A federal judge is considering whether to dismiss a copyright infringement lawsuit against Miley Cyrus alleging that she and her co-writers recycled parts of a Bruno Mars song for her two-time Grammy Award-winning hit "Flowers," according to court papers obtained Tuesday.
The suit filed last year by partial copyright holder Tempo Music Investments claims "Flowers" incorporates unauthorized elements of Mars' 2013 ballad "When I Was Your Man." Mars is not named as a plaintiff.
The complaint also names Cyrus co-writers Gregory Hein and Michael Pollack as defendants. Sony Music Publishing, Apple, Target, Walmart and several other companies are accused in the suit of distributing the song.
In her motion to dismiss, the singer argued that Tempo Music, owner of a partial share of the song, lacked standing to pursue its claims.
At a hearing Monday in Los Angeles federal court, U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson took the matter under submission.
"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. "'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."
The plaintiffs contend that the Cyrus hit is a "derivative work" that would not exist without "When I Was Your Man."
Cyrus' "Flowers" won Grammys for record of the year and best pop solo performance at the 2024 awards ceremony. The song was a massive hit, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spending eight consecutive weeks in the top spot.