Bruno Mars: All your questions answered
He's a talented guy!
Having entered the spotlight for the first time at just four years old, Bruno Mars is no stranger to showbiz. Not only does he have an incredibly impressive voice, but he's also a fantastic songwriter, with an impressive career which includes winning several Grammy Awards.
But where is Bruno Mars from? How did he get famous? And what is his real name? Find out everything you need to know about the 'Uptown Funk' singer below...
Who is Bruno Mars and where is he from?
Bruno Mars is an American singer and songwriter from Hawaii. His dad is half Puerto Rican and half Ashkenazi Jewish, originally from Brooklyn in New York, and his mum emigrated from the Philippines to Hawaii as a child, and has some Spanish ancestry.
How old is Bruno Mars?
His birthday is 8th October 1985, which makes him currently 39-years-old.
What is Bruno Mars' real name?
Bruno was born Peter Gene Hernandez, and got his stage name from his father, who nicknamed him 'Bruno' at the age of two, who thought that he looked like wrestler Bruno Sammartino.
He told Parade magazine: "Bruno is after Bruno Sammartino, who was this big, fat wrestler. I was this chunky little baby, so my dad used to call me that as a nickname. Mars came up because a lot of girls say I’m out of this world!"
Bruno Mars' career: How did Bruno Mars get famous?
Career beginnings
Coming from a musical family, Bruno was performing from the age of four with his family band, The Love Notes. He became well-known for his impression of Elvis Presley, which won him a cameo role in 1992 film Honeymoon in Vegas, starring Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker.
He learned to play the guitar, and made a demo which his sister in Los Angeles played for Mike Lynn, head of A&R at Dr Dre's label. He moved to LA after graduating from school at 17, and although he was signed to label Motown Records, it didn't work out and he was dropped less than a year after the signing.
2005: Publishing deal
Bruno landed a publishing deal in 2005, and was mentored by Steve Lindsey at Westside Independent, where he started working with Philip Lawrence and the pair became songwriting partners. In 2006, Bruno ignited the interest of Atlantic Records, but they waited three years to sign him so that he could develop as an artist, and he used this time to become a record producer and wrote songs for other artists.
2010: 'Nothin' On You'
When he wrote 'Nothin' On You' for B.o.B and appeared as a featured vocalist on the song, Bruno's star finally began to rise and he released debut single 'Just the Way You Are' in 2010, reaching Number 1 in both the UK and the US. After the success of 'Just the Way You Are', Bruno released his debut album 'Doo-Wops & Hooligans' in 2010, which spawned other singles 'Grenade', 'The Lazy Song' and 'Marry You' amongst others and reached Number 1 in the UK.
2010: 'The Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour'
He supported Maroon 5 and OneRepublic on their tours in 2010, and performed on his own tour 'The Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour' from November 2010 until January 2012. In 2011, he won his first ever Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for 'Just the Way You Are', and also earned six other nominations that year.
2012: Second album 'Unorthodox Jukebox'
His second album 'Unorthodox Jukebox' was released in 2012, featuring singles 'Locked Out of Heaven', 'When I Was Your Man' and 'Treasure' and peaking at Number 1 in the UK. He went on his second tour, the 'Moonshine Jungle Tour', from June 2013 until October 2014. Bruno had a Las Vegas residency in 2013, and also had a huge year in 2014 - headlining the prestigious Super Bowl halftime show, voicing the character of Roberto in 2014 film Rio 2 and also co-writing and featuring on Mark Ronson's track 'Uptown Funk', which was one of the most popular songs of the decade.
2015: Super Bowl
Supporting Coldplay's Super Bowl halftime show with Beyoncé Knowles-Carter in 2015, Bruno's third album '24K Magic' was released in November 2016, spawning singles '24K Magic', 'That's What I Like' and 'Finesse', which he later released a remix of featuring Cardi B.
2017: '24K Magic' Tour
He went on his third tour - the '24K Magic World Tour' - in March 2017, finishing in December 2018, and announced his second Las Vegas residency in February 2019. Bruno worked with Ed Sheeran on his 'No.6 Collaborations Project', appearing on song 'Blow' along with country singer Chris Stapleton.
2019: Upcoming new album
In October 2019, Bruno posted a photo of himself in the recording studio, teasing that he was working on new music. This was confirmed by a representative in March 2020, who said that he's "in the creative process of working on his next album." Bruno is also working with Disney on a "music-themed theatrical narrative".
2021: 'Leave The Door Open'
On February 26, 2021, Bruno and American rapper Anderson .Paak announced that they have recorded an album together under the band name 'Silk Sonic'. The band's debut album is set to release on 12th November 2021 and the lead single, 'Leave The Door Open', reached number 1 in the United States.
2022: Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak
In 2022, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak started their residency An Evening With Silk Sonic at Park MGM, in Las Vegas.
The pair, as Silk Sonic, also won International Group of the Year at the BRIT Awards, and have been Grammy-nominated for Record of the Year, Song of The Year, Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song for 'Leave the Door Open'.
2022: Silk Sonic opening act at Grammy Awards
Silk Sonic were announced as the opening act for the Grammy Awards 2022. The show also saw performances from Billie Eilish, BTS, Olivia Rodrigo and Lil Nas X.
The duo also won four Grammy Awards in 2022 - Record of the Year 'Leave the Door Open', Song of the Year 'Leave the Door Open', Best R&B Performance 'Leave the Door Open' and Best R&B Song 'Leave the Door Open'.
2023: New Years Fiesta
Entering 2023 on a high, Bruno hosted a New Year party in Las Vegas! He performed in a super-intimate setting at Mayfair Supper Club, at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, with the 150 guests tucking into a specialty four-course dinner, whilst enjoying live salsa music, dancing by La Verdad, specialty rum cocktails, an all-night dance party and a Champagne toast - with none other than Ace of Spades... Swanky!
Sharing the event on his Instagram page, Bruno wrote: 'In the words of @anderson._paak "We're gettin drunk!" New Years / Vegas / Salsa #Frikikikiki 💃🏽🔥🕺🏽🪘🎶🎺🎹 🍹'.
2024: Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars released 'Die With A Smile'
In August 2024, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars released a surprise single called 'Die With A Smile'. This was the first music from both artists in quite some time, and was an immediate hit with fans.
Bruno Mars: Awards
As mentioned already, Bruno has been the recipient of plenty of awards through the years! Here's a list of just a few awards he's won...
Grammy Awards
2011: Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for 'Just The Way You Are'
2015: Best Pop Vocal Album for 'Unorthodox Jukebox'
2016: Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for 'Uptown Funk' with Mark Ronson
2017: Album of the Year for '25' by Adele (as producer)
2018: Album of the Year and Best R&B Album for '24K Magic', Record of the Year for '24K Magic', and Song of the Year, Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song for 'That's What I Like'.
2022: as part of the duo Silk Sonic with Anderson .Paak, Record of the Year 'Leave the Door Open', Song of the Year 'Leave the Door Open', Best R&B Performance 'Leave the Door Open', Best R&B Song 'Leave the Door Open'.
BRIT Awards
2012: International Male Solo Artist
2014: International Male Solo Artist
2015: British Single of the Year for 'Uptown Funk' with Mark Ronson
2022: International Group of the Year with Anderson .Paak as Silk Sonic
MTV Awards
2011: MTV Europe Music Awards - Best New Act and Best Push
2013: MTV Europe Music Awards - Best Song for 'Locked Out of Heaven'
2013: MTV Video Music Awards - Best Male Video for 'Locked Out of Heaven' and Best Choreography for 'Treasure'
Bruno has also won four Guinness World Records: 'Most Viewed Halftime Performance' for his Super Bowl Halftime show in 2015, 'Most weeks at No.1 on the U.S. Digital Song Sales' for 'Uptown Funk' in 2017, 'First Male Artist to Achieve three 10-million-selling-singles' in 2017 and 'Most followed male chart-topper on Musical.ly' in 2018.
In 2021, he became the first artist to receive five diamond certified songs in the United States
Who is Bruno Mars dating?
Bruno has been in a relationship with model Jessica Caban since 2011, and they apparently live together in the Hollywood Hills. The pair are very private about their relationship.
Bruno also previously dated Rita Ora, who confirmed the relationship in a 2012 interview, saying that it had been "love at first sight" after Bruno was hired to write some songs for her, but the relationship fizzled after two years because of their respective careers.
Bruno's limited edition guitar:
In November 2023, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation announced the launch of a special limited edition guitar to celebrate Bruno's incredible career. The guitar has been designed by Bruno and is called the Bruno Mars Signature Stratocaster.
Speaking about the guitar, Bruno said: “I don’t think of myself as a guitar player. I’m more of a frustrated songwriter. Every song is like a puzzle you have to solve, and a good guitar can bring something out of you that can help take you to the finish line. That’s what I wanted from this guitar.
“It was also important to have a workhorse that I could depend on for performing live and writing in the studio, whether it be rhythm or lead.”
What is the fan theory about Bruno Mars' song 'When I Was Your Man'?
In January 2023, Miley Cyrus released her song 'Flowers', which many fans believe is about her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth. After its release, many fans came up with the theory the song was written in response to Bruno's song 'When I Was Your Man'.
Although neither artist has confirmed the connection, fans have compared the two songs' lyrics and it does look like it was written as a reply to Bruno's song.
To Bruno's lyrics: '...I should have bought you flowers', Miley appears to respond: 'I can buy myself flowers.'
It continues with Bruno's lyrics: 'And held your hand,' with Miley responding: 'I can hold my own hand.'
Is Bruno Mars doing a collaboration with Lady Gaga?
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars have now released their collab called 'Die With A Smile', the song was a surprise after fans the pair posted some cryptic posts on social media. Lady Gaga commented on one of Bruno's videos, following it up by posting a video of her playing the piano, wearing a t-shirt with Bruno Mars on it.
Bruno later posted a photo of himself wearing a t-shirt with Lady Gaga on the front.
The song has been nominated for Best Collaboration in the 2024 MTV EMAs. The awards will be held in November.
Watch Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga in 'Die With A Smile':
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