Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter andrecord producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age. He performed in various musical venues in his hometown throughout his childhood. He graduated from high school and then moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a musical career. Mars produced songs for other artists, joining production team The Smeezingtons.
Mars had an unsuccessful stint with Motown Records, but then signed with Atlantic Records in 2009. He became recognized as a solo artist after lending his vocals and co-writing 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 Ke$ha, and "Wavin' Flag" by K'naan. In October 2010, he 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 number three on the Billboard 200.[2] Mars was nominated for seven 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 musical genres. He has worked with an assortment of artists from various genres. Mars acknowledges the influences that his collaborations have had on his own music. As a child, he was highly influenced by artists such as Little Richard,[3] Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson and would often impersonate these artists from a young age. Mars also incorporates reggae and Motown inspired sounds into his work. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times referred to Mars as "one of the most versatile and accessible singers in pop."[4] Worldwide, Mars became the best-digital selling artist for 2011. With three singles in the top ten including first place with 12.5 million sales the single "Just The Way You Are".[5]
Career
2004-10: Career beginnings and It's Better If You Don't Understand
Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, Mars signed to Motown Records in 2004, in a deal that "went nowhere".[19] However, Mars' experience with Motown proved to be beneficial to his career when he met songwriter and producer Philip Lawrence, who was also signed to the label. Mars, Lawrence, and engineer Ari Levine began writing songs together, and formed the production team The Smeezingtons.[19] In 2006, Lawrence introduced Mars to his future manager at Atlantic Records, Aaron Bay-Schuck.[20] After hearing him play a couple of songs on the guitar, Bay-Schuck wanted to sign him immediately, but it took about three years for Atlantic records to finally sign Mars to the label.[20] In the meantime, Bay-Schuck hired Mars and the Smeezingtons to write and produce songs for the label's artists.[20] According to Bay-Schuck in an interview with HitQuarters, Mars had stated that although his ultimate goal was to be a solo artist, he was willing to write and produce for other artists, both to help improve his songwriting and help him discover the type of artist he ultimately wanted to be.[20] Bay-Schuck credits this as a period of "self-discovery" that contributed significantly to Mars' later success.[20]
Before becoming a successful solo artist, Hernandez was an acknowledged music producer, writing songs for Alexandra Burke, Travie McCoy,Adam Levine, Brandy, Sean Kingston, and Flo Rida.[12][21] He also co-wrote the Sugababes' hit song "Get Sexy" and provided backing vocals on their album Sweet 7.[22][23] His first musical appearance as a singer was in Far East Movement's second studio album Animal, featured on the track "3D".[24] He was also featured on pastor and hip hop artist Jaeson Ma's debut single "Love" in August 2009.[25][26] He reached prominence as a solo artist after being featured on and co-writing B.o.B's "Nothin' on You" and Travie McCoy's "Billionaire"; both songs peaked within the top ten of many charts worldwide.[27][28][29][30] He said of them, "I think those songs weren't meant to be full-sung songs. If I'd sung all of "Nothin' on You", it might've sounded like some '90s R&B." Following this success, Mars released his debut extended play (EP), titledIt's Better If You Don't Understand, on May 11, 2010.[31] The EP peaked at the 99th position on the Billboard 200 and produced one single, "The Other Side", featuring singers Cee Lo Green and B.o.B.[32][33] Mars collaborated with Green once more in August 2010 by co-writing his single "Fuck You!". He performed a medley of "Nothin' on You" and "Airplanes" with B.o.B and Hayley Williams at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010.[34]
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