Miley Cyrus is facing a lawsuit for alleged copyright infringement related to her popular 2023 single “Flowers.” The lawsuit has been filed by Tempo Music Investments, which claims ownership of part of the copyright for Bruno Mars’s song “When I Was Your Man.”
“Flowers,” the lead track from Cyrus’s eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, has achieved significant success, topping charts globally and winning two Grammy Awards at the 2024 ceremony for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance, with a nomination for Song of the Year as well.
“When I Was Your Man,” released in 2012, also reached No. 1 on the US charts and received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance.
According to reports, Tempo Music Investments claims that Cyrus’s song imitates the chord progressions and some lyrics of Mars’s ballad, asserting that there are notable similarities in melody, harmony, and the chorus. Court documents allegedly 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 seeking unspecified damages and aims to prevent Cyrus, 31, from distributing or performing “Flowers” live. Notably, Mars, 38, is not listed as a plaintiff in this lawsuit.
Cyrus’s and Mars’s representatives have been contacted for comments regarding the situation.
In 2019, it was reported that Warner Music Group and Providence Equity Partners intended to invest $650 million in music catalogues through the platform Tempo Music Investments. Three years later, it was revealed that Mars sold part of his catalogue to the music publishing company Warner Chappell Music, which is a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Fans of Cyrus noticed similarities between “Flowers” and “When I Was Your Man,” a song her ex-husband, Liam Hemsworth, was rumored to have dedicated to her. In a twist, Cyrus appears to flip the lyrics from Mars’s original: “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.”
Conversely, the chorus of “Flowers” features the lines: “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.”
Cyrus is credited as a co-writer on “Flowers,” alongside songwriter and producer Aldae (Gregory Hein) and songwriter/producer Michael Pollack. Meanwhile, “When I Was Your Man” was penned by Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, and Andrew Wyatt.