Miley Cyrus is facing a lawsuit regarding her hit single 'Flowers,' with allegations that it infringes on the copyright of Bruno Mars' song 'When I Was Your Man.' The lawsuit was filed on September 16, 2024, in a Los Angeles court by Tempo Music Investments, claiming Cyrus and her co-writers lifted numerous melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements from Mars' 2013 track.
The suit names Gregory Hein and Michael Pollack, co-writers of 'Flowers,' along with several distribution companies, including Sony Music Publishing, Apple, Target, and Walmart. Tempo Music asserts they obtained rights to specific parts of 'When I Was Your Man' from co-writer Philip Lawrence and is seeking unspecified damages. They are also requesting a court order preventing Cyrus from reproducing, distributing, or publicly performing 'Flowers' until the matter is resolved.
The complaint outlines the similarities between the two tracks, indicating that 'Flowers' utilizes the same melodic pitch design and verse sequence, as well as similar bass-lines, chord progressions, and other components integral to the respective songs. The suit states, "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,'" effectively categorizing Cyrus' work as a derivative composition.
At this time, representatives for Cyrus and Mars have not commented on the lawsuit. Since its release, 'Flowers' has achieved significant commercial success, topping charts worldwide and earning Cyrus two Grammy Awards earlier this year. For more detailed information on this lawsuit and related developments, refer to articles by NME and Rolling Stone.