1. Bruno Mars established his name in the music industry as a songwriter and co-founder of the production team the Smeezingtons.
104 Facts About Bruno Mars
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Bruno Mars featured on Mark Ronson's 2014 single "Uptown Funk", which became Billboard's best-performing song of the 2010s.
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Bruno Mars' accolades include 16 Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, eleven American Music Awards, 13 Soul Train Awards and three Guinness World Records.
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Bruno Mars has been featured on Music Weeks best-songwriters and Billboards Greatest of All Time Artists lists, as well as the Time 100 and Forbes Celebrity 100 lists.
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Bruno Mars was the first artist with six RIAA diamond-certified songs and the first artist to surpass 150 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
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Bruno Mars grew up in the Waikiki neighborhood of Honolulu.
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Bruno Mars's father has Puerto Rican and Jewish heritage and is from Brooklyn, New York.
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Bruno Mars has said that his Jewish ancestors were from Hungary and Ukraine.
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Bruno Mars's mother emigrated from the Philippines to Hawaii, and had Filipino and Spanish ancestry.
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Bruno Mars' parents met while performing in a show in which his mother was a hula dancer and his father was a percussionist.
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Bruno Mars is one of six children and came from a musical family who exposed him to a diverse mix of musical genres, including rock and roll, reggae, hip hop, and rhythm and blues.
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Bruno Mars's mother was a singer and a dancer and his father performed Little Richard's music, which inspired him as a young child.
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Bruno Mars began performing five days a week with his family's band at age four, and became known in Hawaii for his onstage impersonation of Elvis Presley.
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Bruno Mars urinated on himself during a performance of Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" when he was five; his parents thought they might be making a mistake, but he never wavered.
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Bruno Mars appeared in the Hawaiian tabloid shopper MidWeek as "Little Elvis" in 1990, and performed in the halftime show of the 1990 Aloha Bowl.
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Bruno Mars had a cameo role in the 1992 film Honeymoon in Vegas, and was interviewed by Pauly Shore on MTV.
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When Bruno Mars was six years old, he appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show.
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Bruno Mars performed two shows a night throughout grade school with his family's band, covering Frankie Lymon and Little Anthony songs.
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The young Bruno Mars had a small drum set, guitar, piano and percussion instruments, and learned to play them.
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Bruno Mars's parents divorced when he was 12, and his father's varied businesses failed.
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Bruno Mars changed schools and was bullied, but later became popular.
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Bruno Mars began playing guitar, inspired by American rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix.
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Bruno Mars became well-known in Hawaiian entertainment in high school, opening for a large magic show and impersonating Michael Jackson for $75 per performance.
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In 2003, shortly after graduating from high school, Bruno Mars pursued a musical career.
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Bruno Mars lived on Mansfield Avenue, and was surprised by its poverty and squalor.
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Bruno Mars signed a contract with Motown Records in 2004, but the deal "went nowhere" and he had a fruitless conversation with will.
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When Lawrence was told he should meet Bruno Mars, he was reluctant to do so since he did not have money for bus fare.
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Creed liked their song "Lost", which was written for Bruno Mars, and bought it for $20,000.
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Bruno Mars was a music producer before becoming a successful solo artist, writing songs for Alexandra Burke, Adam Levine, Brandy, Sean Kingston, and K'naan.
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Bruno Mars sang on the track "3D" on Far East Movement's second studio album, Animal.
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Bruno Mars appeared on American pastor and hip hop artist Jaeson Ma's debut single, "Love", and American rapper Travie McCoy's "One at a Time" that year.
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Bruno Mars turned down offers to open for arena tours, opting instead to play at smaller venues such as theaters and ballrooms; this was less lucrative, but expanded his fan base.
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In March 2012, Bruno Mars signed a worldwide publishing deal with BMG Chrysalis US.
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Bruno Mars contributed vocals to the EDM trio Major Lazer's "Bubble Butt", released in May 2013.
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Bruno Mars' second headlining concert tour, the Moonshine Jungle Tour, lasted from June 2013 to October 2014.
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Bruno Mars announced his first concert residency, Bruno Mars at the Chelsea, Las Vegas.
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On September 8,2013, Bruno Mars was announced as headline performer at the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show with the Red Hot Chili Peppers as guests.
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At the 2014 Grammy Awards, Bruno Mars received the Best Pop Vocal Album award for Unorthodox Jukebox.
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Bruno Mars was cast as Roberto in the film Rio 2, and contributed to its soundtrack with the song "Welcome Back".
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Bruno Mars began Gorilla Management, operated by Aaron Elharar, in May 2016.
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Bruno Mars received seven 2017 American Music Awards, including Artist of the Year, two for "That's What I Like" and another two for 24K Magic.
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That year, Bruno Mars sold part of his song catalog to Warner Chappell Music and kept a small share; his co-publishing contract with BMG was part of the deal.
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Bruno Mars kept performing shows at his concert residency alongside the world tour.
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In 2023, Bruno Mars was working on his next studio album with Brody Brown, Philip Lawrence and James Fauntleroy.
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In December 2024, Bruno Mars appeared on the covers of Hits and Las Vegas Magazine.
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Ken Miller of Las Vegas Magazine said that Bruno Mars has been working on a new album since early 2023.
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Bruno Mars was raised on his father's 1950s doo-wop collection and on Little Richard, Frankie Lymon, Little Anthony, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
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Bruno Mars impersonated Michael Jackson, and hip-hop songs by The Neptunes and Timbaland which were played on the radio influenced him.
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Bruno Mars noticed Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, New Edition, Bobby Brown, Boyz II Men, Teddy Riley and Babyface as a child, and listened to 1950s rock 'n' roll, doo-wop and Motown.
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Bruno Mars listened to Led Zeppelin and the Beatles in high school, and to singers with high voices such as Stevie Wonder and Freddie Mercury.
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Bruno Mars has said that he is a fan of Alicia Keys, Jessie J, Jack White, the Saturdays, and Kings of Leon.
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On 24K Magic, Consequence of Sounds Karen Gwen said that Bruno Mars showed his "pips" and pushed his vocals to the limit.
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Bruno Mars described his voice as a "clear, unapologetic tenor" and a modern-day "blessing".
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Bruno Mars has described his writing process: "I don't sit down and think, 'I'm going to write a song"; inspiration comes out of the blue in different places.
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Bruno Mars has said that he typically writes songs by playing the guitar or piano.
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Bruno Mars plays drums, guitar, keyboard, bass, piano, ukulele, and congas.
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Bruno Mars usually plays the instrumentation on his albums and the songs he composes for other artists.
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Bruno Mars is known for his retro showmanship, which is acclaimed by tour critics and reviewers.
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Bruno Mars has collaborated with several directors to produce his music videos, and has emerged as a music-video director.
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In 2011, Bruno Mars developed the second concept and treatment for "The Lazy Song" and brought in Duddy to co-direct its music video.
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In 2018, Bruno Mars co-directed the music video for "Finesse" with Florent Dechard.
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In 2024, Bruno Mars co-directed the Don Quijote campaign commercial with Daniel Ramos.
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Bruno Mars, who choreographed the video for "Treasure", received the Best Choreography award at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.
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Bruno Mars wears outfits inspired by previous decades, and matches that aesthetic to his music.
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On Doo-Wops and Hooligans, the singer wore '60s-inspired suits and had faded hair; on 24K Magic, Bruno Mars channeled the 1980s and 1990s in sound and aesthetic.
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Bruno Mars imposed a dress code in the studio during the recording of that album, favoring jewelry and "fine clothes" over sweatpants to create "groovy, smooth and soulful songs".
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Bruno Mars was introduced to the brand by co-founder Seth Gold the following year, and invested an undisclosed amount.
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In 2020, Bruno Mars redesigned the rum's taste, branding and packaging in a 1970s style.
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Bruno Mars released Lacoste x Ricky Regal, a luxury 1970s-inspired sportswear line with Lacoste, on March 5,2021.
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Bruno Mars appeared in an August 2024 commercial for the Japanese discount-store chain Don Quijote.
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Bruno Mars wrote the jingle and shared the commercial on his Instagram.
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In September 2024, Bruno Mars partnered with Stetson to release a new "silhouette inspired by the American heritage brand's early designs".
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In 2014, it was announced that Bruno Mars had partnered with the Hawai'i Community Foundation and the Grammy Foundation to establish a Grammy Camp Scholarship Fund for qualified needs-based applicants from Hawaii.
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Bruno Mars donated $100,000 in 2014 to the orphans of Bantay Bata, who were among the victims of Typhoon Haiyan.
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Bruno Mars participated in the "Somos Una Voz" relief initiative to help survivors of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and Mexico's earthquake.
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Bruno Mars created a protest sign with an Angela Davis quote for the Show Me the Signs auction to help families of black women killed by police.
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In 2024, Bruno Mars performed a charity concert sponsored by Budweiser Brasil at the Tokio Marine Hall in Sao Paulo to help victims of the 2024 Rio Grande do Sul floods.
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In 2021, WBLS said that Bruno Mars "has been a dominant force in popular culture for more than a decade".
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Bruno Mars was named Billboard 2013 Artist of the Year, and was a 2016 NRJ Artist of Honor in recognition of his contribution to music.
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Bruno Mars has received a number of awards and honors, including 16 Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, four Guinness World Record 11 American and 14 Soul Train Music Awards.
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Bruno Mars was on Time magazine's 100 list in 2011 and his former songwriting and record-production team, the Smeezingtons, received several accolades.
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In 2014, Bruno Mars topped Forbes "30 Under 30" list of the brightest young stars in 15 fields in the US At the 2018 Grammys, he was the second recipient of Record and Song of the Year awards with two songs from the same album.
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Bruno Mars was the second three-time Record of the Year recipient at the 2022 Grammys.
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Bruno Mars is the first male artist to place two titles as a lead act in the US top 10 simultaneously.
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Bruno Mars has nine number-one singles in the US In 2018, he matched Beyonce and Mariah Carey as the only artists with three top-five singles in the US from their first three studio albums.
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Bruno Mars was the first solo male artist with eleven number-ones in the US Mainstream Top 40 chart.
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In 2019, Bruno Mars was one of the few artists spending at least 241 weeks in the US Billboard Hot 100 top 10.
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Bruno Mars spent 39 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100.
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Bruno Mars had his eleventh number-one on the Digital Song Sales chart, its ninth-best total.
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Bruno Mars is the only artist to spend 25 weeks at number one on the Global 200.
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Bruno Mars was the fastest-selling artist for his five 2022 shows in Japan, selling about 210,000 tickets.
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Bruno Mars sold 101,000 tickets for two concerts in Seoul the following year, the largest audience of Hyundai Card's Super Concert.
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In 2024, Bruno Mars was the first artist since Michael Jackson to sell out seven shows at the 55,000-capacity Tokyo Dome.
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Bruno Mars played 14 concerts in Brazil that year, breaking RBD's 2006 13-show record for an international artist.
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Bruno Mars was the second artist "to replace himself at number one and take the top two spots" at the same time on the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excluding United States, and had the biggest debut by a male artist on the Global 200.
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On May 31,2013, Bruno Mars was returning to Los Angeles from overseas when he learned at the airport that his mother was gravely ill; he immediately got on a plane to Hawaii.
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Bruno Mars's mother died at Queens Medical Center in Honolulu the following day at age 55 from complications of a brain aneurysm.
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In 2013, Bruno Mars told Rolling Stone that record executives "had trouble categorizing him" and were unsure which radio stations would play his songs or to which audience he would appeal.
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In 2018, Bruno Mars was accused of cultural appropriation on social media for using his racial ambiguity to profit from black music and was criticized for mimicking the sound of past artists.
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Bruno Mars has often spoken about his influences and has credited several Black artists, including Babyface, Teddy Riley, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
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Bruno Mars was arrested in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock Casino for possession of cocaine on September 19,2010, and pled guilty to felony drug possession.
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Bruno Mars was fined $2,000, sentenced to 200 hours of community service, given 12 months of probation, and required to receive eight hours of drug counseling.
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Bruno Mars sought damages and a jury trial to prevent Ronson from profiting from "Uptown Funk".
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Bruno Mars was reportedly $50 million in debt in March 2024 due to gambling losses, possibly explaining his nine-year Vegas residency at Park MGM.