The US Trends | Bruno Mars | Bruno Mars is a FilipinoAmerican singer,songwriter and record producer.Raised inHonolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Bruno began making music at a young age.After performing in various musical venues in his hometown throughout his childhood, Mars decided to pursue a musical career and moved to LosAngeles after graduating from high school.He began producing songs for other artists,joining production team TheSmeezingtons.
AfterAn unsuccessful stint with Motown Records,Bruno Mars signed with Atlantic Records in2009. Mars became recognized as a solo artist after lending his vocals and cowriting the hooks for the songs"\\Nothin'on You"by B.o.B,and"\\Billionaire" by \Travie McCoy.\He also co-wrote the hits"Right Round"by Flo Rida featuring Kesha,and "\Wavin' Flag"by K'naan.InOctober 2010, Mars released his debut album,Doo-Wops &Hooligans.Anchored by the worldwide number one singles"\Just the Way You Are"and"Grenade",the album peaked at No.#3 on the Billboard200. Mars was nominated for 7 Grammys at the 53rd Grammy Awards,winning Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for"Just the Way You Are\".
Mars\\' music is noted for displaying a wide variety of styles and influences, and contains elements of many different musical genres. Bruno Mars has worked with an assortment of artists from different genres;He acknowledges the influences that his collaborations have had on his own music.As a child, Mars was highly influenced by artists such as Little Richard,Elvis Presley and MJ and would often impersonate these artists from a young age.Mars also incorporates reggae and Motown inspired sounds into his work.JonCaramanica ofThe New York Times referred toMars as"\one of the most versatile and accessible singers in pop\"
Bruno Mars, born as Peter Gene Hernandez onOctober 8,1985,inHonolulu, Hawaii. Bruno Mars grew up in a very musical family.His father,Pete,was a Latin percussionist from Brooklyn, and his mother,Bernadette,was a singer.Mars received his nickname, Bruno,while he was still a baby."The name 'Bruno' came from baby times,"older sisterJamie explains."\Bruno was always so confident,independent,really strongwilled and kind of a brute—hence the name Bruno,and it kind of just stuck\."
In Waikiki Beach, Mars\\' family performed a Las Vegas style revue that included Motown hits,doo wop melodies and celebrity impersonations.Growing up around entertainers, Bruno Mars began picking up musical instruments from early childhood."\I've always had a drum set,a piano,a guitar ....and never got trained to play.It was just always there, Mars recalls.That\\'s just how I learned,just being surrounded by it my whole life."\At the age of 4, Mars joined the family musical act as an Elvis impersonator and quickly become one of the stars of the show. Bruno continued to perform with his family throughout his childhood,and as he approached adolescence he addedMichael Jackson to his impersonation repertoire.
Bruno Mars attendedRoosevelt High School,where he and several friends formed a band,The SchoolBoys,performing classic oldie hits alongside his family\\'s act at theIlikai Hotel in Honolulu. Bruno Mars credits his fearless stage presence to his unusual childhood."\Performing from such a young age just got me so comfortable on stage,\"he says.\"Growing up performing—that was normal for me.Everyone in my family sings,plays instruments.It\'s what we do\."
After graduating from high school in2002, Bruno Mars decided to leave Hawaii for Los Angeles at age 17.During his 1st few years in California, Mars struggled to make a breakthrough in the music industry.And especially because Mars had performed so frequently while growing up in Honolulu, he grew frustrated with waiting for his career to move forward.It was during this period thatMars 1st turned to songwriting."\I only started writing songs when I moved up to LA,because when I was inHawaii I never really needed to\,"he recalls."\But it stemmed from just learning that you have to do everything by yourself.It\'s not like what you see in movies,where you walk into a record company and you\'re given all these great songs to sing.You have to write the song the world is going to want to hear and play it over and over again.I learned that the hard way here in LA\."
A friend introduced Bruno 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.Mars recalls,"\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 he says,"The light bulb went off.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.\"By the late2000s,Mars started finding success by writing songs for other popular artists such as Flo Rida\\'s smash hit"Right 'Round,"Brandy\'s"Long Distance,"Travie McCoy\'s"Billionaire"and K'Naan\'s"Wavin' Flag,"the theme song for the2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
After several years as one of the pop music industry\\'s premier songwriters, Bruno Mars finally broke out as a singer in his own right with the2010 hit "\Nothin' on You.\"The song was written for theAtlantic Records rapper B.O.B.,but the record label decided to enlist Mars himself to croon the heartfelt chorus.The track proved an enormous hit,skyrocketing to No.#1 on the Billboard singles chart,instantly transforming Bruno Mars from aBehind-theScenes composer into a pop performer.Several months later,Mars released his 1st solo single,"Just the Way You Are,"another single that landed the artist on top of theBillboard singles chart.The track served as the lead single for Mars\\' debut studio album,Doo-Wops &Hooligans,released inOctober 2010.The album reached No.#3 on Billboard\'s album charts,and its 2nd single,"Grenade,"also cracked the top 10on the singles chart.
With his formula of combining catchy pop melodies,hiphop beats and feelgood lyrics, Bruno Mars has emerged as a popular artist.And after a lifetime of striving to reach the top of the music industry,Mars is now trying to enjoy the moment."\Everything's good right now\,"he says."It\'s really paying off because now my songs are on the radio.It took me a while to finally get it,but when I got it,I think I got it right.And I\\'m very proud of how my songs are representing me as an artist.\\"