Bruno Mars is back in the spotlight.
Of course, he never fully disappeared, living atop his colossal success and sprinkling his presence here and there in ads and song features. Still, he hit a peak of fame and then fell back for a few years.
Let’s go back to the beginning.
Before releasing his own music, Mars was already writing for artists like Adam Levine and Flo Rida and producing with his trio, The Smeezingtons, the masterminds behind most of the songs discussed below.
One of the first times we heard Mars was as a featured artist on B.o.B’s 2009 single “Nothin’ on You,” released after the rapper signed with Atlantic Records. The song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, stayed on the chart for 28 weeks, won two ASCAP awards and is now 6x Platinum. All from one of his first features.
Seeing this success, The Smeezingtons decided Mars needed an official project. The result was his 2010 EP, “It’s Better If You Don’t Understand,” featuring early favorites like “Talking to the Moon” and “Count on Me.”
Then came “Just the Way You Are” in July 2010, his first lead single. You already know how that went — it’s 13x Platinum, won him his first Grammy, spent 48 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and won in the Most Performed Songs category at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards. Twice.
His debut album, “Doo-Wops & Hooligans,” was such a success that he sold out a world tour right out of the gate. It spawned massive hits including “Grenade,” “The Lazy Song,” “Marry You” and “Count on Me.” The Smeezingtons initially had six months to complete the album, then the deadline suddenly shrank to one month — that’s probably why the last four singles were dropped post-album release.
Since its October 2010 debut, the album has appeared on the Billboard 200 Year-End Charts every year. It was the ninth-highest-certified album of the 2010s, spent 11 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard’s Top Catalog Albums — surpassing Bob Marley’s “Legend” for most weeks at No. 1 — and currently holds 716 weeks on the Billboard 200. It is one of the longest-running albums ever.
Just two years later, Mars once again reached astronomical heights with “Unorthodox Jukebox,” home to “Locked Out of Heaven” and “When I Was Your Man.” This album is his only one to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, where it has spent 249 weeks.
He took four years to release the album “24K Magic,” with singles like “24K Magic” and “That’s What I Like,” then another five years before dropping Silk Sonic with Anderson Paak. These projects were by no means failures, but their success didn’t necessarily live up to that of his first two projects.
So, to get back to the point: Mars’ commercial peak was during those first two albums, but now he’s back — almost as big as before. The elephant(s) in the room? “Die With a Smile” and “APT.”
His collaboration with Lady Gaga was the perfect refreshment for early 2000s pop fans. As unexpected as it was, it felt like a song they were always meant to make. “Die With a Smile” is as dramatic sonically as it is lyrically, and I love it for that. The track also won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the Grammys and recently became the fastest song to hit 1 billion Spotify streams.
How did it happen? It was originally Mars’ idea, inviting Gaga to his studio late one night to hear what he was working on, and there they stayed, all night, until it was done. According to a Billboard interview with producer-songwriter Andrew Watt, the song’s development was completely organic and solely in the name of making great music, rather than making a hit. It also turned out to be perfect for getting Gaga’s name back in the media before her album rollout. The song will be featured on the upcoming project, slated to be released this week.
I can’t say I love “APT.,” and I have no idea how he ended up collaborating with a K-pop singer, but it went platinum in under three months, and I can appreciate the novelty. He’s gone even further by teaming up with Sexyy Red on “Fat Juicy & Wet” — and somehow, it worked, landing at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.
At this point, Mars is just doing whatever feels fun. He’s one of the best-selling artists of the generation and recently became the first to surpass 150 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
Mars keeps coming back because his talent is undeniable. He plays many of the instruments in his songs, produces as part of The Smeezingtons and has a track record so solid that artists and labels know he can guarantee a hit.
Why not throw 10 million dollars at a song’s production? They know he’ll make it back exponentially.
He’s Bruno Mars.
Interact with the data for pop-ups and more info here.
