Miley Cyrus (left) and Bruno Mars | Image: Instagram/@mileycyrus, @brunomars
Miley Cyrus is reportedly being sued for copyright infringement after allegations that her chart-topping song “Flowers” is a rip-off of Bruno Mars hit song, “When I Was Your Man.”
According to documents obtained by US media TMZ and Rolling Stone, Cyrus faces a lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles federal court from a company called Tempo Music Investments, who claimed “Flowers” includes unauthorized “duplication” of several elements from Mars’ 2012 song.
Mars is not named as a plaintiff in the court filing, but the music label asserted that it owns a portion of U.S. copyrights to “When I Was Your Man” after acquiring it from Philip Lawrence, who co-wrote the song along with Mars.
The company underscored in the legal document that Cyrus’ song had “many musical similarities” to Mars’ slow jam track.
“Any fan of Bruno Mars’ ‘When I Was Your Man’ knows that Miley Cyrus’ ‘Flowers’ did not achieve all of that success on its own. ‘Flowers’ duplicates numerous melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements of ‘When I Was Your Man,’ including the melodic pitch design and sequence of the verse, the connecting bassline, certain bars of the chorus, certain theatrical music elements, lyric elements, and specific chord progressions,” stated the lawsuit.
The music company is said to be seeking undisclosed financial damages and is asking the court to prohibit Cyrus from performing “Flowers” and cease any further distribution of the song.
As of writing, the “Wrecking Ball” singer has not yet issued a statement.
The “Hannah Montana” star’s “Flowers” is her answer to Mars’ 2013 hit song about a heartbroken man who regretted losing his lover, and not being able to give her his love and attention. The lyrics go: “That 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.”
Since “Flowers” hit the airwaves and became the anthem for empowered women, many have already noticed its close resemblance to Mars’ original composition, as well as its references to her failed marriage to Australian actor Liam Hemsworth. Pulling inspiration from Mars’ lyrics, Cyrus’ self-love song from the woman’s perspective goes: “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.”
Incidentally, “Flowers” was released on Hemsworth’s birth month, further fanning speculations that the song was indeed a message to him. The couple got married in December 2018, but eventually got divorced in January 2020, after a tumultuous 10 years together, on and off.
In February, the 31-year-old singer won her first Grammy for “Flowers,” a track from her eighth album Endless Summer Vacation. The song held the Number One spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks upon its release.
Last month, Cyrus became the youngest-ever recipient of a Disney Legend, a hall of fame award bestowed by the Walt Disney Company. In her acceptance speech, the singer paid homage to her hit Disney Channel character Hannah Montana.