Daily Times

Miley Cyrus found herself in some legal trouble. The Grammy winner is being sued in a new lawsuit that alleges she and her team of “Flowers” songwriters copied Bruno Mars’ 2013 song “When I Was Your Man,” according to documents obtained by E! News.

Along with Cyrus, her cowriters Gregory Hein and Michael Pollack are also named as defendants in the Sept. 16 lawsuit filed by Tempo Music Investments. The suit also names several entertainment companies for distributing “Flowers.” E! News has reached out to reps for Mars, Cyrus and to Hein and Pollack for comment and has not heard back.

“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 documents alleged. “‘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 filing continued. “Accordingly, Plaintiff brings this action for copyright infringement arising out of Defendants’ unauthorised reproduction, distribution and exploitation of ‘When I Was Your Man.'”

Along with examining the melody and harmony of the choruses of the songs, the lawsuit alleged that the lyrics in Cyrus’ chorus “clearly have a meaningful connection to the lyrics” of Mars’ and that the “musical similarities are no coincidence.”

Tempo Music Investments is requesting that Cyrus and the lawsuit’s defendants be prohibited from reproducing, distributing or publicly performing “Flowers,” as well as seeking damages in an amount to be determined during trial.

The news comes seven months after Cyrus earned her first two Grammys, Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance, for “Flowers.” And prior to her nominations, she shared insight into the song’s process and her inspiration.

“I wrote it in a really different way,” Cyrus told British Vogue last June. “The chorus was originally: ‘I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand, but I can’t love me better than you can.’ It used to be more like the 1950s. The saddest song. Like: ‘Sure, I can be my own lover, but you’re so much better.'”

But ultimately, she decided to reject the heartbreaking end. “The song is a little fake it till you make it,” she explained. “Which I’m a big fan of.”