What’s up guys! It’s Jason here and welcome to my YouTube channel, Celebrity Insight.
Lauded as the next big thing in pop, Bruno Mars is the pop superstar who made it against
all odds, and then lost it (or at least some of it) through a series of very public missteps
in the same vein as Justin Bieber’s 2014 DUI or Lindsay Lohan’s 2007 arrest for DUI
and felony possession of cocaine. Mars, born as Peter Gene Hernandez, on scenic Honolulu,
Hawaii was raised in the tourist-filled neighborhood of Waikiki and perhaps had music in his blood.
Both of Mars’ parents were musicians, with his half-Puerto Rican and half-Jewish father
a percussion musician and his part-Filipina and part-Spanish mother a hula dancer. From
rather middle-class beginnings, as of 2021, Mars is estimated to be worth $175 million
and has sold more than 130 million records worldwide. Such a meteoric rise raises a lot
of eyebrows, as does Mars’ relatively recent scandals, that have shifted the focus from
his musical talent to his “extracurricular activities.” Of the illegal, drug sort.
Despite his controversies, Mars is climbing his way back up to musical and pop cultural
relevance again, with the release of a new album after a recent collaboration with musician
Anderson Paak as the collective, “Silk Sonic.” In this video, I’ll run you through how
Bruno Mars became the worldwide superstar he is, how he temporarily lost his mojo, and
what he’s doing to regain it. By the end, you’ll be a Bruno Mars expert and you’ll
know exactly what happened to Bruno Mars now.
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us continue on with the Rise and Fall and Rise Again of Bruno Mars.
Young, Ambitious Hustler
As he was born in America, Bruno Mars’ nationality is American. Bruno Mars had a normal, middle-class
childhood until his parents got divorced when he was 12-years-old. As a result of that divorce,
Mars and his father found themselves finding refuge in the back of a limousine and random
rooftops where they could stow away. Perhaps that early experience with both music and
financial difficulties fed his abnormally heightened ambition about what he felt he
was good at and liked from an early age - music. Undoubtedly, given that both his parents were
musicians, Mars was probably more exposed to the life of a musician than those who grow
up in a household where both parents have 9-to-5 office jobs. In fact, his family made
money on Waikiki Beach partially by performing a mini concert of well-known hits ranging
from 1950s doo-wop to Motown audience pleasers and celebrity impersonations. Mars even commented
that, “I’ve always had a drum set, a piano, a guitar...and never got trained to play.
It was just always there. That’s just how I learned, just being surrounded by it my
whole life.” Like many other self-made people, Mars mastered entertainment and music by simply
just doing it. At the ripe age of four years old, he joined the family’s Waikiki Beach
act as the showy Elvis impersonator who soon stole the show. The positive response to his
Elvis impersonations eventually led to Mars doing Michael Jackson impersonations as well.
Quite ironic since his singing style, in particular his falsetto, and energetic dance moves, would
later lead to many comparisons between himself and the Thriller star.
Mars to act on his passion for music while in high school. He started a band called “The
School Boys” with a few high school friends and continued to perform with his family at
the Ilikai Hotel in Honolulu. He observed that the non-stop immersion in entertainment
was integral to his development as an artist as, “Performing from such a young age just
got me so comfortable on stage.” That success in Hawaii only fed his ambition and contributed
to his decision to move to Los Angeles after high school.
A Star is Born in LA, But Slowly
At eighteen years old, Mars snagged a deal with Motown Records in Los Angeles. Despite
seemingly starting off on the right foot in the entertainment industry, Motown Records
never actually released any of Mars’ music and the deal just died out. While Motown Records
wasn’t the home for him, Mars made industry contacts who eventually formed the studio-hit
trio, the Smeezingtons. The Smeezingtons, in particular Mars, provided background vocals
to smash singles including Flo Rida’s “Right Round” and the chorus for B.o.B’s “Nothin’
on You.”
In 2009, encouraged by his success as a songwriter and having proved himself as a vocalist for
“Nothin’ On You,” he signed with Atlantic Records. His solo debut album, “Doo-Wops
& Hooligans” paved the way for Mars to become a household name, peaking at #3 on the Billboard
200 in 2010. It featured several Billboard-topping singles, such as “Grenade” and “The
Lazy Song.” The album has aged incredibly well; by 2017, it was certified six times
platinum by the Recording Association of America (RIAA) because it had sold about 2.6 million
copies. It even garnered Grammy nominations for “Best Album of the Year” and “Best
Pop Vocal Album.” Mars had proven that he had, indeed, learned the lesson that, “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 L.A.” Hawaii had given Mars the entertainment
experience he had needed, while L.A. had become a sort of “school of hard knocks,” where
he learned that opportunity came with catchy songs and he had to write them himself, because
no one would do it for him.
2010 Arrest and Learning from the Mistake
As he was experiencing his first big commercial success, Mars also hit the headlines for having
cocaine on him in Las Vegas. The result? In order to avoid spending time in jail, Bruno
chose to plead guilty to felony drug possession, served 200 hours of community service, enrolled
in a drug counseling course, and paid a $2,000 fine. Later on, Mars told 60 Minutes that
he, “did something very stupid” and that being 24 years old meant he was, “drinking
way more than I’m supposed to be drinking and it was so early in my career and I always
say that I think it had to happen. That was the reality check I needed...I promised myself
that, you know, you ain’t never gonna read about that again.”
Mars seems to have taken his promise very seriously because his second album, “Unorthodox
Jukebox,” debuted in 2012, debuted at #2 on the US Billboard 200, became the best-selling
album globally of 2013, having sold 3.2 million copies by that time. Perhaps most notably,
Mars was able to achieve a dream that many artists are unable to achieve ever --- with
his second album, he won the Grammy Award for the Best Pop Vocal Album. Mars’ performance
at the Super Bowl halftime show only helped him further increase his visibility and pop
music clout. Singles such as, “Locked Out of Heaven” and “When I Was Your Man”
and “Treasure” and “Gorilla” showed the versatility of Mars’ musical sensibility
as well. It was the perfect demonstration of his appreciation for genres ranging from
R&B and funk to pop.
Mars’ commercial success and mass popularity only increased with his third album, “24K
Magic” in 2016. For anyone who thought that Bruno Mars might have been only a fluke in
pop music, this album’s more commercial themes of being successful and relationships,
proved them wrong. As of 2017, the album had sold approximately 1.6 million copies. It
earned the accolade of being the US’ 4th best-selling album of the year. “24K Magic”
did not do as well in Europe, but it still debuted at number three in the UK. Overcoming
the language barrier, it also debuted at number three in France and climbed to number four
in Spain. His artistry and appeal was also recognized by his fame at the 60th Grammys
as it won Album of the Year, Best R&B Album, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and
three other Grammys. Mars absolutely dominated the night.
In an interview with NME, Mars was straightforward about the fun aspect of 24k Magic, explaining
that, “For me, 95% of music is about love. That’s why cavemen were hitting stones to
get everybody around the fire and get them feeling sexy. It’s exactly the same principle,
the same thing: just get people on the dancefloor, get the girls smiling.” With this album,
Mars had expressed the feel good factor of music that didn’t need to be profound, mopey,
or overly romantic. If nothing else, the three albums demonstrated Mars’ versatility in
songwriting and morphing his image as it suited him. While earlier singles such as, “When
I Was Your Man,” painted Mars as a lovesick and heartbroken young man, more upbeat singles
and music videos like “24k Magic” had Mars reinvent himself as a more R&B, hipster
icon.
Turning a Weakness into a Strength
At the beginning of his career, Mars was hindered by his ambiguous identity, especially his
racial identity. Mars had previously explained that early on, “I think everybody don’t
know what color I am. It’s like, ‘He’s not black enough. He’s not white enough.
He’s got a Latin last name, but he doesn’t have - he doesn’t speak Spanish. Who are
we selling this to? Are you making urban music? Are you making pop music? What kind of music
are you making?’” Rather than dwell on that early setback due to his mixed heritage
and interest in all sorts of music, Mars focused on making very mainstream music to make himself
a household name. Once he established himself as a force to be reckoned with, he took advantage
of that same ambiguity and made music that seemed not only reminiscent of Michael Jackson,
but Justin Timberlake as well, or Ed Sheeran. As his versatility became obvious, what he
looked like became less important.
Informal Hiatus & Comeback The de facto hiatus of Bruno Mars could be
interpreted either way - a long time coming because of the almost non-stop commercial
success he has had, or a surprise because of that same success. After all, who would
want to take the risk of losing their spot at the top of the pop music kingdom? Apparently,
Mars - because he hasn’t released a full-length solo album since 24K Magic in 2016.
Meanwhile, he has kept himself busy as a sought-after collaborator. For instance, in February 2019
he collaborated with diva, Cardi B, for the hit single, “Please Me.” As could be expected,
the two celebrity singers together resulted in a single that peaked at number three on
the Billboard Hot 100. It was a success not only in the USA, but in other English-speaking
countries as well, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada. As recently as February
2020, Mars was keeping himself busy with a Disney partnership that would eventually see
Mars starring and producing in a kid-friendly movie.
So that brings us to today. With the rise and eventual fall of COVID-19 and the subsequent
isolation that many people found themselves forced into, Mars was no exception. He continued
to write music and also announced an upcoming album with rapper Anderson .Paak, having formed
a band together called “Silk Sonic.” The album, “An Evening with Silk Sonic,” has
the first single off it, “Leave the Door Open,” that was released on March 5th. It
didn’t make a huge impact on the American airwaves, but it did become number one in
New Zealand. The Paak and Mars collaboration came about organically since they had toured
together a lot in 2017. Mars jokingly acknowledged his fans’ anticipation of this new music
from him as the recent Grammy nominations came out this year, as well. He captioned
an Instagram post, “If you don’t release music, you can’t lose any Grammys.” It
was a bit of the humor that endears Mars to many, but also makes the release of “An
Evening with Silk Sonic” hotly anticipated. In March 2021, Mars and Paak performed their
sultry single for the Grammys, in a very Motown style fashion and ambiance. The showmanship
and vocals of the performance earned Silk Sonic a lot of positive press. It might have
made some fans wish Mars would release another solo album. It might have made other fans
wish Mars would just release anything, whether as Silk Sonic or Bruno Mars. As a Mars fan
myself, the Grammy performance only made me love his music more. I probably speak for
a lot of people when I say I’m eager to hear the rest of, “An Evening with Silk
Sonic.” So with that said, thank you so much for watching
my video as this is a brand new YouTube channel I started this year. There was a significant
amount of research and production that went into making this video possible, so if you
wouldn’t mind giving the video a LIKE and leaving a comment in the YouTube section below,
it would really help out a lot. Are you a Bruno Mars fan? Did you learn anything new
from this video? Be sure to check out some of my other videos, like the Rise and Fall
of Britney Spears and the Rise and Fall of New York. If you’re a foodie, you’ll love
my video on In-N-Out Burger and Why They’re So Successful. Thank you again for watching
and stay tuned for another episode of Company Insight next week.