Miley Cyrus and her co-writers are facing a new lawsuit claiming they copied elements of Bruno Mars’ 2013 hit “When I Was Your Man” for her Grammy-winning single “Flowers.”
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday by Tempo Music Investments, alleges that “Flowers” includes unauthorized use of various elements from Mars’ chart-topping song. The suit also names Sony Music Publishing, Apple, Target, Walmart, and several other companies as defendants for distributing the song.
Tempo Music claims ownership of part of the U.S. copyrights to “When I Was Your Man,” having acquired it from Philip Lawrence, who co-wrote the song with Mars, Ari Levine, and Andrew Wyatt. Notably, Bruno Mars himself is not listed as a plaintiff in the case.
According to the complaint obtained by Rolling Stone, Tempo Music argues that “Flowers” copies multiple aspects 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, theatrical music elements, lyrical content, and specific chord progressions.” They assert that the similarities are so numerous that “Flowers” could not exist without “When I Was Your Man.”
The lawsuit names Miley Cyrus and her co-writers Gregory Hein and Michael Pollack as co-defendants. “With ‘Flowers,’ Cyrus, Hein, and Pollack have created a derivative work of ‘When I Was Your Man’ without authorization,” the suit claims. Representatives for Cyrus did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
In February, Cyrus won her first Grammy for “Flowers,” a track from her album Endless Summer Vacation, which held the Number One spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks. The song, seen as a declaration of independence following her divorce from actor Liam Hemsworth, has been widely celebrated.
Tempo Music is seeking damages to be determined at trial, as well as a court order to prevent Cyrus and the other defendants from reproducing, distributing, or performing “Flowers.”
