Miley Cyrus is facing legal drama for allegedly copying one of Bruno Mars’ songs.
Tempo Music Investments filed a lawsuit against the 31-year-old popstar over copyright infringement, saying her chart-topping smash hit "Flowers" was copied from "When I Was Your Man", sung by the 38-year-old fellow singer.
The company, which claimed to have ownership of a share of Bruno’s song, said in the lawsuit that the Hannah Montana star’s 2023 song has “many musical similarities” with the 2012 ballad.
Highlights
- Miley Cyrus is being sued for allegedly copying Bruno Mars' song 'When I Was Your Man' in her hit 'Flowers'.
- Tempo Music Investments filed the lawsuit, citing numerous musical similarities between the two tracks.
- “Flowers duplicates numerous melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements of ‘When I Was Your Man,'" the lawsuit said.
- Bruno Mars was not mentioned as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Tempo Music Investments filed a lawsuit against Miley Cyrus for allegedly copying Bruno Mars’ hit "When I Was Your Man"
Image credits: Miley Cyrus / Instagram
Image credits: Bruno Mars / Instagram
The "Uptown Funk" hitmaker was not mentioned as a plaintiff in the lawsuit filed on Monday, September 16, in Los Angeles federal court.
“Any fan of Bruno Mars’ 'When I Was Your Man' knows that Miley Cyrus’s 'Flowers' did not achieve all of that success on its own,” the lawsuit stated.
“Flowers duplicates numerous melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements 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, certain theatrical music elements, lyric elements, and specific chord progressions,” it went on to say.
Co-writers Gregory Hein and Michael Pollack were also named in the lawsuit for the alleged unauthorized “exploitation” of the song.
The success of "Flowers" led to the songstress picking up her first couple of Grammys after decades in the business
Brands like Sony Music Publishing, Apple, Target, and Walmart were also mentioned for distributing the track.
In addition to unspecified damages, Tempo Music is seeking to prevent Miley from reproducing, distributing or performing the song in public.
“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',” the lawsuit continued. “With 'Flowers', Cyrus, Hein and Pollack have created a derivative work of 'When I Was Your Man' without authorization.”
For the Tennessee-born singer, who gained entry into the industry at the age of 12 with her Disney show, "Flowers" was a career-defining song that saw her pick up her first set of Grammys this year. She won record of the year and best pop solo performance for the track.
"This song is dedicated to my fans & the steadfast self-love I wish for each of you. Forever grateful," the 31-year-old singer wrote in a social media post following the song's success
Although she said she was proud of herself, she felt her Grammy win was long overdue.
“No shade, but I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and this is my first time actually being taken seriously at the Grammys?” she told W Magazine in June this year.
“I’ve had a hard time figuring out what the measurement is there, because if we want to talk stats and numbers, then where the fuck was I? And if you want to talk, like, impact on culture, then where the fuck was I? This is not about arrogance. I am proud of myself.”