Miley Cyrus is facing a lawsuit for copyright infringement over her chart-topping 2023 hit Flowers.
The former Hannah Montana star, 31, has been accused of copying Bruno Mars’ 2013 song When I Was Your Man, which also topped the charts upon release.
In an interesting plot twist, it’s not Mars who is suing Cyrus, but Tempo Music Investments, reports US news outlet TMZ.
The move is believed to come after they took control of part of the song's copyright with the Uptown Funk hitmaker reported to have sold a portion of his song catalog to Warner Music Group towards the end of 2023.
In late 2019, Warner Music Group and Providence Equity Partners announced plans to invest $650 million in a new platform, Tempo Music Investments, according to Variety.
In their lawsuit, Tempo Music accuse Cyrus of “intentionally copying” When I Was Your Man in Flowers due to the significant similarities between the two songs.
The investment company claims that Flowers features a similar melody and harmonies to the earlier song, both in the verses and in the chorus.
It alleges that the chord progressions used on Cyrus' tune - which she is credited for writing with Aldae (real name: Gregory Hein) and Michael Pollack - are similar to progressions on Mars' song, and it also claims that some of the song's lyrics are similar to those on When I Was Your Man, which was written by Mars with Philip Lawrence, Ari Levin and Andrew Wyatt.
It is further claimed that “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.”
They accuse Cyrus, her producers Kid Harpoon and Tyler Harper and her record label of all having access to Mars' song, though nearly everyone has access to the song, which was a hit when it was released a decade earlier and has remained easily accessible on physical media and streaming ever since.
The investment firm is requesting damages from Cyrus, though it's unclear if it has specified a requested amount yet.
In what is sure to be more of a blow to the singer, they are requesting that she and her label be barred from distributing Flowers, which might entail removing it from digital and future physical versions of her 2023 album Endless Summer Vacation.
They also requesting that she be barred from ever again performing the popular song, for which she won two Grammys earlier this year.
The Standard has contacted representatives for Miley Cyrus and Bruno Mars for comment.
