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’m a big fan of.
” Cyrus discussed how a famous rapper reacted to her song. “It’s like one o’clock in the morning and Lil Nas X walks into the club and he asks me the most interesting question,” she recalled. “He said: ‘Are you so anxious about how successful ‘Flowers’ is?’ ‘A lot of headlines [recently] have said, ‘This is Miley’s moment.
’ And I’m like, ‘That’s exactly what it is. It’s a moment. And it will be over.
'” The “Prisoner” star accepted that the success of “Flowers” would fade. “That’s not pessimistic,” Cyrus said. “That’s honest and that’s OK with me.
I actually prefer it. I don’t like to stay big.” Perhaps that explains why Cyrus’ career has been a series of peaks and valleys.
How ‘When I Was Your Man’ and ‘Flowers’ performed “When I Was Your Man” topped the Billboard Hot 100 , staying on the chart for 35 weeks in total. The ballad appeared on the album Unorthodox Jukebox . That record was No.
1 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for 234 weeks. So far, Unorthodox Jukebox is Mars’ only chart-topping album in the United States. While “When I Was Your Man” was a hit, “Flowers” became far more popular.
“Flowers” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight of its 55 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 . Cyrus included her tune on the album Endless Summer Vacation . That record reached No.
3 and stayed on the chart for 59 weeks. Endless Summer Vacation is Cyrus’ most popular record that is not connected to the Hannah Montana franchise . Regardless of which song was more popular, listening to “When I Was Your Man” is a very different experience from listening to “Flowers.
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