American singer-songwriter Miley Cyrus is facing a lawsuit claiming that her smash hit “Flowers” copied elements of Bruno Mars’ 2013 ballad “When I Was Your Man,” according to a report by Rolling Stone. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles on Monday, alleges that Cyrus and co-writers Gregory Hein and Michael Pollack unlawfully incorporated key components of Mars’ song into the Grammy-winning single.
Tempo Music Investments, which holds a percentage of the US copyrights to “When I Was Your Man,” is the plaintiff in the case. The lawsuit also targets Sony Music Publishing, Apple, Target, Walmart, and others, accusing them of distributing the track. Mars and his co-writers, Ari Levine and Andrew Wyatt, are not named as plaintiffs in the suit.
While Cyrus’ team declined to comment, the lawsuit draws comparisons between “Flowers” and “When I Was Your Man” in terms of melody, harmony, lyrics, and musical elements. It asserts, “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.”
Pollack, one of the co-writers of “Flowers,” reportedly declined to discuss the similarities between the songs in a March 2023 Billboard interview. Notably, the lawsuit highlights the resemblance between the two tracks’ opening vocal lines and specific musical structures, suggesting that Cyrus’ hit wouldn’t exist without Mars’ song. It claimed, “With ‘Flowers,’ Cyrus, Hein, and Pollack have created a derivative work of ‘When I Was Your Man’ without authorization.”
The lawsuit seeks financial damages, potentially up to $150,000 per infringement, a figure that could multiply significantly given the widespread success and streaming numbers of “Flowers.”
As the case progresses, it remains to be seen how much Cyrus and her collaborators might have to pay if the court rules in favor of Tempo Music Investments.
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