Legal Battle Blooms: Hit Single “Flowers” Faces Copyright Infringement Claims Over Alleged Similarities to Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man”
In recent Miley Cyrus news, the singer faces legal action over claims that she and her co-writers copied parts of Bruno Mars’ 2013 track “When I Was Your Man” for her 2023 hit single “Flowers.” The Flowers Miley Cyrus song has drawn comparisons to Mars’ track, leading to a Miley Cyrus lawsuit.
Lawsuit Details and Allegations
Tempo Music Investments filed the lawsuit on Monday in a Los Angeles federal court, alleging that “Flowers” contains unauthorized exploitation of the song. Co-writers Gregory Hein and Michael Pollack are also named, along with Sony Music Publishing, Apple, Target, Walmart, and other companies for distribution of the song. The suit questions whether Miley Cyrus got permission from Bruno Mars to create the alleged derivative work.
Bruno Mars’ Involvement and Recent Activities
Bruno Mars is not listed as a plaintiff: Tempo Music says it owns a portion of “When I Was Your Man” bought from co-writer Philip Lawrence. This Bruno Mars news comes amidst questions of what happened to Bruno Mars and his recent activities, with some fans even wondering if Bruno Mars has a kid. The artist is known for hitting Bruno Mars’s music but is rarely seen without sunglasses.
Bruno Mars, 17 July 2021
Photo credit: LXT production, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Legal Demands and Copyright Infringement Claims
Tempo Music is asking for unspecified damages and to stop Cyrus from reproducing, distributing, or performing the song publicly.
The lawsuit states: “Any fan of Bruno Mars’s “When I Was Your Man” realizes that Miley Cyrus’s “Flowers” didn’t achieve all that success on its own. “Flowers” copies many melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements of “When I Was Your Man, “including the verse’s melodic pitch design and sequence, the linking bass line, certain chorus bars, specific theatrical music elements, lyric elements, and particular chord progressions.”
It adds: “It’s clear from the number and combination of similarities between the two recordings that “Flowers” wouldn’t exist without “When I Was Your Man”. With “Flowers”, Cyrus, Hein and Pollack have made a derivative work of “When I Was Your Man” without permission, amounting to copyright infringement.”
Industry Impact and Speculation
The Miley Cyrus Flowers song Bruno Mars comparisons have spotlighted plagiarism in the music industry. Some have drawn parallels to Liam Hemsworth and Cyrus’ divorce, speculating that the lyrics may be a declaration of independence.
“Flowers” Success and Recognition
“Flowers” earned Cyrus her first Grammy Award at this year’s ceremony for best pop solo performance, cementing its status as a hit. The Miley Cyrus Flowers Grammy win came as the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for eight weeks last year and the UK charts for 10 weeks. It was the lead single off her album “Endless Summer Vacation.”
Future Implications
With the pop star now being sued by Tempo Music, it remains to be seen if “Flowers” will maintain its status as a Record of the Year contender or if the songwriters will face consequences for the alleged Miley Cyrus copying when I was your man. The music world is closely following this developing Bruno Mars Flowers story.
Source:
Laura Snapes (September 17, 2024). Miley Cyrus sued over allegedly copying Bruno Mars song on Flowers. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/sep/17/miley-cyrus-sued-over-allegedly-copying-bruno-mars-song-on-flowers. Accessed September 18, 2024
Header Photo
Miley Cyrus performs on the Today Show in downtown Manhattan for Fleet Week New York (FWNY), 26 May 2017
Photo credit: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Casey J. Hopkins, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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