Bruno Mars has sold over 130 million albums worldwide; this makes him one of the most popular music acts in the world today. His music is a blend of pop, r&b, funk, soul, reggae, disco, and rock. You may have heard some of his hits such as “Grenade” and “When I Was Your Man.” Besides being a singer he can also play the keyboard, guitar, and some percussion instruments. Mars is also a music producer.
Bruno Mars was born on October 8, 1985 in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father played percussion and his mother was a hula dancer. His parents met while performing together in the same show. Mars spent much of his childhood and youth performing on stage with family. As a child he would often perform songs by Elvis Presley, and Michael Jackson. Mars performed in the 1990 Aloha Bowl halftime show, and also appeared in the 1992 movie Honeymoon In Vegas where he performed an impersonation of Elvis Presley. He learned to play guitar because he was inspired by rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix. When he was a student at Roosevelt High School in Honolulu he was a singer in a band called the School Boys. In 2003 he graduated high school and soon after that he moved to Hollywood to further pursue a career in music. He supported himself by working in music production for several years, he also wrote songs during this time.
Mars has written lyrics for such artists as Adam Levine, Sean Kingston, and Flo Rida. “Just The Way You Are” which was Mars’s first single was released on July 20, 2010, this song was one track from his debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans. Other hits that were recorded on that album include; “Talking To The Moon”, “Marry You”, and “Count On Me.” in 2011 he released the single “It Will Rain” for the The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 soundtrack.
On December 7, 2012 Mars released his second album Unorthodox Jukebox which included singles such as; “Locked Out of Heaven”, “Money Make Her Smile”, and “Moonshine.” Unorthodox Jukebox won Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2014 Grammy Awards and also won International Album Of The Year at the 2014 Juno Awards. On February 7, 2016, British band Coldplay headlined the Super Bowl 50 halftime show with Mars and Beyoncé as guest acts; this halftime show was one of most watched in Super Bowl history.
Mars released his third album 24K Magic on November 18, 2016; this album went on to sell over 5 million copies worldwide. On November 29, 2017, CBS aired Mars’s first TV concert special, Bruno Mars: 24K Magic Live at the Apollo. He won Artist Of The Year at the 2017 American Music Awards. At the 2018 Grammy Awards, he won in the six categories for which he was nominated.
In February 2020, a partnership between Mars and Disney was announced for a “music-themed theatrical narrative”, in which Mars will both star and produce the movie. On February 26, 2021, Mars and rapper Anderson .Paak announced that they have recorded an album together under the band name Silk Sonic. Their debut album, An Evening with Silk Sonic, was released on November 12, 2021. He is currently working on his fourth solo studio album, but a release date has yet to be confirmed. Mars has also done some voice acting; he performed the voice of Roberto in In Rio 2. His song “Welcome Back” was on the soundtrack for the movie as well.
Mars has donated to several charities such as; Candie’s Foundation, DoSomething.org, Global Poverty Project, MusiCares, Save the Children, and The Rainforest Foundation.
On February 12, 2024 Mars opened his own club called the Pinky Ring. this establishment is located in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Bruno Mars has had quite a successful career thus far and he no doubt has a very bright future ahead of him.
