melody, harmony, and chorus.
Court documents reportedly assert that “Flowers” “would not exist without ‘When I Was Your Man.’” Tempo Music is seeking unspecified damages and is asking for Cyrus, 31, to be prohibited from distributing “Flowers” or performing it live. Notably, Mars, 38, is not a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Representatives for both Cyrus and Mars have been contacted for comments on the matter.
Additionally, in 2019, reports indicated that Warner Music Group and Providence Equity Partners planned to invest $650 million in recorded music and music publishing catalogs through the newly established Tempo Music Investments platform. Three years later, it was reported that Mars had sold part of his catalog to Warner Chappell Music, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Around the time of “Flowers” release, fans noted apparent similarities between Cyrus’s song and “When I Was Your Man,” which was rumored to have been dedicated to her by her ex-husband, actor Liam Hemsworth.
In her track, Cyrus appears to rework some of the lyrics from Mars’s song, including lines that reference missed opportunities in a relationship. The lyrics of “Flowers” emphasize self-empowerment, with lines asserting her ability to take care of herself and love herself better.
Cyrus is credited as a co-writer of “Flowers” alongside songwriter and producer Aldae, and songwriter/producer Michael Pollack, while “When I Was Your Man” was penned by Mars along with Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, and Andrew Wyatt.