It's the number one single on the ARIA charts in Australia.
It's in the top spot on the Billboard 100.
And it broke a Spotify record, becoming the most-streamed song in a single week on the platform, a record previously held by Adele's Easy on Me.
Flowers by Miley Cyrus is the singer's first number one single on the ARIA charts. Her previous best, Wrecking Ball, reached number two in 2013.
The song has captured the imagination of fans around the world and, said Campaign Edge's creative director Dee Madigan, it was an example of marketing genius.
Madigan said the song must be about Cyrus's ex-husband, superstar Australian actor Liam Hemsworth.
"Look, it has to be," Madigan said.
"Because the lyrics are 'Built a home and watched it burn', and their house did burn down.
"And she released the song on his birthday. Those things aren't coincidental. And I think that's what's changed in marketing in the past 20 years."
Madigan said that, two decades ago, an artist would release a song to journalists, reviewers and then radio stations and try to get fans interested that way, which was a top-down approach.
"Now, it's a bottom-up approach, where they actually try to get the fans excited about it first because, in a way, they start to do their marketing for you," she explained.
"They start to talk about it on social media.
"Her marketing manager is an ex super fan of hers.
"So, they'll release a few little Easter eggs.
"They let rumours go. I don't know whether the rumours are coming from them or not, but I suspect some of them are.
"And that's a really clever way to create a real buzz."
Madigan said Taylor Swift was the master of these social media Easter eggs, which she described as a clue that the artist puts into a song or film clip that only their hardcore fans pick up on, making them feel like they're part of something and like they're in the inner circle.
"So, for example, in [Taylor Swift's] Would've Could've Should've song, which is about John Mayer, supposedly, who she dated when she was 19, she put it in as the 19th track," Madigan said.
"Lana Del Rey did it completely differently with her break-up anthem, where the only promotion of it was one billboard in the town of her ex.
"That's some serious shade. I mean, that's a level of pettiness I aspire to."
Refusing to deny rumours works in her favour
Before Flowers was even released, Madigan noted, videos had begun appearing on the social media platform TikTok — little teasers — that put fans into a spin, with everything from the house she filmed in to the dress she wore generating rumours.
Madigan said not addressing the rumours was an example of marketing genius.
"It's smart, it's smart," she said. "It keeps the intrigue up. It keeps them talking. Is it true? Is it not true? It's like way back [with] You're So Vain. Carly Simon never actually said whether it was Warren Beatty, or who it was.
"So, in a way, the speculation keeps the song current, it keeps people interested in it."
Madigan said one of the more credible theories was that Cyrus flipped the Bruno Mars song When I Was Your Man, which Hemsworth is rumoured to have dedicated to Cyrus at their wedding.
In the song, Bruno Mars sings:
I should've bought you flowers / And held your hand / Should've gave you all my hours / When I had the chance / Take you to every party / 'Cause all you wanted to do was dance / Now my baby's dancing / But she's dancing with another man
The lyrics to Cyrus's song are:
I can buy myself flowers / Write my name in the sand / Talk to myself for hours / Say things you don't understand / I can take myself dancing / And I can hold my own hand / Yeah, I can love me better than you can
Madigan said all of the speculation adds to the entertainment beyond listening to the song, but the song itself is terrific.
"It's such a great song. I love it. It's so empowering."
Cyrus is 'underrated'
There's a lot of talk these days about "nepo babies", the children of celebrities who go on to score huge creative breaks.
Cyrus is the daughter of country music star Billy Ray Cyrus, who achieved a number one single back in 1992 with the cult classic Achy Breaky Heart.
"I think she's underrated because of that though," Madigan said.
"She actually has an amazing, amazing voice.
"But there's no doubt her family connections helped as well.
"Both things can be true. Talent, as we know, is never enough on its own. Sometimes a little bit of serendipity or nepotism comes into play as well."
