Miley Cyrus has been sued for copyright infringement over her 2023 Grammy Record of the Year-winning Endless Summer Vacation hit "Flowers," with the lawsuit accusing the pop star of "intentionally copying" the 2012 Bruno Mars ballad "When I Was Your Man."
As TMZ reports, Cyrus is facing the legal claim not from Mars himself — who co-wrote and co-produced the track from his album Unorthodox Jukebox — but from Tempo Music Investments, a company that allegedly owns a share of the "When I Was Your Man" copyright.
Since Cyrus's single first came out, it's been hard not to notice the similarities between it and "When I Was Your Man," even lyrically; where Cyrus sings, "I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand / Talk to myself for hours, say things you don't understand," Mars sang, "I should've bought you flowers and held your hand / Should've gave you all my hours when I had the chance." The plaintiff has pointed out substantial similarities between not only the lyrics, but also the melody, harmony and chord progressions of the two songs.
According to the filing, Tempo Music claims that it's "undeniable based on the combination and number of similarities between the two recordings that 'Flowers' would not exist without 'When I Was Your Man,'" and the company is seeking that Cyrus be barred from distributing or performing her song, as well as monetary damages.
Newsweek reports that Tempo Music was launched in 2019 by Providence Equity Partners and Warner Music Group (WMG), and Mars is signed to WMG subsidiary Atlantic Records. A 2021 press release sees the company announce the acquisition of the catalogue of Philip Lawrence — a member of Mars's songwriting group, the Smeezingtons, who also has co-writing and co-production credits on "When I Was Your Man."