Flowers (Miley Cyrus Song)
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"Flowers" is a song by American singer
Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...
from her eighth studio album ''
Endless Summer Vacation ''Endless Summer Vacation'' is the eighth studio album by American singer and songwriter Miley Cyrus. It was released on March 10, 2023, via Columbia Records. It is her first new body of work since leaving RCA Records after her seventh studio ...
'' (2023).
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
released it as the album's lead single on January 12, 2023, in some countries and on January 13 worldwide. Cyrus wrote "Flowers" with Gregory "Aldae" Hein and Michael Pollack, while
Kid Harpoon Thomas Edward Percy Hull (born 20 April 1982), known professionally as Kid Harpoon, is a British songwriter, record producer, and musician. In 2023, he won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and the Brit Award for Songwriter of the Year for ...
and Tyler Johnson handled the production. A
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
song with
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
,
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
, and
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
influences, its lyrics express an ex-lover's acceptance of being independent after no longer feeling the need to rely on someone else to be complete. "Flowers" received positive reviews from
music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
and was a massive commercial success, breaking many records. It was the best-selling global single of 2023, earning 2.7 billion subscription streams equivalents globally, according to the
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...
(IFPI), making it Cyrus's most successful single worldwide to date. In the United States, the single debuted at number one and spent eight non-consecutive weeks atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in addition to becoming Cyrus's second number-one song on the chart, after "
Wrecking Ball A wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball, usually hung from a Crane (machine), crane, that is used for Demolition, demolishing large buildings. It was most commonly in use during the 1940s and 1950s. Several wrecking companies claim to have inve ...
" (2013). "Flowers" spent 57 weeks at the top of ''Billboard''
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
chart, becoming the longest-running number one-song on any ''Billboard''
airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...
chart, and earned the most cumulative weeks atop all ''Billboard'' airplay charts of all time. The song was also a commercial success worldwide, debuting atop the ''Billboard'' Global 200 chart and staying at the summit for thirteen non-consecutive weeks. It topped 60 different charts of over 40 different countries, including in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Singapore, Germany, South Africa, France and the United Kingdom. It also broke a string of records on
streaming services A streaming media service (also simply called a streaming service) is an online platform that allows users to watch or listen to content, such as film, movies, Television show, TV shows, music, or podcasts, over the internet. Instead of downloadi ...
, including the
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record for the most-streamed song in a week (during both its first and second week), the fastest song in Spotify history to surpass one billion streams (doing so in 112 days), and the fastest female song to surpass two billion streams on Spotify (doing so in 502 days).
Jacob Bixenman Jacob Taylor Bixenman (born May 27, 1994) is an American model, photographer and director. He was born in Orange County, California. Career Bixenman entered a VMan modelling competition and was signed by Ford Models, who handles Naomi Campbel ...
directed the
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for "Flowers", which features Cyrus performing dances in several locations, including an outdoor pool, a backyard, and on the roof of her house. Photography took place in Los Angeles with scenes shot at Elysian Park. Cyrus performed the song live on the album's accompanying documentary concert special, '' Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions),'' and ''
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman ''My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman'' (commonly referred to as ''My Next Guest'') is an American television talk show hosted by David Letterman that premiered on January 12, 2018, on Netflix. The series consists of intervie ...
'', and at the
66th Annual Grammy Awards The 66th Annual Grammy Awards honored the best recordings, compositions, and artists from October 1, 2022, to September 15, 2023, as chosen by the members of The Recording Academy, on February 4, 2024. In its 21st year at the Crypto.com Arena ...
. At the latter ceremony, "Flowers" won
Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...
and
Best Pop Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guides, the Best Pop S ...
, and also received a nomination for Song of the Year, marking Cyrus' career-first set of Grammy wins. Following the song's performance at the
66th Annual Grammy Awards The 66th Annual Grammy Awards honored the best recordings, compositions, and artists from October 1, 2022, to September 15, 2023, as chosen by the members of The Recording Academy, on February 4, 2024. In its 21st year at the Crypto.com Arena ...
, it saw a surge in streaming numbers and sales and returned to the top ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in February 2024. The song also won Best International Song at the
Brit Awards 2024 The Brit Awards 2024 was the 44th edition of the Brit Awards ceremony presented by British Phonographic Industry (BPI), and was held on Saturday 2 March 2024 at The O2 Arena in London. The ceremony returned to a weekend due to successful viewersh ...
.


Production and release

"Flowers" was written by Miley Cyrus, Gregory "Aldae" Hein, and Michael Pollack in January 2022 in
Sunset Sound Recorders Sunset Sound Recorders is a recording studio in Hollywood, California, United States, located at 6650 Sunset Boulevard. Background The Sunset Sound Recorders complex was created by Walt Disney's Director of Recording, Tutti Camarata, from a co ...
studio in Hollywood, California. During a week of sessions, with the composers gathered around a piano, the song came together as a ballad, originally with a "slower and sadder" feel, according to Pollack. He said: "We started with the chorus and, if I remember correctly, the lyric, melody, and progression started to form simultaneously. It's one of those '
circle of fifths In music theory, the circle of fifths (sometimes also cycle of fifths) is a way of organizing pitches as a sequence of perfect fifths. Starting on a C, and using the standard system of tuning for Western music (12-tone equal temperament), the se ...
's songs where the melody informs the progression and vice versa. It practically wrote itself." The initial demo version of the song was a stripped-back ballad, only consisting of Cyrus singing and Pollack playing the
Rhodes piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...
. Then it evolved into the uptempo song. Its final version was produced by Tyler Johnson and
Kid Harpoon Thomas Edward Percy Hull (born 20 April 1982), known professionally as Kid Harpoon, is a British songwriter, record producer, and musician. In 2023, he won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and the Brit Award for Songwriter of the Year for ...
. On December 31, 2022, while hosting her NBC live special ''
Miley's New Year's Eve Party NBC has broadcast coverage of New Year's Eve festivities since the 1940s, the majority of which focusing on the "ball drop" event at New York City's Times Square. NBC's coverage was initially anchored by Ben Grauer, airing in simulcast on NBC rad ...
'', Cyrus announced "Flowers" would be released simultaneously in all markets on January 13, 2023. The song was released on January 13 at UTC+00:00, which was still January 12 in some parts of the world. The demo version of the song was released digitally on March 3, 2023. It was also included on the digital version of ''
Endless Summer Vacation ''Endless Summer Vacation'' is the eighth studio album by American singer and songwriter Miley Cyrus. It was released on March 10, 2023, via Columbia Records. It is her first new body of work since leaving RCA Records after her seventh studio ...
'' album.


Composition

"Flowers" is a pop song with
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
and
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
influences. Anna Gaca of ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' described it as a "twangy" disco funk song with a
string section The string section of an orchestra is composed of bowed instruments belonging to the violin family. It normally consists of first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. It is the most numerous group in the standard orchestra. In ...
reminiscent of
flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...
. Gabrielle Sanchez of
Yahoo! Yahoo (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life, and its a ...
said, "A funky bassline guides the song, paired with a swooning string line and fizzy cymbals". Mary Siroky of ''
Consequence Consequence may refer to: Philosophy, science and social sciences * Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment'' * Consequent, in logic, the second half of a hypothetical proposition or consequences * Consequent ...
'' thought that Cyrus's "raspy vocals offer an edge to the disco-toned anthem" and that the song interpolates
Gloria Gaynor Gloria Fowles (born September 7, 1943), known professionally as Gloria Gaynor, is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), "I Have a Right, Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), "I Am What I Am (Broadway mus ...
's "
I Will Survive "I Will Survive" is a song recorded by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 by Polydor Records as the second single from her sixth album, ''Love Tracks (Gloria Gaynor album), Love Tracks'' (1978). It was written by Freddie Pe ...
" (1978). She further opined that "Flowers" sounds like "if the hazy, peaceful California tone of ' Malibu' were to be applied to a
dance pop Dance-pop is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developi ...
track".
Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis (born 13 September 1971) is an English journalist. He is the head Rock music, rock and pop music critic for ''The Guardian'', and a regular contributor for ''GQ''. In addition to his music journalism for the paper, he has written ...
of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' noted its "shimmering
electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...
and understated yacht-rock mood," comparing it to
Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...
's 1977 album '' Rumours''. Gabrielle Sanchez of Yahoo! called "Flowers" "a spunky track about flaunting one's self-reliance and independence, no longer depending on someone else to feel complete". Anna Gaca from ''Pitchfork'' described it as a "revenge anthem". Mary Siroky of ''Consequence'' felt that Cyrus is "embracing her story as her own, stepping into her autonomy in a fully realized way". Dale Maplethorpe of ''
Gigwise ''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site featuring music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England. History Gigwise was launched in 2001 in ...
'' felt that "the theme of the song is self-love and acceptance". Jason Lipshutz of ''Billboard'' compared the song to Cyrus's 2019 single " Slide Away", adding that "Flowers" "focuses far more on self-sustainability than revenge, trading the melancholy of a song like ... 'Slide Away' for a more assertive outlook". The song's chorus is allegedly a paraphrase of
Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, R ...
's "
When I Was Your Man "When I Was Your Man" is a song by American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars from his second studio album, ''Unorthodox Jukebox'' (2012). Atlantic Records released the song as the third promotional single and as the second official single, take ...
" (2012). Editors of ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' noted that the songs only feature similar lyrical elements and ideas, meaning that the writers of "When I Was Your Man" are not required to be credited as co-writers of "Flowers". Following its release, several publications suggested that "Flowers" was supposed to be a
response song An answer song, response song or answer record is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...
directed at Cyrus's ex-husband
Liam Hemsworth Liam Hemsworth (born 13 January 1990) is an Australian actor. He played the roles of Josh Taylor (Neighbours), Josh Taylor in the soap opera ''Neighbours'' and Marcus in the children's television series ''The Elephant Princess''. In American fi ...
, as it was released on Hemsworth's birthday and the lyrics refer to their Malibu, California home which burned down in the November 2018
Woolsey Fire The Woolsey Fire was a wildfire that started in Los Angeles County and spread north to neighboring Ventura County, both located in the U.S. state of California. The fire ignited on November 8, 2018, and was not fully contained until November 2 ...
. Additionally, Hemsworth had reportedly dedicated "When I Was Your Man" to Cyrus in the past.


Critical reception


Reviews

"Flowers" received favorable reviews from music critics, with many complimenting Cyrus' vocal delivery. According to ''Billboard''s Jason Lipshutz, the single is not a "full-blown reinvention" for Cyrus, but "sturdy, hummable pop, and it captivates without bells or whistles." ''The New York Times'' Lindsay Zoladz described the song as "breezy" and opined that "the relatively subdued chorus melody may not demand much of Cyrus, but her vocals are imbued with a laid-back maturity and convincing self-assurance". ''Consequence''s Mary Siroky was appreciative of the song and Cyrus, writing that the singer "has played with genre extensively throughout her career, and it's probably because her voice just sounds good in every single one of them." She went on to add to the praise, stating that "once the chorus n 'Flowers'hits, she arrives at the conclusion that everything is going to be okay, and there's even a strong chance she'll be better off going forward: 'I can take myself dancing/ And I can hold my own hand/ Yeah, I can love me better than you can'." She also gave the song their "Song of the Week" status. ''The Daily Telegraph''
Neil McCormick Neil McCormick (born 31 March 1961) is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster. He has been the chief music critic for ''The Daily Telegraph'' since 1996, and presented a music interview show for Vintage TV (TV channel), Vintage TV i ...
called it "sophisticated perfection." Dale Maplethorpe of ''Gigwise'' felt that Cyrus's "incredibly recognizable voice chiming in and sounding fantastic" and noted that in the chorus "we hear a funky bassline and killer drums that don't leave the listener with much else to do other than bust a move". However, he felt that the song "does feel like it doesn't build as much as it could do" and "is lacking in the big finish that it seems to tease". Writing for ''Pitchfork'', Anna Gaca described the single as "generic", and Cyrus's vocal delivery as "sincerely unbothered". Gaca further negatively compared the song to " Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53", stating that "calling it revenge is a reach, not when
Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...
is ready to call you a
Twingo The Renault Twingo is a city car made by the French company Renault from 1992 to 2024 across three generations. The name is a portmanteau of ''twist'', ''swing'', and ''tango''. The first-generation Twingo (two door, front engine) debuted at t ...
: What we're really dealing with here is self-help", implying that the latter addressed the revenge topic in a better way.


Year-end rankings


Commercial performance

Upon its release, "Flowers" broke several records on Spotify. The song earned over 7.7 million plays in its first 24 hours on Spotify globally. On January 20, 2023, it achieved the second-highest single-day streams for a non-seasonal song, and fourth-highest overall, at the time, garnering over 18.4 million global plays on the streaming service. During its first full seven days (January 13–20, 2023) the song earned 96,032,624 plays on Spotify globally, becoming the biggest week for a song in the platform's history (previously the record was held by
Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...
's "
Easy on Me "Easy on Me" is a song by the English singer Adele from her fourth studio album, '' 30'' (2021). Adele wrote the song with its producer, Greg Kurstin. Columbia Records released it as the album's lead single on 15 October 2021. It is a torch s ...
" with over 85 million streams). In the next seven days (January 21–27, 2023) it earned 115,156,896 plays, breaking the record again. It also became the fastest song to cross 100 million plays on Spotify globally (seven days), breaking the record previously held by
BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...
's "
Butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...
" in eight days. Jana Coffey, Spotify's artist and label partnerships leader, noted that the popularity of "Flowers" had been growing day-after-day while streaming numbers for other record-breaking songs were the largest on their first days and then declined throughout the week. On May 4, 2023, it became the fastest song to earn 1 billion plays on Spotify globally (112 days), surpassing
the Kid Laroi Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard (born 17 August 2003), known professionally as the Kid Laroi (stylized as The Kid LAROI), is an Australian rapper, singer and songwriter. He was first discovered by Triple J Unearthed in 2016 at the age of 13. As ...
and
Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...
's "
Stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tr ...
" (2021) and Harry Styles's "
As It Was "As It Was" is a song by English singer-songwriter Harry Styles, released through Erskine and Columbia on 1 April 2022 as the lead single from his third studio album, '' Harry's House'' (2022). The song was written by Styles alongside his pro ...
" (2022) (both 118 days). "Flowers" debuted atop the ''Billboard'' Global 200 and ''Billboard'' Global Excl. US charts, becoming Cyrus's first number-one single on both charts since their launch in September 2020. It topped both global charts for thirteen non-consecutive weeks, tying with
Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...
's "
All I Want for Christmas Is You "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her fourth studio album and first holiday album, ''Merry Christmas'' (1994). She wrote and produced the song with Walter Afanasieff. It was released a ...
" as the second longest-running number-one on the Global 200, and with Harry Styles's "
As It Was "As It Was" is a song by English singer-songwriter Harry Styles, released through Erskine and Columbia on 1 April 2022 as the lead single from his third studio album, '' Harry's House'' (2022). The song was written by Styles alongside his pro ...
" (2022) as the longest-running number one on the Global Excl. US, respectively. During its first three weeks it gained 179.1, 217.1 and 185.6 million streams worldwide consecutively, which became the fifth, second and fourth biggest weeks ever for a song in the ''Billboard'' Global 200's history. It also became the second song in the chart's history to gain over 100 million global streams for at least eight weeks, after
the Kid Laroi Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard (born 17 August 2003), known professionally as the Kid Laroi (stylized as The Kid LAROI), is an Australian rapper, singer and songwriter. He was first discovered by Triple J Unearthed in 2016 at the age of 13. As ...
and
Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...
's "
Stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tr ...
" in 2021. On the issue dated July 8, 2023, it returned to the number one on the Global 200 after a 10-week break, which was the longest gap in the chart's history, excluding "All I Want for Christmas Is You". It topped the 2023 year-end Global 200 and Global Excl. US charts. According to Luminate, "Flowers" earned 1.16billion streams worldwide until March 31, 2023, making it the most streamed song of the first quarter of 2023. It was the most-streamed song on Spotify and Deezer and second most-streamed on Apple Music globally in 2023. "Flowers" was the best-selling global single of 2023, earning 2.70 billion subscription streams equivalents globally, according to the
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...
(IFPI). It won the IFPI Global Single Award of 2023, becoming Cyrus' first appearance on an IFPI annual global Top 10 chart. It ranked 16th in the 2024 year-end Global 200 chart.


North America

During the first five hours of availability on January 12, 2023, "Flowers" gained 685,000 streams, 2.4 million radio airplay audience impressions, and 2,000 digital downloads sold and debuted at number 21 on the Digital Songs chart. After its first full week (January 13–19) "Flowers" debuted atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming the 65th song to do so, Cyrus's second number-one single after "
Wrecking Ball A wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball, usually hung from a Crane (machine), crane, that is used for Demolition, demolishing large buildings. It was most commonly in use during the 1940s and 1950s. Several wrecking companies claim to have inve ...
" in 2013 and her 11th top ten entry. Due to garnering 52.6 million streams, 33.5 million radio airplay audience impressions and 70,000 digital downloads sold, it debuted atop the Streaming Songs, rose to number one of the Digital Song Sales and debuted at number 18 of the Radio Songs (chart), Radio Songs. The same week, Cyrus reached her career top of number three on ''Billboard'' Artist 100 chart and her back catalog had an increase of 65% in streaming in the United States. "Flowers" spent eight non-consecutive weeks atop the Hot 100. It also became the second song ever after Harry Styles' "
As It Was "As It Was" is a song by English singer-songwriter Harry Styles, released through Erskine and Columbia on 1 April 2022 as the lead single from his third studio album, '' Harry's House'' (2022). The song was written by Styles alongside his pro ...
" (2022) to spend its debut 20 weeks in the chart's top-three region. It became the highest streamed song in a week since Drake (musician), Drake's "Way 2 Sexy" in September 2021 due to 59.8 million streams in its second week, as well as the first song with two consecutive weeks of at least 50 million streams since Olivia Rodrigo's "Drivers License (song), Drivers License" in January 2021, the first non-holiday song with three consecutive weeks of at least 40 million streams since Rodrigo's "Good 4 U" in June 2021, and the first song to sell over 30,000 in three consecutive weeks since Coldplay and
BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...
's "My Universe (song), My Universe" in October 2021. It topped the Streaming Songs and Digital Songs charts for four and five consecutive weeks, respectively. After one month of release in the United States, "Flowers" became Cyrus's 11th biggest hit in total radio airplay audience due to 233 million impressions and her 13th biggest in on-demand streaming due to 182 million streams. In its fifth week it topped the Radio Songs and Pop Airplay charts. It became Cyrus's first number-one single on Radio Songs and the fourth song to top it in five weeks at most since it became an all-format chart in December 1998. It also became the 13th song in history to top Pop Airplay in five weeks at most. In its sixth week, "Flowers" became Cyrus's first number-one on the Adult Top 40, Adult Pop Airplay and Dance/Mix Show Airplay charts. It spent 18 consecutive weeks atop Radio Songs, tying with the Goo Goo Dolls's "Iris (song), Iris" (1998) as the second longest-running number-one on the chart. On the issue dated April 15, 2023, it became Cyrus's second number-one song on the
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
chart. Also that week, "Flowers" became the seventh song ever to top the Pop Airplay, Adult Pop Airplay, and Adult Contemporary charts concurrently. The single topped the three charts for 10, 17, and 57 weeks, respectively. It became the third song ever to top all three charts simultaneously for at least four weeks, after Adele's "Hello (Adele song), Hello" (2015) and Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me" (1996). The song became the longest-running chart-topper in the over 60-year history of Adult Contemporary; it broke the record previously held by Maroon 5 "Girls Like You", which spent 36 weeks at number one. It eventually became the first song to top the Adult Contemporary chart for a full year. In July 2024, due to charting 56 weeks atop Adult Contemporary, "Flowers" earned the most weeks at the summit of a ''Billboard'' airplay chart. With 17 weeks atop the Adult Pop Airplay chart, it tied with "Iris (song), Iris" (1998) by Goo Goo Dolls as the sixth longest-running leader, and became the longest-running among women, at the time, in the chart's history. In January 2024, "Flowers" became the song with the most cumulative weeks atop the three charts (64 by then). In 2024, "Flowers" achieved the most cumulative weeks at number one on all ''Billboard'' airplay charts (106), surpassing The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights (87); and became the first song to spend 100 cumulative weeks at the top spot across said charts. "Flowers" became the 21st song in chart history to spend at least a full year (52 weeks), cumulatively, on the ''Billboard'' airplay charts. According to Luminate, "Flowers" earned 750.7 million on-demand audio and video streams (including user-generated content streams), 380,000 downloads, and 2.4 billion radio audience impressions in the US until June 29, 2023—making it the most-streamed, most-downloaded, and most-heard song on the radio of the first half of 2023. Ultimately, "Flowers" ended 2023 as the fourth most-streamed, second best-selling digital track, and most-consumed song on the radio in the US (with 634.4 million on-demand audio streams, 428,000 downloads, and 3.9 billion radio audience impressions until December 28, 2023). It ranked second on the 2023 year-end Hot 100 chart, only behind Morgan Wallen "Last Night (Morgan Wallen song), Last Night", and topped the year-end Radio Songs and Adult Pop Airplay charts. It was the third most-streamed song in the United States on Spotify in 2023. "Flowers" was the most-heard song across iHeartRadio's stations in the US in 2023, with over 1.4 billion audience impressions. Following Cyrus's performance of "Flowers" at the
66th Annual Grammy Awards The 66th Annual Grammy Awards honored the best recordings, compositions, and artists from October 1, 2022, to September 15, 2023, as chosen by the members of The Recording Academy, on February 4, 2024. In its 21st year at the Crypto.com Arena ...
, the song surged 22 spots from number 32 to number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, re-entering the top-ten of the chart and spending its 29th week in the region, on the issue dated February 17, 2024—over a year after its release. The following week, it slipped to number 17, and marked 52 weeks of charting on the Hot 100, becoming Cyrus's first song to chart for a year in the US. On the issue dated March 30, 2024, "Flowers" departed the Hot 100, due to the chart's recurrent rule. With 55 weeks, it became Cyrus's longest-charting song in the US. It topped the 2024 year-end Adult Contemporary chart. On March 27, 2025, the single was certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA. In Canada, "Flowers" spent its debut fifteen weeks atop the Canadian Hot 100. It tied Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk" (featuring
Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, R ...
) (2014) as the fourth longest-running number-one in Canada; and became Cyrus's second number-one single after "Wrecking Ball" in 2013. It also became her first number-one on Billboard charts#Canadian charts, All-format Airplay and Billboard charts#Canadian charts, Hot AC Airplay charts, and her second on Billboard charts#Canadian charts, Digital Song Sales, Billboard charts#Canadian charts, CHR/Top 40 Airplay and Billboard charts#Canadian charts, AC Airplay charts. It topped the 2023 year-end Canadian Hot 100 chart. It was the second most-streamed song in Canada on Spotify in 2023. On April 23, 2024, the song was certified List of music recording certifications, Diamond by Music Canada for shipment of 800 thousand units.


International

In the United Kingdom "Flowers" debuted atop the UK Singles Chart with 92,000 chart units, partially due to 9.9 million streams, which was the biggest first week overall since Harry Styles's "
As It Was "As It Was" is a song by English singer-songwriter Harry Styles, released through Erskine and Columbia on 1 April 2022 as the lead single from his third studio album, '' Harry's House'' (2022). The song was written by Styles alongside his pro ...
" in April 2022. The song topped the chart for ten consecutive weeks, becoming Cyrus's third number-one song in Britain after "We Can't Stop" and "
Wrecking Ball A wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball, usually hung from a Crane (machine), crane, that is used for Demolition, demolishing large buildings. It was most commonly in use during the 1940s and 1950s. Several wrecking companies claim to have inve ...
" (both from 2013) and her first to remain at the top for longer than one week. It became the third song of the 2020s after Styles's "As It Was" and Ed Sheeran, Ed Sheeran's "Bad Habits (Ed Sheeran song), Bad Habits" to top it for at least ten weeks. On March 15, 2024, the song was certified triple List of music recording certifications, Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for shipment of 1.8 million units. By the end of 2023, the song amassed 198 million streams, 91,000 downloads, and 1.7 million track-equivalent units in the United Kingdom; making it the most-streamed and most-downloaded song of the year. "Flowers" topped the UK year-end singles chart. It was the most-streamed song in the UK in 2023, with 198 million streams earned that year. The most-streamed song on Apple Music and Deezer and second most-streamed on Spotify in the UK in 2023, were among its feats. In Germany, "Flowers" debuted at number two on the GfK Entertainment charts, Offizielle Deutschen Singles Charts and climbed to the top position in the second week, becoming Cyrus's first chart-topper in the country. It ranked second at the 2023 year-end German chart, first among the foreign acts. Also in France "Flowers" debuted at number two on the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique, Top Singles chart and climbed to the top position in the second week, becoming Cyrus's first chart-topper in the country. It was the most-streamed song in France in 2023. Outside Europe, "Flowers" topped the charts in Australia, Ecuador, Israel, New Zealand, Paraguay, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, and Vietnam, as well as the overall MENA streaming chart and the overall Commonwealth of Independent States airplay chart. In Australia, it amassed over 5 million streams in its first week, breaking the first-week record in the country's history. The song spent its first twelve weeks atop the ARIA Charts, ARIA Singles Chart, making it Cyrus's first chart-topper in Australia and the eleventh song in history to top the chart for at least twelve weeks. It topped the Australia year-end singles chart. In 2024, the song was certified 10× Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for selling 700,000 equivalent units.


Music video

The January 12, 2023, release of "Flowers" was accompanied by its
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
on Cyrus's Vevo channel via YouTube. It was directed by
Jacob Bixenman Jacob Taylor Bixenman (born May 27, 1994) is an American model, photographer and director. He was born in Orange County, California. Career Bixenman entered a VMan modelling competition and was signed by Ford Models, who handles Naomi Campbel ...
, with cinematography by Marcell Rév. The video reached one billion views in March 2025. The video's opening uses panorama-view footage of Los Angeles above the downtown skyline. Cyrus enters by strutting across a bridge in Elysian Park. When she arrives at her house, she strips into her bra and underwear as she walks past the sprinklers, goes swimming in her swimming pool, and does different outdoor exercises. Then Cyrus takes a shower and changes into a black outfit as she walks through her house and dances. By nightfall, she dances in her backyard and then dances on her roof as a helicopter flies above. ''Vogue'' classified Cyrus dressed in vintage gold lamé gown from the Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves Saint Laurent Autumn/Winter 1991–92 collection, accessorized with square Saint Laurent sunglasses, noting that "somewhere in the metaphorical vintage hall of fame, a second-life savant is affixing a plaque with Miley Cyrus's name to the wall". ''Hello! (magazine), Hello!'' reported that her black underwear has generated trending online searches for "black lingerie sets", with search numbers increasing 413% following the release of the "Flowers" music video on January 13, 2023.


Performances and usage


Live performances

Cyrus performed "Flowers" in the documentary concert special '' Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions)'', which was released on Disney+ on March 10, 2023. On November 21, 2023, she performed it live for the first time—over 10 months after the song's release—during a private event at the Chateau Marmont hotel in Los Angeles. The performance was uploaded to her YouTube channel later that month. The first televised performance of "Flowers" took place at the
66th Annual Grammy Awards The 66th Annual Grammy Awards honored the best recordings, compositions, and artists from October 1, 2022, to September 15, 2023, as chosen by the members of The Recording Academy, on February 4, 2024. In its 21st year at the Crypto.com Arena ...
on February 4, 2024, over a year after its release. Cyrus again performed the song in a private concert at the Chateau Marmont; it was filmed and featured in the premiere episode of the fifth season of Netflix's ''
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman ''My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman'' (commonly referred to as ''My Next Guest'') is an American television talk show hosted by David Letterman that premiered on January 12, 2018, on Netflix. The series consists of intervie ...
'', released in June 2024—which she was the subject of. In July, she performed a "slowed-down" version at the same venue for the Gucci Summer Celebration party, which she hosted.


Usage in media

* "Flowers" was used as the soundtrack to the commercial for Gorgeous Orchid, a fragrance from the Gucci Flora line, starring Cyrus. * The song was used in the 2025 DreamWorks Animation film, ''Dog Man (film), Dog Man'' during the scene in the morning after Dog Man is taken off the Petey case, playing on the radio. Dog Man eats breakfast alongside this piece of music, and seeing as "Flowers" is a song about being comfortable being alone, it is just as apt as the previous piece.


Impact

In regard to the massive radio success and longevity "Flowers" experienced, Jon Zellner, iHeartMedia president, programming operations/digital music, told ''Billboard'' that "it is one of those songs that has stood the test of time at multiple formats". He described the track as "a mass-appeal song with a very strong hook and sounds like a song you already knew the first time you heard it". Zellner further stated that it was "among songs that will be part of radio station libraries and streaming playlists for many years and likely played by classic hits stations 20 years from now.


Lawsuit

Cyrus is being sued over allegations that she and the co-writers of "Flowers" copied portions of
Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, R ...
' "
When I Was Your Man "When I Was Your Man" is a song by American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars from his second studio album, ''Unorthodox Jukebox'' (2012). Atlantic Records released the song as the third promotional single and as the second official single, take ...
" (2012). The lawsuit was filed on September 16, 2024, in Los Angeles federal court by the company Tempo Music Investments, which claimed that "Flowers" includes unauthorized "exploitation" of the song. Co-writers Gregory Hein and Michael Pollack are also named, and Sony Music Publishing, Apple Inc., Apple, Target Corporation, Target, Walmart, and other companies are accused for distributing the song. Mars, however, is not named as a plaintiff; Tempo Music claims it owns a portion of "When I Was Your Man" purchased from co-writer Philip Lawrence (songwriter), Philip Lawrence. On November 20, 2024, Cyrus' attorneys filled for dismissal of the lawsuit. They opined that "plaintiff brings this copyright infringement action alone – without any of that musical composition’s co-authors or other owners. Without the consent of the other owners, a grant of rights from just one co-owner does not confer standing".


Cover versions

* In January 2023, Irish rock band Inhaler (band), Inhaler covered the song as part of their Live Lounge, BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge session. * In February 2023, the song was covered by American pop punk band Bowling for Soup and released as a single. * In June 2023, English rock band Nothing but Thieves performed an indie rock rendition of the song on ''Like a Version''. * In March 2023, the song was covered by Yuqi of K-pop group (G)I-DLE, (G)I-DLE and released on YouTube on March 14, 2023. * In December 2023, Norwegian musician Sondre Lerche released a holiday cover of "Flowers". * In June 2024, American singer-songwriter Kelly Clarkson The Kelly Clarkson Show season 5#ep865, covered the song for the "Kellyoke" segment of her daytime talk show ''The Kelly Clarkson Show''. * In July 2024, American comedy artist "Weird Al" Yankovic covered the song for his polka medley "List of "Weird Al" Yankovic polka medleys#"Polkamania!", Polkamania!". * In April 2025, French violinist Esther Abrami covered the song on violin for her album ''Women''.


Accolades


Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal (service), Tidal, ''Pitchfork'' and the liner notes of ''
Endless Summer Vacation ''Endless Summer Vacation'' is the eighth studio album by American singer and songwriter Miley Cyrus. It was released on March 10, 2023, via Columbia Records. It is her first new body of work since leaving RCA Records after her seventh studio ...
''.


Recording

* Written at
Sunset Sound Recorders Sunset Sound Recorders is a recording studio in Hollywood, California, United States, located at 6650 Sunset Boulevard. Background The Sunset Sound Recorders complex was created by Walt Disney's Director of Recording, Tutti Camarata, from a co ...
* Recorded at Ridgemont High, Los Angeles * Mixed at Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin * Mastered at Sterling Sound, Edgewater, New Jersey


Personnel

*
Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...
– vocals, songwriting, executive production, vocal percussion *
Kid Harpoon Thomas Edward Percy Hull (born 20 April 1982), known professionally as Kid Harpoon, is a British songwriter, record producer, and musician. In 2023, he won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and the Brit Award for Songwriter of the Year for ...
– production, bass guitar, drums, percussion, guitar, synthesizer * Gregory "Aldae" Hein – songwriting * Tyler Johnson – production, guitar, Wurlitzer keyboards, synthesizer * Joe LaPorta – mastering engineering * Rob Moose – string arrangement, violin, viola * Michael Pollack – songwriting,
Rhodes piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...
* Brian Rajaratnam – engineering * Doug Showalter – keyboards * Spike Stent, Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing engineering * Matt Wolach – assistant engineering


Charts


Weekly charts


Monthly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


See also

*List of Billboard Adult Contemporary number ones of 2023, List of ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary number ones of 2023 *List of Billboard Adult Contemporary number ones of 2024, List of ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary number ones of 2024 *List of Billboard Global 200 number ones of 2023, List of ''Billboard'' Global 200 number ones of 2023 *List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 2023, List of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number ones of 2023 *List of Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles in 2023, List of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top-ten singles in 2023 *List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of the 2020s, List of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one singles of the 2020s *List of Billboard Streaming Songs number ones of 2023, List of ''Billboard'' Streaming Songs number ones of 2023 *List of Billboard Digital Song Sales number ones of 2023, List of ''Billboard'' Digital Song Sales number ones of 2023 *List of Billboard number-one dance songs of 2023, List of ''Billboard'' number-one dance songs of 2023 *List of Radio Songs number ones of the 2020s *List of highest-certified singles in Australia *List of number-one singles of 2023 (Australia) *List of number-one hits of 2023 (Austria) *List of Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles of 2023 *List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 2023 *List of number-one singles of 2023 (Croatia) *List of number-one songs of the 2020s (Czech Republic) *List of number-one hits of 2023 (Denmark) *List of number-one hits of 2023 (France) *List of top 10 singles in 2023 (France) *List of number-one hits of 2023 (Germany) *List of number-one singles of the 2020s (Hungary) *List of number-one singles of 2023 (Finland) *List of number-one singles of 2023 (Ireland) *List of number-one singles from the 2020s (New Zealand) *List of number-one songs in Norway *List of number-one singles of 2023 (Poland) *List of number-one songs of the 2020s (Slovakia) *List of number-one singles of the 2020s (Sweden) *List of number-one hits of 2023 (Switzerland) *List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 2020s#2023, List of UK Singles Chart number ones of 2023 *List of UK top-ten singles in 2023 *List of Ultratop 50 number-one singles of 2023 *List of Billboard Hot 100 chart achievements and milestones, List of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart achievements and milestones *List of Australian chart achievements and milestones *UK Singles Chart records and statistics *List of best-selling singles by year in the United Kingdom *List of Spotify streaming records


Notes


References


External links

* * * * * * * * * {{UK best-selling singles (by year) 2010–2029 2023 singles 2022 songs Miley Cyrus songs American disco songs American funk songs Billboard Global 200 number-one singles Billboard Global Excl. U.S. number-one singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Columbia Records singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Greece Number-one singles in Iceland Number-one singles in Israel Number-one singles in Latvia Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in the Philippines Number-one singles in Poland Number-one singles in Portugal Number-one singles in Romania Number-one singles in Russia Number-one singles in Singapore Number-one singles in Sweden Number-one singles in Switzerland Number-one singles in Turkey SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Kid Harpoon Song recordings produced by Tyler Johnson (musician) Torch songs Songs written by Aldae Songs written by Michael Pollack (musician) Songs written by Miley Cyrus UK singles chart number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles Grammy Award for Record of the Year Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance Breakup songs Answer songs Songs about flowers Songs involved in plagiarism controversies