Miley Cyrus Accused of Ripping off Bruno Mars Song, Lawsuit Filed

Miley Cyrus is being accused of ripping off a Bruno Mars song. In a newly filed lawsuit, Cyrus’ song “Flowers” is accused of having “striking similarities” to Mars’ song “When I Was Your Man.” The lawsuit was brought by Tempo Music Investments —a music investment platform that owns a share of the copyright to Mars’ hit track —though Mars himself is not listed as a plaintiff.

“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,” the lawsuit reads in part, as reported by Fox Business.  “‘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 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 adds, then stating that “the opening vocal line from the chorus of ‘Flowers’ begins and ends on the same chords as the opening vocal line in the verse of ‘When I Was Your Man.’”

According to the lawsuit, Tempo Music Investments is demanding that Cyrus —and the other defendants listed —stop reproducing, distributing or publicly performing, “Flowers.” Additionally, Tempo Music Investments is seeking damage in an as-yet-undetermined amount.

Gregory Hein and Michael Pollack, co-writers of “Flowers,” are also listed in the lawsuit for the alleged unauthorized “exploitation” of the song, as well as Sony Music Publishing, Apple, and multiple other defendants. 

Mars wrote his tune, “When I Was Your Man,” with Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, and Andrew Wyatt. In the documents, Tempo Music Investments claims that it acquired the copyright interests of Mars’ track “in or around 2020.” Fox Business states that they reached out to Cyrus’ reps but received no comment. Reps for Mars did not immediately respond.