Miley Cyrus’ ‘Flowers’ seems to reference Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man,” but does not sample or interpolate any melodic elements from the song.
The new Hot 100-topping hit seems to references Mars’ “When I Was Your Man,” but does not sample or interpolate any melodic elements from the song.
media whether Mars or “Your Man” co-writers Andrew Wyatt, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine deserve writing credits on “Flowers.Miley Cyrus re-enters at No.the heir apparent to “I Will Survive,” the AC train apparently kicks into high gear..
” To a degree, this sort of thing — offering writing credits to obvious sources of musical inspiration — has become common practice in new songs by popular artists, even if a direct sample is not present and the use of an interpolation is an arguable matter of interpretation.Well-publicized cases of that phenomenon include Olivia Rodrigo adding Paramore’s Hayley Williams and Josh Farro to the credits of her “Good 4 U” due to the song’s musical similarities to their “Misery Business,” and Beyoncé including “Show Me Love” scribes Fred McFarlane and Allen George in the credits to her “Break My Soul” due to some overlapping sonic elements with the Robin S.” The song bounds in at No.smash.2 million user-created clips on the platform that use the song as a backdrop, and the additional layers to the perceived deeper meaning behind it all continue to roll in.The case of “Flowers” and “When I Was Your Man” is a little different, though.” She last appeared on the Artist 100 in July 2021, and previously peaked at No.Those previously mentioned examples were mostly based around sonic similarities — melodic, rhythmic and textural — which were close enough in nature that a case could have been made that the original’s copyright was infringed upon.
However, not only are there no direct samples or obvious interpolations between “Flowers” and “Your Man,” there are no major sonic overlaps either — no obvious shared melodies or rhythms, no major similarities in production textures.Rounding out the top five of the Artist 100, SZA holds at No.1.When Cyrus sings “I can buy myself flowers,” for instance, she does so in a cadence and melody of her own, without any significant similarity to how Mars sang “I should’ve bought you flowers.” The only obvious similarities, then, are in the songs’ lyrics — which are not identical, but do share elements and ideas — and merely using some of the same words as an older song is not considered grounds for infringement.1 on the Billboard 200, Morgan Wallen dips 3-4 and The Weeknd descends 4-5.“This is great fodder for fan theories, but lawyers should have nothing to do with it,” says Joseph Fishman , a professor at Vanderbilt Law School in Nashville and an expert in music law.13, and when it arrived, the single dominated the cultural conversation before streaking to No.“There are no songwriter credits for the ‘When I Was Your Man’ writers because no license should be necessary.Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox.
” Cyrus’ arguable use of Mars’ lyrics as a reference point for her own expression is certainly not without precedent, with the “answer song” serving as a longtime staple of popular music.Famous examples include any number of responses (The Miracles’ “I Got a Job,” The Heartbeats’ “I Found a Job”) to The Silhouettes’ ’50s doo-wop staple “Get a Job,” Lynyrd Skynyrd’s rejoinder to Neil Young’s “Southern Man” in their ’70s southern rock classic “Sweet Home Alabama” (“I hope Neil Young will remember/ Southern man don’t need him around anyhow”) and countless rap diss records dating back to the ongoing “Roxanne Wars” of the mid-’80s, when male rap group U.“Flowers” would’ve been a hit regardless, but unless you’re Adele, Taylor Swift or Harry Styles, you don’t score a debut this massive this quickly without a significant amount of extra-musical interest — interest in the backstory, interest in the discussion and drama around it, interest in related memes even.T.F.O.Given that the strategy and promotion behind “Flowers” seems to have paid off pretty well, what’s a lesson (if any) that you think other artists and their teams might be able take from its resounding debut? Rania Aniftos : Be mysterious! Those posters around Los Angeles got fans so excited with little to no information.
and female rappers Roxanne Shanté and The Real Roxanne (among others) all traded barbs with new singles.While many of these singles included lyrical references to their predecessors, most did not include additional writing credits for those songs’ performers.“Lyrically, sure, there’s enough similarity to make listeners think that ‘Flowers’ is deliberately responding to the earlier song,” Fishman offers.It goes something like this: Start out with the goodwill of a generation of tweens thanks to your wildly popular Disney Channel series, movies and albums; transition to a hip-hop-infused pop sound that nets you your first Hot 100 No.“But even if we assume that’s true, so what? Using one song to issue a retort to an earlier song is not, by itself, infringement.John Mayer and Taylor Swift don’t need to cross-license anything when they write songs at each other.
” Does all this mean that there’s no chance of Mars and his co-writers eventually being added as co-writers to the “Flowers” credits? Not necessarily: Whether or not Cyrus is protected legally from legal recourse from the “Your Man” writers, she may ultimately decide to add them anyway as an act of goodwill and out of a desire to avoid further conflict, particularly with all the media attention the similarity between the songs has received.Instead, leave it to the listeners to speculate and continue looping back the song to check every square inch of the song and video for clues.It’s not uncommon for additional songwriting credits to be added to a song after its initial release — as was the case with “Good 4 U” in 2021 — often following a period of negotiations between the concerned parties.But if the names of Mars and his co-writers stay absent in the credits, Cyrus is not likely to have any legal responsibility to give them their “Flowers” there.Daily newsletters straight to your inbox.Jason Lipshutz : I’d expect more jockeying for the First Big Release of the Year in the future.
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Taylor Swift Holds Atop Artist 100, Miley Cyrus Returns to Top 10 Thanks to ‘Flowers’.taylorswift earns a record-extending 62nd week at No. 1 on the Artist100 chart! TaylorSwift That girl prints money like it’s going out of style. TaylorSwift ❤️ TaylorSwift I don’t see SZa doing this
Five Burning Questions: Miley Cyrus‘ ’Flowers’ Debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100What does ‘Flowers’ mostly owe its tremendous initial success to? And are there any lessons other artists can take from it? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below. When the stream is forced upon a listener, it’s no surprise they all rule the streaming numbers.. It’s actually pretty predictable.. No different than people buying their own books to achieve a best sellers status on their product.. With all that being said It’s a cool tune
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In Moscow, a Quiet Anti-War Protest With Flowers and Plush ToysPolice buses seem ubiquitous in Moscow since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, watching over much of the city center, including a statue of one of Ukraine’s most famous poets that has become a popular spot for a silent but emotional outpouring of anti-war sentiment. Since a Russian missile struck a residential building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro nine days ago, killing 46 and injuring 80 others, Muscovites have been coming to lay flowers — along with plush toys and photographs of t
Flowers Hospital holding Healthy Heart Challenge for American Heart MonthFlowers Hospital in Dothan are taking a step up to help people in the local community learn ways to reduce heart health risks with a 28-Day Healthy Heart Challenge during the month of February.
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