Miley Cyrus is facing a lawsuit for alleged copyright infringement related to her 2023 hit single “Flowers.” The claim comes from Tempo Music Investments, a company that asserts it owns a portion of the copyright for Bruno Mars’s song “When I Was Your Man.”
“Flowers,” which serves as the lead single from Cyrus’s eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, has enjoyed immense success, reaching the top of global charts and earning two Grammy awards in 2024 for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance, along with a nomination for Song of the Year.
“When I Was Your Man,” released in 2012, also achieved No 1 status in the US and received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance.
The lawsuit, according to TMZ, claims that Cyrus’s “Flowers” replicates musical elements such as chord progressions and certain lyrics from Mars’s ballad, highlighting notable similarities in melody, harmony, and chorus. Court documents reportedly state, “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.’”
Tempo Music is reportedly seeking unspecified damages and an injunction to prevent Cyrus, who is 31, from distributing or performing “Flowers” live. Bruno Mars, who is 38, is not a plaintiff in this lawsuit.
Cyrus’s and Mars’s representatives have been contacted for comments regarding the situation.
In 2019, Variety announced that Warner Music Group and Providence Equity Partners planned to invest $650 million in music records and publishing through Tempo Music Investments. Three years later, Billboard reported that Mars sold part of his catalog to Warner Chappell Music, affiliated with Warner Music Group.
Fans of Cyrus noted apparent parallels between “Flowers” and “When I Was Your Man,” the latter of which her ex-husband, actor Liam Hemsworth, was rumored to have dedicated to her in the past.
Cyrus’s lyrics appear to twist the original sentiments of Mars’s song, with lines such as “I should’ve bought you flowers/ And held your hand” contrasted by her own, which include, “I can buy myself flowers/ Write my name in the sand.” Observers also pointed out similarities in the melodic structure of the two choruses.
Cyrus is credited as a co-writer of “Flowers,” along with songwriter and producer Aldae (Gregory Hein) and songwriter/producer Michael Pollack. Mars’s “When I Was Your Man” was penned by Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, and Andrew Wyatt.