By Emily Hanson || Arts and Leisure Editor
Fans of Miley Cyrus discovered instantly that her brand new song, “Flowers” resembles the melody and lyrics of the famed Bruno Mars classic “When I Was Your Man.” The singer definitely sampled it in her track, and TikTok certainly noticed, because the song has been featured in at least every other video on my For You page. People are loving the fresh, empowering sound in her first record since 2020, and it debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. But there’s more than meets the ear when it comes to Miley’s new release—“Flowers” and its music video are theorized to have strong ties to Cyrus’ relationship with her ex-husband, Australian actor Liam Hemsworth.
The couple, who had been on-again-off-again dating since 2010, got officially married in 2018 but split up in 2019 and finalized their divorce by the end of that year. All the dust seemed to have settled on the drama in 2020, but three years later it looks like this door may be opening again, if only based on fan speculation. There’s a lot to unpack with over five break-ups and two engagements in ten years, but Miley puts up a valiant effort in “Flowers.”
“We were right ’til we weren’t/Built a home and watched it burn,” Cyrus sings as the song begins. This line most likely has a double meaning; besides the life they created together being destroyed by their downfall, Miley and Liam lost their Malibu home in the California wildfires in 2018.
“I didn’t wanna leave you/I didn’t wanna lie/Started to cry but then remembered I/I can buy myself flowers… I can take myself dancing/I can hold my own hand/I can love me better than you can,” Cyrus continues in the pre-chorus and the chorus. The lyrics hold a very empowering message of loving yourself and not letting lost relationships hold you back from self-love. But in the past ten years, there has only been one major love in Miley’s life, and the strength behind this mantra seems specific to her extensive and meaningful romance.
Beyond the lyrics, the music video for the song holds ample references to Hemsworth. The video itself dropped along with the track on Thursday, January 12th, but at 11:00 am in Hemsworth’s timezone in Australia. In the video, Miley dances around a house that Liam reportedly used to have affairs with multiple women during their marriage. Talk about reclaiming! There’s no proof of this, but rumors always have some merit. She prances around in a blazer that also resembles one worn by Liam in a notorious clip at the Avengers: Endgame premiere, during which Liam told Miley to “behave” (spoiler alert: she did not take kindly to that).
Of course, it’s impossible to know if any of this holds true merit. But I definitely understand why people are invested in celebrity drama now.
Sophomore Emily Hanson is the Arts and Leisure Editor. Her email is ehanson@fandm.edu.