The similarities between Miley Cyrus’ Grammy-winning hit “Flowers” and Bruno Mars’ ”When I Was Your Man” are now lawsuit fodder, according to a copyright infringement complaint recently filed against the pop diva.
Tempo Music Investments, a company that claims to own a share of the copyright to Mars’ 2012 song, filed its complaint Monday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. It names Cyrus, her “Flowers” co-writers and multiple music companies including Sony Music, Apple and iHeartMedia as defendants, accusing those parties of “unauthorized reproduction, distribution, and exploitation of ‘When I Was Your Man.’”
Cyrus, Mars and Tempo Music Investment did not respond immediately Tuesday to The Times’ requests for comment.
Tempo Music, according to legal documents reviewed by The Times, says it acquired rights to “When I Was Your Man” in March 2020 through the acquisition of songwriter Philip Lawrence‘s catalog. Lawrence co-wrote the breakup ballad with Mars (a 15-time Grammy-winner) and other writers. “When I Was Your Man” was originally released in 2012 as part of Mars’ sophomore album “Unorthodox Jukebox.”
Cyrus dropped her own breakup anthem “Flowers” in January 2023, years after finalizing her divorce from “Hunger Games” star Liam Hemsworth. In the song, Cyrus sings about taking happiness and love into her own hands after heartbreak. After the song’s release, fans on social media quickly clocked the similarities between “Flowers” and “When I Was Your Man.”
Tempo Music alleges that Cyrus’ “Flowers” “duplicates numerous melodic, harmonic and lyrical elements” of Mars’ song, claiming that “‘Flowers’ would not exist without ‘When I Was Your Man.’”
The complaint dissects alleged similarities specifically between the chorus of “Flowers” and a verse and a chorus in “When I Was Your Man.” As for the similar lyrics about buying flowers, holding hands and talking for hours, Tempo Music alleges “the musical similarities are no coincidence.”
“Defendants did not seek or receive permission to copy or interpolate any portion of ‘When I Was Your Man’ into ‘Flowers,’” the lawsuit adds.
Tempo Music also claims that Cyrus and other defendants’ alleged “unauthorized” reproduction, distribution, performance, “and/or creation” of a derivative work of” Mars’ song infringes on the company’s rights. The “defendants’ conduct has been, and continues to be, willful and knowing,” the suit says.
According to the complaint, Tempo Music wants a “permanent injunction” limiting defendants from “reproducing, distributing, or publicly performing ‘Flowers.’” It also seeks an assessment of damages, including those for lost profits, statutory damages, legal fees and other relief deemed “just and proper.”
At the 66th Grammy Awards earlier this year, Miley performed “Flowers” and took home her first two wins, for the record of the year and pop solo performance categories.
“This award is amazing but I really hope that it doesn’t change anything because my life was beautiful yesterday,” she said upon accepting the record of the year trophy. “Not everyone in the world will get a Grammy, but everyone in this world is spectacular, so please don’t think that this is important even though it’s very important.”