Bruno Mars is one of the highest-selling musical artists around. It has been reported that he is overly critical of himself and expects nothing but the best when it comes to writing music.
With a perfectionist like Mars, it should come to no surprise to anyone that it may take years for him to release new music because he wants everything to be up to his standards. Every album Mars has released throughout the years has not only been good but critically acclaimed.
In the music industry, it is uncommon for them to have to staying power if it takes a while to release an album but Mars has overcome a lot of adversity throughout his career.
Humble Beginnings
Mars started out performing as an Elvis impersonator when he was really young. His performances as the King of Rock and Roll are legendary and he has stated himself that he developed a lot of swagger that has translated into his stage presence.
When he graduated from high school, he flew out to Los Angeles and began trying to dive deep into the music industry. Coming from a musical family, Mars’s sister knew he was talented so she showed his demo to a music A&R executive who proceeded to get in contact with the star.
Unfortunately for Mars, meeting that music industry professional didn’t immediately result in a record contract. Eventually, he did find his way to Motown Records and was signed immediately. After a couple of years with the label and his career not taking off, Mars was dropped which was a huge letdown to the star. It took a while for him to get his bearings back and try again and immerse himself in the record industry.
He didn’t give up and it turned out to work in his favor. After taking a jab at songwriting, eventually, Atlantic Records could see his true potential but especially A&R manager Aaron Bay-Schuck who wanted to sign him straight away.
However, the record label believed that the initial demos heard by Bay-Schuck weren’t technically polished and that it would take some more time to get him to a level that deserves representation. Three years after meeting with Bay-Schuck however, Mars signed a contract that would eventually blow him up as the megastar that he is today.
Legal Trouble
In mid-September of 2010, Mars was on a trip to Las Vegas with his crew and partied a little too hard. As a result, he was arrested for possession of cocaine.
He took complete accountability for the arrest and apologized profusely to his fans for letting them down. He told the press that he was the one responsible for the arrest and paid the $2,000 fine and attended probation. He told the press that he was in the City of Sin and had a little too much fun that night. Also, he said he got a little too drunk and ended up with the cocaine but didn’t necessarily remember buying the drug.
A rumor was spread by the news source CNN that Mars came out as gay on a radio show. Mars didn’t want to come forward and speak out against the rumor, but he felt like it was his responsibility to let fans know the truth about his life. He even got his representation to contact the news source and get them to take the article down.
Now he believes that the story was an online joke that was taken too far considering it was on April Fools Day. Mars has been dating model Jessica Caban and they have been together many years.
Mars Has Staying Power
Considering Mars has seen his fair share of adversity, his talent tends to speak for itself.
Over the years since his arrest, Mars has sold hundreds of millions of albums worldwide, won Grammys, and performed at two Superbowl Halftime shows. One show he headlined and another he was a guest performer. Mars guest appearance with Beyonce and Coldplay at the Super Bowl 50 halftime show was completely epic and overshadowed the headliner to some on social media.
Mars isn’t only a successful songwriter and solo performer but he has taken a stab at writing music as well. Mars worked on Chic’s album, “It’s About Time” that charted after its release in 2018. Mars also worked on the Gucci Mane hit track “Wake Up in the Sky”
that was released and had a lot of airplay throughout 2018. It even peaked at number 11 on the U.S. Billboard charts that year.
Mars has always worked with Cardi B on a few tracks. One of her hit singles “Please Me” peaked at number 3 on the U.S. Billboard charts. The two also worked together on Mars’s remix “Finesse” that was played in clubs on constant rotation immediately after its release.
Bruno Mars strayed away from his hip hop and R&B roots and collaborated with Ed Sheeran and Chris Stapleton for the track “Blow” as well that helped solidify him as a diverse artist.
Anxiety in the Studio
In a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Mars described his obsessive songwriting process. He implied that it was hard for him to finish an album because he is such a perfectionist.“Every beat has already been made, every rhyme has already been said, every chord progression has already been done. I’m competing with billions of other songs … It’s like winning the lottery – you just gotta get lucky,” he told the magazine at the time.
Mars told Rolling Stone that his songwriting process requires a lot of work and he used “Versace on the Dancefloor” as an example, “So we get there with it, and it’s good, it’s about to be on the album. And then it’s like … are you sure? We’re painting this picture – both in silk, I’m promising the world. But I’m not singing. This is supposed to be a big ballad on the album, but I’m not giving it to ’em! If we’re gonna really, dramatically slow things down, I’ve got to be singing some shit.”
Coronavirus Puts New Album On Hold
Mars took on a residency in Las Vegas that was supposed to run throughout the year 2020. Unfortunately, for all of us, he could no longer perform during the coronavirus pandemic.
When spots began to open back up, he was given the opportunity to continue performing while working on new music. So far, we haven’t heard much from Bruno Mars in 2020. However, the artist hasn’t gone completely radio silent. On his Instagram, he announced that he was working on new music and would like to finish some songs.
Bruno Mars has been described as someone that has a great stage presence and puts on memorable shows. Many critics don’t just describe him as a songwriter or singer but a performer that is here to stay around for years to come. Considering Mars has gone up to four years without releasing an album but coming back stronger than ever before, he certainly will not fade away into irrelevancy soon.
If the Super Bowl halftime performances he was a part of saying anything about his live shows, you are going to want to make sure that you keep up with him until you get to see him for yourself.
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