Sometimes, seemingly inoffensive music inspires a lot of controversy. For example, Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” has received criticism for its similarities to Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man.” This controversy is overblown.
Why people think Miley Cyrus’ ‘Flowers’ is too similar to Bruno Mars’ ‘When I Was Your Man’ “When I Was Your Man” has the lyrics “I should’ve bought you flowers / And held your hand / Should’ve gave you all my hours.” “Flowers” has “I can buy myself flowers / Write my name in the sand / Talk to myself for hours.” Similar? Yes.
Plagiarism? No. At most, “Flowers” is an homage to “When I Was Your Man.” That’s not a crime.
Most of music is built on homage. Beyond that, “When I Was Your Man” is a slow pop ballad and “Flowers” is a disco track. The tunes have entirely different melodies.
Nobody could possibly confuse one song with the other. Miley Cyrus almost took her song in a different direction During a 2023 interview with British Vogue , Cyrus said the offending lyrics of “Flowers” were initially a bit different. “I wrote it in a really different way,” the “Wrecking Ball” singer said.
“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, 1950s. The saddest song.
Like: ‘Sure, I can be my own lover, but you’re so much better.’ The song is a little fake it till you make it. Which I’.