Music

Miley Cyrus addresses speculation that 'Flowers' is about ex-husband Liam Hemsworth

The pop survivor reflected on her biggest hit to date and all the speculation about whether or not it's about her ex.

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Published on May 18, 2023 08:02PM EDT

Miley Cyrus may have dropped a song about getting over an ex on the birthday of her ex, but hey — that's on you for drawing those parallels.

At least that's Miley's attitude about the whole thing. In her British Vogue cover story, Cyrus shrugs off the Liam Hemsworth "Flowers" connection, instead focusing on the message of the song.

2018 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones - Arrivals — Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth. John Shearer/Getty Images

"I never need to be a master at the craft of tricking an audience," Cyrus told British Vogue, literally shrugging. "It will set itself on fire all by itself."

And a fire it did set.

When "Flowers" came out in January, the internet put on its Sherlock Holmes hat, whipped out the good conspiracy string, and got. To. Work.

First, there was the fact that the song was released on Hemsworth's 33rd birthday — a move that belongs in the Petty Hall of Fame. Allegedly. Then there's an apparent reference to the 2018 wildfire that destroyed her house in the lyric: "Built a home and watched it burn."

Fans even rolled that beautiful bean footage of a dance Cyrus does in the "Flowers" video compared to a similar dance she did on a horrified Hemsworth in an old red carpet interview.

The FBI has nothing on an obsessive Twitter chain. Some even speculated that the tux Cyrus wears in the video belonged to Hemsworth.

Honestly, that's a lot of stunts to pull in a 3 minute, 21 second song. But it is a really good song.

"Flowers" broke several streaming records and in 112 days became the fastest song in Spotify history to surpass one billion streams. It debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her second No. 1 single after "Wrecking Ball," and held the spot for eight non-consecutive weeks. It also went to No. 1 in 40 countries.

"I wrote it in a really different way," Cyrus said of the certified banger. "The chorus was originally: 'I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand, but I can't love me better than you can.' It used to be more, like, 1950s. The saddest song. Like: 'Sure, I can be my own lover, but you're so much better.'"

But she chose to look on the brighter side, adding, "The song is a little fake it till you make it. Which I'm a big fan of."

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