Flowers (Miley Cyrus song)

"Flowers" is a song by American singer Miley Cyrus. It was released on January 12, 2023, through Columbia Records as the lead single from Cyrus's eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation (2023). The song was a commercial success, garnering a record-breaking 101+ million streams on Spotify within the first week of release and topping multiple charts worldwide, including the US Billboard Hot 100.

Release

On December 31, 2022, while hosting her NBC live special Miley's New Year's Eve Party alongside Dolly Parton, Cyrus announced the release date for "Flowers" for January 13, 2023; however, the song was released on January 13 at midnight UTC+00:00, which was still January 12 in some parts of the world, including the United States.

Composition

"Flowers" is a pop song with disco and funk influences. Anna Gaca of Pitchfork described it as a "twangy" disco funk song with a string section reminiscent of flamenco. Gabrielle Sanchez of Yahoo! felt that "a funky bassline guides the song, paired with a swooning string line and fizzy cymbals". Mary Siroky of Consequence thought that Cyrus' "raspy vocals offer an edge to the disco-toned anthem" and that the song interpolates Gloria Gaynor's 1978 song "I Will Survive" and Bruno Mars's "When I Was Your Man" (2012). She noted that "Flowers" sound like "if the hazy, peaceful California tone of 'Malibu' were to be applied to a dance pop track".

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 felt that "the theme of the song is self-love and acceptance". Jason Lipshutz of Billboard compared the song to Cyrus' 2019 single "Slide Away", adding that "Flowers" "focuses far more on self-sustainability than revenge, trading the melancholy of a song like 2019’s 'Slide Away' for a more assertive outlook". The song's chorus is a paraphrase of Bruno Mars' 2013 single "When I Was Your Man". Following its release, several publications suggested that "Flowers" was supposed to be a response song directed at Cyrus' ex-husband Liam Hemsworth. It was released on Hemsworth's birthday and the lyrics reference their home in Malibu which burnt down in November 2018 during the Woolsey Fire. Hemsworth had allegedly dedicated "When I Was Your Man" to Cyrus in the past.

Critical reception

"Flowers" received mixed-to-positive reviews from music critics. 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 Cyrus's comeback single 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 appreciated the song and Cyrus saying that she "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 continues to add to the critical acclaim saying "once the chorus [in '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.

Dale Maplethorpe of Gigwise felt that Cyrus' "incredibly recognisable 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' 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 is ready to call you a Twingo: What we're really dealing with here is self-help" implying that the latter addressed the revenge topic in a better way.

Commercial performance

On January 20, 2023, which was its seventh full day of release, "Flowers" became the fastest song to cross 100 million plays on Spotify globally, breaking the record previously held by BTS' "Butter" (which took eight days). Between January 13–20, 2023, which were its first full seven days, "Flowers" earned 96,032,624 plays in Spotify, becoming the biggest week for a song in the platform's history (previously the record was held by Adele's "Easy on Me" with over 85 million streams). Jana Coffey, Spotify's artist and label partnerships leader, noted that "Flowers"' popularity has 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.

"Flowers" debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 with 52.6 million streams, 33.5 million radio airplay audience impressions and 70,000 units sold in its first full tracking week, January 13–19, according to Luminate, scoring her second number-one single in the US after "Wrecking Ball" peaked atop the chart and reigned for three weeks in 2013. The single also launched atop the Billboard Global 200 chart, Streaming Songs chart, surged 21-1 on Digital Song Sales chart and debuted at No. 18 on Radio Songs chart.

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' "As It Was" in April 2022. It became Cyrus' third UK number one after "We Can't Stop" and "Wrecking Ball", both from 2013. In Australia "Flowers" debuted atop the ARIA Singles Chart, becoming Cyrus's first number-one single.

Music video

Synopsis

The release of the single was accompanied with a music video, directed by Jacob Bixenman. The video begins with a wide shot of Cyrus walking over a bridge in Elysian Park, Los Angeles while wearing a golden vintage Yves Saint Laurent dress with a hood and sunglasses, then the clip shifts to her strutting around, swimming, working out, and dancing – all by herself.

Fashion

Reflecting its lyrical motifs of self-love and empowerment, "Flowers" music video sees Cyrus embracing a vintage, seductive and androgynous aesthetic. American fashion magazine Vogue classified Cyrus wearing the golden vintage Yves Saint Laurent piece as a "mic drop moment" stating 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". CR Fashion Book said that Cyrus "delivered some serious fashion moments" on the video inciting a new era of fashion for the singer, "one that is reflective of Cyrus’ spirit as a performer, but also as a fashion icon for the current generation".

In the music video, Cyrus is also seen sporting a black La Perla Brigitta lingerie set. Natalie Salmon from Hello Magazine wrote an article reporting that online searches for ‘black lingerie sets’ increased 413% following the launch of "Flowers".

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

• Miley Cyrus – vocals, songwriting, executive production, percussion
• Kid Harpoon – production, bass guitar, drums, guitar, synthesizer
• Gregory Aldae Hein – songwriting
• Tyler Johnson – production, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer
• Randy Merrill – mastering engineering
• Rob Moose – strings
• Michael Pollack – songwriting, keyboards
• Brian Rajaratnam – engineering
• Doug Showalter – keyboards
• Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing engineering
• Matt Wolach – assistant engineering

Charts

Chart performance for "Flowers"

Chart (2023)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)	1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)	1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)	1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)	3
Bolivia (Billboard)	2
Brazil (Billboard)	5
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)	1
Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)	13
Canada Hot AC (Billboard)	23
Chile (Billboard)	8
Colombia (Billboard)	5
Costa Rica (Monitor Latino)	11
Croatia (Billboard)	1
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)	1
Denmark (Tracklisten)	1
Ecuador (Billboard)	4
El Salvador (Monitor Latino)	6
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)	2
France (SNEP)	2
Germany (Official German Charts)	2
Greece (Billboard)	1
1
Guatemala Airplay (Monitor Latino)	9
Iceland (Billboard)	1
1
Italy (FIMI)	5
Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard Japan)	1
Latvia (EHR)	16
Lithuania (AGATA)	1
Luxembourg (Billboard)	1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)	4
Netherlands (Single Top 100)	2
Malaysia (Billboard)	6
Mexico (Billboard)	3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)	1
Norway (VG-lista)	2
Panama (Monitor Latino)	4
Paraguay (Monitor Latino)	5
Peru (Billboard)	2
Philippines (Billboard)	4
Poland (Billboard)	1
Romania (Billboard)	1
Singapore (Billboard)	4
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)	1
South Africa (Billboard)	1
South Korea BGM (Circle)	61
South Korea Download (Circle)	155
Spain (PROMUSICAE)	2
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	1
Uruguay (Monitor Latino)	12
US Billboard Hot 100	1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)	15
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)	14
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)	16

Release history

"Flowers" release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label	Ref.
Various	January 12, 2023	Digital download streaming	Columbia
United States	January 16, 2023	Adult contemporary radio hot adult contemporary radio modern adult contemporary music
	January 17, 2023	Contemporary hit radio
Italy	January 19, 2023	Radio airplay	Sony