Bruno Mars vs. Miley Cyrus: the artist is sued for plagiarizing him in 'Flowers'

Tempo Music Investments, a platform that holds Bruno Mars' music rights, sued Miley Cyrus for allegedly plagiarizing one of the artist's best-known songs.

According to the company, Cyrus' hit Flowers (2023) has "striking similarities" to one of Mars' most famous songs, When I was Your Man (2013).

"Any fan of Bruno Mars' 'When I Was Your Man' knows that Miley Cyrus' 'Flowers' didn't achieve all of that success on its own."Tempo Music Investments

In its lawsuit, Tempo Music Investments claimed that, on Flowers, Cyrus "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 that 'Flowers' would not exist without 'When I Was Your Man'."Tempo Music Investments

In detail, the agency alleged 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'." It seeking financial compensation for “damages.”

Both songs, each in their year of releases, reached number one on several major music charts in the U.S. and elsewhere.

The lawsuit comes months after Cyrus received her first two Grammys for Flowers. The artist picked up the awards for Best Pop Performance and Best Recording of the Year.