Bruno Mars: Biography, Songs, Albums, & Facts

Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and dancer. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Mars moved to Los Angeles in 2003 to pursue a musical career. After being dropped by Motown Records, Mars signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 2009.

Born Peter Gene Hernandez on October 8, 1985, in Honolulu, Hawaii, popular singer-songwriter Bruno Mars grew up in a very musical family. His father, Pete, was a Latin percussionist from Brooklyn, and his mother, Bernadette (“Bernie”), was a singer.

Mars received his nickname, “Bruno,” while he was still a baby. “The name Bruno came from baby times,” older sister Jamie explained. “Bruno was always so confident, independent, really strong-willed and kind of a brute—hence the name Bruno—and it kind of just stuck.”

A friend introduced Mars to songwriter Phillip Lawrence, who agreed to help Mars compose material. They presented a song they had written and recorded to a record label, who liked it but wanted one of their own artists to perform it.

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Mars recalled, “We were so broke and struggling, we had to do what we had to do, so we ended up selling the song.” Initially, Mars was disappointed, but it proved to be an awakening experience. “The light bulb went off,” he explained. “I decided to push the artist thing aside and get into the business this way. We can write songs and produce songs, so we just really focused our energy into writing for other artists.

That’s how it all began.”

Mars’ time spent impersonating Elvis Presley as a child had a major impact on his musical evolution; he later reflected: “I watch the best. I’m a big fan of Elvis. I’m a big fan of 1950s Elvis when he would go on stage and scare people because he was a force and girls would go nuts! You can say the same thing for Prince or The Police. It’s just guys who know that people are here to see a show, so I watch those guys and I love studying them because I’m a fan.” He also impersonated Michael Jackson and Little Richard who played a lead role as his influences. Mars was initially influenced by R&B artists such as Keith Sweat, Jodeci and R. Kelly, as well as 1950s rock ‘n’ roll and Motown. In high school, he began listening to classic rock groups such as The Police, Led Zeppelin, and the Beatles. All of these genres of music have influenced Mars’ musical style; he observed that “It’s not easy to [create] songs with that mixture of rock and soul and hip-hop, and there’s only a handful of them.” The local bands are heavily influenced by Bob Marley. Mars also stated that he is a fan of Alicia Keys, Jessie J, Jack White, Kanye West, The Saturdays and Kings of Leon.

I am someone who enjoys Bruno Mars. I’ve never paid for a Bruno Mars album, but I have listened to “24k Magic” on loop for nearly 45 minutes more than once. I’ve never shelled out money to see Bruno Mars live, but I have spent the better part of a day trying to learn the choreography to “Uptown Funk.” And I can’t say I’m very familiar with his pre-2014 discography, but if Mars were running for Senate I wouldn’t immediately rule him out for my vote — the new standard of public trust in celebrities.

After being dropped by Motown Records, Mars signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 2009. In the same year, he co-founded the production team The Smeezingtons, responsible for various successful singles for Mars himself and other artists.

For people who still believe in the relevance of the Grammys, Mars’s six wins this 2018 solidified his status as a pop music institution. Whereas he could have easily gone the way of pop music flame out — which is what happened with late aught mainstream breakout acts like B.o.B. and Flobots — Mars has built up critical and commercial success, as he has demonstrated his longevity.

“That’s What I Like” won the Song of the Year, the Best R&B Song, and Best R&B Performance at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. The song was the 4th best-selling single of 2017.

It is a song by American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars from his third studio album 24K Magic (2016). The song was released as the album’s second single on January 30, 2017.It is the highest charting single in the United States from Mars’ studio album 24K Magic, surpassing the single of the same name by reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The songs also received remixes, featuring artists including Gucci Mane, PartyNextDoor and Alan Walker.

In 2014, the main water source for the city of Flint in Michigan was shifted from Lake Huron to the Flint River. A year on, locals raised alarms about lead poisoning, but as lead testing for children is not mandatory in Michigan, the dangerous levels weren’t picked up until scientists broke ranks and published their findings. Barack Obama declared a crisis in Flint in January 2016. Such disasters, sadly, are soon succeeded by others in the public mind, but not in the mind of Bruno Mars, who donated $1m of his profits from an Auburn Hills, Michigan show on his 24K Magic World Tour to the cause. “Ongoing challenges remain years later for Flint residents, and it’s important that we don’t forget our brothers and sisters affected by this disaster,” he said in a statement. “As people, especially as Americans, we need to stand together to make sure something like this never happens in any community ever again.” What a guy.