‘Flowers’ have become expensive for Miley Cyrus. The songstress is being accused of copying Bruno Mars’ hit track ‘When I Was Your Man’ for her Grammy-winning hit ‘Flowers.’ On September 16, Tempo Music Investments filed a lawsuit against Miley in Los Angeles federal court. The company owns a part of the song and alleges that several elements of ‘Flowers’ are the same as ‘When I Was Your Man’. Moreover, it claims that the lyrics of ‘Flowers’ are derivative of Bruno’s track. Notably, the ‘24K Magic’ singer is not listed as a plaintiff in the case.
As per a report by The Guardian, the lawsuit claims that the 2023 hit track contains some portions from Bruno Mars’ 2013 song ‘When I Was Your Man.’ Charges have also been levied against Michael Pollack and Gregory Hein, the co-writers of ‘Flowers.’ Additionally, the company accuses Sony Music Publishing, Target, Walmart, Apple and other companies for distributing the song. The lawsuit alleges that ‘Flowers’ consists of unauthorised “exploitation” of ‘When I Was Your Man.’
The lawsuit claims, “Any fan of Bruno Mars’ When I Was Your Man knows that Miley Cyrus’s Flowers did not achieve all of that success on its own. Flowers duplicate numerous melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements of When I Was Your Man, including the melodic pitch design and sequence of the verse, the connecting bass line, certain bars of the chorus, certain theatrical music elements, lyric elements, and specific chord progressions.” It alleges that ‘Flowers’ is an unauthorised derivation of Bruno Mars’ ‘When I Was Your Man.’
Reportedly, Tempo Music is looking into the unspecified damages that the track ‘Flowers’ has caused. Moreover, they seek to prohibit Miley Cyrus from reproducing, distributing or performing the song in public.
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Notably, when the track released, several fans thought the track to be a dig at Miley Cyrus’ ex-husband Liam Hemsworth. He sang ‘When I Was Your Man’ for her. With some notable lyrical similarities, fans perceived ‘Flowers’ as a response to the track Liam sang. For example, Bruno’s track features the lyrics, “I should’ve bought you flowers and held your hand”. On the other hand, Miley’s track says, “I can buy myself flowers….and I can hold my own hand.” Written as a break-up anthem, ‘Flowers’ became the rage upon release and subsequently bagged a Grammy.
‘Flowers’ is the lead track from Miley Cyrus’ 2023 album ‘Endless Summer Vacation.’