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There’s no arguing that Miley Cyrus‘ song ‘Flowers’ is a hit. What fans can’t stop arguing about is what the song really means, what Miley’s music video reveals, and whether Bruno Mars should be mad that she used his song as inspiration for her own diss track. Knowing what kind of artist Mars is, it’s unlikely that he would be mad about Cyrus borrowing some concepts from his songwriting, especially because she’s not the first (and probably won’t be the last).
In fact, it seems like Bruno is pretty open to sharing his music with other artists, if his track record is any indication. While Bruno hasn’t publicly spoken about Miley’s song (yet?), all signs point to him not caring a bit about potential songwriting credit. He seems to just like the fact that people love his music, and leave it at that, which has meant that other artists can take inspiration and even borrow an entire song from Bruno’s catalog without him minding.
Technically, Miley Doesn’t Owe Bruno Mars Credit For Her ‘Flowers’ Reply
Ever since Miley’s song ‘Flowers’ hit the airwaves, fans have been freaking out. With all the hints that the song is a rebuke of Liam Hemsworth—and his possible bad behavior during the pair’s relationship—fans are obsessed. The song isn’t too bad itself, either.
But another topic of conversation is the fact that not only was Miley said to be replying to Liam dedicating ‘When I Was Your Man’ to her at some point, but also the fact that Miley’s song replies to Bruno’s song almost line by line in its chorus.
The similarity was so obvious that many called for Miley to credit Bruno on her song, but there might be a simple reason why that didn’t (and is unlikely to) happen.
According to Billboard, the way that Miley replied to Bruno’s lyrics didn’t qualify as “sampling.” While the publication’s editors noted that it’s common for artists to credit others (“offering writing credits to obvious sources of musical inspiration”) as something of a courtesy, even if a “direct sample” doesn’t appear in the track.
The publication elaborated that although it sounds like Miley’s answering Bruno, and the “elements and ideas” are the same, the music isn’t similar enough to warrant any claim of infringement. In short, if Bruno did decide to pursue songwriting credits, he would likely be unsuccessful in court.
Besides, Bruno probably didn’t mind Miley making his song popular again—ten years after it came out. The track enjoyed a comfortable nearly-20 percent bump in streaming activity after ‘Flowers’ debuted.
It turns out Miley’s not the only one helping Bruno’s music stay relevant, either.
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Miley Cyrus Isn’t The Only Artist To “Sample” Bruno Mars’ Music
Miley might be the first artist to boost Bruno Mars’ streams so much in such a short time, but she’s not the only artist to borrow from Bruno. After the song came out (on Bruno’s second studio album) in 2012, it shot up the charts, and even the music video broke hearts.
Fortunately for Mars, the song didn’t exactly reflect his real-life relationship status; the song was reportedly written during a time when Bruno was worried about losing his girlfriend.
Yet the two have been together since 2011, and Jessica Caban is also said to have inspired many aspects of Bruno’s career, in addition to the hugely popular ‘When I Was Your Man.’
But other artists picked up Bruno’s soulful song and ran with it; a contestant on The Voice UK performed the song in 2013, and a studio album version of Mike Ward’s rendition helped him scale the UK charts. Thomas Rhett also covered Bruno Mars’ song, and ‘When I Was Your Man’ then climbed the country charts, too.
Bruno Mars’ song has gotten around, but he doesn’t seem to mind the attention, and likely had to give permission to both Mike Ward and Thomas Rhett to record and sell his song.
Does Bruno Mars Have A Response To Miley’s ‘Flowers’?
To date, it doesn’t seem that Bruno has replied to Miley’s new song, but for a good reason. A few months before Miley’s song came out, Bruno was on a world tour. Though he posted on social media a handful of times during the tour—mostly to thank his fans—he’s probably far too busy to have a chat with Miley about ‘Flowers.’
Plus, in October 2022, Bruno celebrated his Certified Diamond status; at that time, ‘When I Was Your Man’ had sold 11 million copies, the same as ‘Uptown Funk’ and a million more than hits like ‘Grenade’ and ‘That’s What I Like’ (though ‘Just The Way You Are’ sold 13M).
Though he probably doesn’t mind a bit of publicity thanks to Miley Cyrus, Bruno’s music has done just fine on its own before the recent spike, so Bruno likely doesn’t owe Miley thanks, but he also doesn’t need to grant her permission to “reply” to his old yet still relevant hit.
