Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and dancer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, retro showmanship, and musical versatility. He is accompanied by his band, the Hooligans. Raised in Honolulu, Mars gained recognition in Hawaii as a child for his impersonation of Elvis Presley, before moving to Los Angeles in 2003 to pursue a musical career.
Mars established his name in the music industry as a songwriter and co-founder of the production team the Smeezingtons. He rose to fame as a recording artist after featuring on the US number-one single "Nothin' on You" (2009) by B.o.B. Mars's first three studio albums—Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010), Unorthodox Jukebox (2012), and 24K Magic (2016)—found critical and commercial success, with the lattermost winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The albums spawned multiple international hit singles, including "Just the Way You Are", "Grenade", "The Lazy Song", "Locked Out of Heaven", "When I Was Your Man", "Treasure", "24K Magic", "That's What I Like", and "Finesse". He also featured on Mark Ronson's 2014 single "Uptown Funk", which became Billboard's best-performing song of the 2010s.
In 2021, Mars released An Evening with Silk Sonic alongside Anderson .Paak, as the musical superduo Silk Sonic. The album contained the US number-one single "Leave the Door Open". Following two record-breaking number-one duets in 2024, "Die with a Smile" with Lady Gaga and "APT." with Rosé, Mars released his first solo album in ten years, The Romantic (2026). It spawned the successful singles "I Just Might" and "Risk It All"; the former became his first song to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100.
Mars has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He has ten number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and the most weeks atop the Billboard Global 200 chart. Mars is the only artist to surpass 150 million monthly listeners on Spotify and the first to score six diamond-certified songs in the US. His 24K Magic World Tour (2017–2018) ranks among the highest-grossing tours in history. Mars's accolades include 16 Grammy Awards, 17 American Music Awards, 9 Billboard Music Awards, 5 Brit Awards, 7 MTV Video Music Awards and 14 Soul Train Awards. Time named him among the 100 most influential people in the world in 2011.
Life and career
1985–2003: Early life and musical beginnings
Peter Gene Hernandez was born on October 8, 1985, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Peter Hernandez and Bernadette San Pedro Bayot. He was raised in the Waikīkī neighborhood of Honolulu. His father, originally from Brooklyn, New York, is of Puerto Rican and Ashkenazi Jewish descent, with ancestral roots in Hungary and Ukraine. His mother emigrated from the Philippines to Hawaii and was of Filipino and Spanish ancestry. Hernandez's parents met while performing in a show—his mother as a hula dancer and his father as a percussionist. At the age of two, he was nicknamed "Bruno" by his father, who thought he resembled professional wrestler Bruno Sammartino.
Mars is one of six children and came from a musical family who exposed him to a diverse mix of musical genres, including rock and roll, reggae, hip-hop, and rhythm and blues. His mother was a singer and a dancer and his father performed Little Richard's music, which inspired him as a young child. His uncle, an Elvis impersonator, encouraged the three-year-old Mars to perform songs by Presley and Michael Jackson. Mars began performing five days a week with his family's band (the Love Notes) at age four, including at the Sheraton Waikiki, and became known in Hawaii for his onstage impersonation of Elvis Presley. At one point, he urinated on himself during a performance of Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" when he was five; his parents thought they might be making a mistake, but he never wavered. Mars appeared in the Hawaiian tabloid shopper MidWeek as "Little Elvis" in 1990, and performed in the halftime show of the 1990 Aloha Bowl.
He had a cameo role in the 1992 film Honeymoon in Vegas, and was interviewed by Pauly Shore on MTV. When Mars was six years old, he appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show. He performed two shows a night throughout grade school with his family's band, covering Frankie Lymon and Little Anthony songs. The young Mars had a small drum set, guitar, piano and percussion instruments, and learned to play them. His parents divorced when he was 12 (ending the Love Notes), and his father's varied businesses failed. Mars, his brother and father lived in the "slums of Hawaii" in a car, on rooftops, and in a closed bird zoo (Paradise Park) where his father had worked. Mars changed schools and was bullied, but later became popular.
His Elvis impersonations had a major impact on his musical evolution and performing technique. Mars began playing guitar, inspired by American rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix. In 2010, he acknowledged his Hawaii-raised roots and musical family as an influence: "Growing up in Hawaii made me the man I am. I used to do a lot of shows in Hawaii with my father's band. Everybody in my family sings, everyone plays instruments ... I've just been surrounded by it." At President Theodore Roosevelt High School in Honolulu, Mars sang in a group (the School Boys) who opened for his father's new band with songs by the Isley Brothers and the Temptations. He became well known in local Hawaii entertainment in high school, opening for a large magic show and impersonating Michael Jackson for $75 per performance.
After his sister in Los Angeles played a demo of Mars for Mike Lynn (head of A&R at Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment label), Lynn summoned Mars to Los Angeles. In 2003, shortly after graduating from high school, Mars pursued a musical career. He lived on Mansfield Avenue, and was surprised by its poverty and squalor. Mars adopted his stage name from his father's childhood nickname, adding "Mars" at the end: "I felt like I didn't have no pizzazz, and a lot of girls say I'm out of this world, so I was like I guess I'm from Mars." His stage name was also an effort to "avoid being stereotyped", since the music industry tried to pigeonhole him as another Latin artist and tried to convince him to sing in Spanish.
2004–2008: Career beginnings
Mars said about moving to Los Angeles to pursue a musical career:
I'd always been a working musician in Hawaii and never had problems paying rent. And then it's like, "Now I'm in L.A. and my phone's getting shut off". That's when reality hit. I started DJing. I told this person I could DJ because they said they could pay me $75 cash under the table. I didn't know how to DJ. I lost that job pretty quick.
Mars signed a contract with Motown Records in 2004, but the deal "went nowhere" and he had a fruitless conversation with will.i.am's management. However, the singer's experience with Motown proved beneficial. After Mars was dropped by the label, less than a year later, he remained in Los Angeles and landed a 2005 music-publishing deal with record producers Steve Lindsey and Cameron Strang at Westside Independent. According to Strang, "Bruno came to the conclusion that the best way to further his career was writing and producing hit songs."
Lindsey showed Mars and fellow songwriters Brody Brown and Jeff Bhasker (whom Mars met through Mike Lynn) the ins and outs of writing pop music and acted as a mentor, helping them hone their craft. Bhasker explained that Lindsey would "mentor us, and kind of give us lectures as to what a hit pop song is, because you can have talent and music ability, but understanding what makes a hit pop song is a whole other discipline." According to Lindsey, he "held Mars back for five years while they learned an extensive catalog of hit music." Brown agreed in another interview. Mars played cover songs around Los Angeles in Sex Panther, a band with Bhasker and Eric Hernandez (Mars's brother, who became the drummer of the Hooligans).
When Philip Lawrence was told he should meet Mars, he was reluctant to do so since he did not have money for bus fare. Keith Harris, drummer for the Black Eyed Peas, told Lawrence: "Whatever it costs you to get out here, I'll reimburse you." Lawrence replied, "Just give me five dollars back for the bus." The pair began collaborating on songs for Mars, but received a number of rejections from record labels. Lawrence introduced Mars to Aaron Bay-Schuck, his future A&R manager at Atlantic Records, in 2006. After hearing him play a couple of songs on guitar, Bay-Schuck wanted to sign him immediately. It took about three years for Atlantic Records to sign Mars, however, because the label felt it was too early and he needed to develop as an artist.
2008–2010: Production work and It's Better If You Don't Understand
Mars and Lawrence received a call in 2008 from Brandon Creed, who was seeking songs for a reunited Menudo. Creed liked their song "Lost", which was written for Mars, and bought it for $20,000. The sale enabled them to continue working, and Mars and Lawrence decided that they would write and produce songs for other artists. Eventually Creed became Mars's manager for nine years.
Mars was a music producer before becoming a successful solo artist, writing songs for Alexandra Burke, Adam Levine, Brandy, Sean Kingston, and K'naan. He said that the first "big hit" he and Lawrence wrote was the 2009 single, "Right Round", by Flo Rida: "That was our first taste of what could really happen with a hit we hundred-percented". Mars co-wrote the Sugababes's "Get Sexy" (2009) and provided backing vocals on their album, Sweet 7 (2010). He sang on the track "3D" on Far East Movement's second studio album, Animal (2009). Mars appeared on American pastor and hip hop artist Jaeson Ma's debut single, "Love", and American rapper Travie McCoy's "One at a Time" (a charity single for MTV's Staying Alive foundation) that year. He was recognized as a solo artist after appearing on American rapper B.o.B's "Nothin' on You" (2009) and McCoy's "Billionaire" (2010); both songs peaked in the top ten of several music charts, with the former topping the United States Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart.
Mars said about the singles, "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." He released his debut extended play (EP), It's Better If You Don't Understand, on May 11, 2010. It peaked at number 99 on the US Billboard 200, and a music video was released for "The Other Side" with singer CeeLo Green and B.o.B. Mars and the Smeezingtons composed Green's successful 2010 single, "Fuck You".
2010–2012: Doo-Wops and Hooligans
Mars released "Just the Way You Are" on July 20, 2010, as the lead single of his debut studio album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans, produced primarily by the Smeezingtons. It topped the charts of several countries, including Australia, Canada and the U.S. The album, released on October 5, 2010, debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and topped the charts in the UK, the Netherlands and Canada. Doo-Wops & Hooligans has sold 15.5 million copies worldwide. It spawned two other singles: "Grenade" (which topped the Billboard Hot 100, New Zealand, UK, and other charts) and "The Lazy Song", which topped the UK and Danish charts.
Other singles include "Talking to the Moon", which was released in Brazil and topped Billboard Brasil's Hot Pop Songs and Hot 100 Airplay charts. "Marry You" was released internationally and "Count On Me" was the album's final single in Australia. Mars released "It Will Rain" on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 film soundtrack (2011). The single reached number three in the U.S. and number two in New Zealand. He appeared on "Mirror" with rapper Lil Wayne, "Lighters" with the hip-hop duo Bad Meets Evil and "Young, Wild & Free" with rappers Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg. The latter two songs reached the top ten in the US and other countries.
Mars began to promote his debut album as the opening act for Maroon 5 and OneRepublic on the fall leg of the former's Palm Trees & Power Lines Tour. On October 18, 2010, he began a co-headlining European concert tour with McCoy which lasted until early November. The Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour, which Mars headlined, ran from November 2010 to January 2012. During this time, the co-headlining Hooligans in Wondaland Tour with Mars and Janelle Monáe played North American dates in May and June 2011. Mars turned down offers to open for arena tours, opting instead to play at smaller venues such as theaters and ballrooms; this was less lucrative, but expanded his fan base.
At the 2011 Grammy Awards, Mars won his first Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Just the Way You Are" and received other six nominations: Best Rap Song, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Record of the Year for "Nothin' on You"; the latter category and Song of the Year for "Fuck You" by CeeLo Green, and Producer of the Year, Non-Classical (as the Smeezingtons). At the 2012 Grammy Awards, Mars was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Doo-Wops & Hooligans, and Best Pop Solo Performance, Record and Song of the Year for "Grenade"; Producer of the Year, Non-Classical (as the Smeezingtons). Mars received his first American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist, International Male Solo Artist at the Brit Awards, and the Echo Award for Best International Male.
2012–2014: Unorthodox Jukebox and Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show
In March 2012, Mars signed a worldwide publishing deal with BMG Chrysalis US. In a September 2012 interview for Billboard magazine, he affirmed his next album would be more varied musically: "I want to have the freedom and luxury to walk into a studio and say, 'Today I want to do a hip-hop, R&B, soul or rock record'". Unorthodox Jukebox was released on December 11, 2012, in the US. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 before topping the chart. It also topped the charts in Australia, Canada and the UK. It has sold over six million copies worldwide.
"Locked Out of Heaven" was released in October 2012 and preceded the release of Unorthodox Jukebox, an album produced primarily by the Smeezingtons. The song topped the U.S. and Canadian charts and peaked at number two in the UK; it reached the top ten in several other countries. Other singles released from the album include "When I Was Your Man", "Treasure", "Gorilla" and "Young Girls". "When I Was Your Man" topped the Billboard Hot 100; except for Presley, no other male artist has had five number-one singles faster than Mars. The song peaked at number three in Canada, number two in the UK, and reached the top-ten in several other countries. Mars contributed vocals to the EDM trio Major Lazer's "Bubble Butt", released in May 2013. The single also includes the rappers Tyga and 2 Chainz and singer Mystic.
Mars's second headlining concert tour, the Moonshine Jungle Tour, lasted from June 2013 to October 2014. He announced his first concert residency, Bruno Mars at the Chelsea, Las Vegas. The tour grossed $156.4 million. On September 8, 2013, Mars was announced as headline performer at the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show with the Red Hot Chili Peppers as guests. The first Super Bowl halftime show headlined by a performer under 30 in a decade. At the time, it was the most-watched halftime show in the history of the Super Bowl (115.3 million viewers, more than for the game itself).
At the 2014 Grammy Awards, Mars received the Best Pop Vocal Album award for Unorthodox Jukebox. "Locked Out of Heaven" was nominated for Record and Song of the Year, and "When I Was Your Man" was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance. That year, the album received a Juno Award for International Album of the Year. Mars was cast as Roberto in the film Rio 2 (2014), and contributed to its soundtrack with the song "Welcome Back". On November 10, 2014, Mark Ronson released "Uptown Funk" with Mars. The song topped the charts in several countries, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand. "Uptown Funk" spent fourteen weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and seven weeks atop the UK Singles Chart, impacting pop culture.
2015–2018: Super Bowl 50 halftime performance and 24K Magic
In September 2014, Mars began working on his third studio album but had not come up with a date: "Until it's done ... It's gotta be just as good if not better". At the 2016 Grammy Awards, "Uptown Funk" earned Ronson and Mars a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Record of the Year. A week earlier, Coldplay headlined the Super Bowl 50 halftime show with Mars and Beyoncé guesting; it was their second appearance on a Super Bowl halftime show. It was one of the most-watched halftime shows.
The album, scheduled for release in March, was postponed for several months due to Mars's Super Bowl halftime appearance; seven songs had been recorded. They were written primarily by Shampoo Press & Curl, a production team consisting of Mars, Lawrence and Brown which replaced the Smeezingtons. Mars began Gorilla Management, operated by Aaron Elharar, in May 2016. At the 2017 Grammy Awards, he shared the Album of the Year award as part of the Smeezingtons on Adele's "All I Ask" from 25 (2015). According to Guinness World Records 2017, Mars was the "First Male Artist to achieve three 10-million-selling-singles".
24K Magic, released on November 18, 2016, debuted at number two in Canada, France, New Zealand, and the US. It sold over five million copies globally. Its singles "24K Magic", "That's What I Like" and a remix of "Finesse" with rapper Cardi B, reached the top four of the US and the top-three in Canada. "That's What I Like" topped the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number four in New Zealand, while "Finesse" reached number two in New Zealand. "24K Magic" peaked at number one in France and New Zealand. Other singles include "Versace on the Floor" and "Chunky" (released in Australia). All singles appeared on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs; "That's What I Like" and "Finesse" topped.
In 2016, Mars began the concert residency Bruno Mars at Park MGM. His headlining tour, 24K Magic World Tour (2017–18), grossed more than $300 million. In November 2017, CBS aired the TV special Bruno Mars: 24K Magic Live at the Apollo. Mars received seven 2017 American Music Awards, including Artist of the Year, two for "That's What I Like" and another two for 24K Magic. He received the Album/Mixtape of the Year award and four others at the 2017 Soul Train Music Awards. At the 2018 Grammy Awards, Mars won all the categories he was nominated: Album of the Year and Best R&B Album for 24K Magic, Record of the Year for the title track and Song of The Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best R&B Song for "That's What I Like". 24K Magic received a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.
2018–2022: Collaborations and An Evening with Silk Sonic
According to Nile Rodgers, Mars worked on Chic's studio album It's About Time (2018). In early 2018, he worked with recording engineer Charles Moniz and the songwriting-and-recording Stereotypes. Mars and rappers Gucci Mane and Kodak Black released "Wake Up in the Sky" for Mane's thirteenth studio album, Evil Genius, in September of that year; it reached number 11 in the U.S. In February 2019, he and Cardi B released "Please Me". The single peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached the top 20 in Canada, New Zealand and the UK. Mars, Ed Sheeran and Chris Stapleton collaborated on "Blow" five months later for Sheeran's fourth studio album, No.6 Collaborations Project (2019). Mars posted a picture of himself in a recording studio in October of that year, hinting at new music.
A partnership was announced in February 2020 between Mars and Disney for a "music-themed theatrical narrative" in which the singer would star in and produce the film. A month later, it was confirmed that Mars was working on his next album with Babyface. During the COVID-19 lockdown, he wrote music every day for his upcoming album. That year, Mars sold part of his song catalog to Warner Chappell Music and kept a small share; his co-publishing contract with BMG was also part of the deal. In 2021, Mars was reportedly paid $3.2 million to perform at the Cape Cod wedding of the Motorola CEO's son.
On February 26, 2021, Mars and rapper Anderson .Paak announced that they recorded an album as Silk Sonic. An Evening with Silk Sonic, released on November 12 of that year, includes Bootsy Collins as a guest host. Primarily produced by Mars and D'Mile, debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and in the top five in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. "Leave the Door Open", "Skate, "Smokin out the Window", a cover version of Con Funk Shun's "Love's Train", and "After Last Night" (with Thundercat and Bootsy Collins) were released as singles. "Leave the Door Open" topped the Billboard Hot 100 and New Zealand charts. All the singles except "Skate" topped the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart, and the album was the second with four number-one singles on that chart.
In early 2022, Silk Sonic began their An Evening with Silk Sonic at Park MGM concert residency. They received Best Group at the BET Awards 2021, International Group of the Year at the 2022 Brit Awards, and the Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration, Traditional award at the 53rd NAACP Image Awards. Silk Sonic received three awards at the 2021 Soul Train Music Awards, including Song of the Year for "Leave the Door Open". At the 2022 Grammy Awards, they received Record of the Year, Song of The Year, Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song awards for "Leave the Door Open". Silk Sonic received the 2022 BET Award for Album of the Year and Video of the Year; the video received the 2022 Soul Train Music Award for Best Video of the Year.
2022–2025: World tour and further collaborations
Mars continued his Bruno Mars at Park MGM concert residency in 2022, and began a world tour with shows in Sydney and Tokyo. The tour continued in 2023 in South Korea, the Philippines, Brazil, and Chile. After performing in Tel Aviv on October 4, a second Tel Aviv concert scheduled for October 7 along with a concert in Doha scheduled for the following day were cancelled due to the October 7 attack. In 2024, after dates in Tokyo, Bangkok and Singapore, the tour ended with a 14-show leg in Brazil. He performed shows at his concert residency alongside the tour. The 115 shows reported sold 2,218,000 million tickets and grossed $359.8 million.
Mars and Lady Gaga released their single, "Die with a Smile", on August 16, 2024. It was his first number-one on the Billboard Global 200, and topped the charts in Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland and the U.S. The song received the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance award at the 2025 Grammy Awards and was nominated for Song of the Year. A month later, Mars and Rosé released "APT.", the lead single of Rosé's debut album Rosie (2024). It was Mars's second number-one on the Billboard Global 200, and topped Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and New Zealand charts. The song was for three awards at the 2026 Grammy Awards, including Song and Record of the Year. It won International Song of the Year at the Brit Awards 2026.
On January 24, 2025, Mars and Sexyy Red released "Fat Juicy & Wet". It entered the top ten of various Hip Hop and R&B charts. Mars produced a cover of Presley's "Burning Love" performed by Nyjah Music and Zyah Rhythm for Lilo & Stitch (2025). In June 2025, Mars was the featured artist for Fortnite Festival's ninth season; to commemorate, "Bonde do Brunão" was released as a single. In December 2025, Mars revealed that he and Rosé have worked in another song but have yet to release it.
2026–present: The Romantic and Collaborations
On January 5, 2026, Mars tweeted that his next album was done. The Romantic was released on February 27, 2026. The album opened atop the Billboard 200 with 186,000 US equivalent album units. It also reached number one in Canada, number two in Australian and top three in the UK. The Romantic's lead single, "I Just Might" debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his first song to do so and his tenth number-one overall. It also topped the charts in Canada and the Netherlands. "Risk It All" was released as the second single on February 27, 2026, alongside the album. It debuted at the top of the Billboard Global 200 and peaked at number two in New Zealand. On April 10, Mars embarked on The Romantic Tour, which is set to conclude on December 8.
In March 2026, Mars signed a global publishing deal with Avex Music Group. The partnership is expected to lead to a creative collaboration featuring him, such as an "APT"-style project influenced by Japanese culture. Not long after, MGM Resorts International named Park Avenue, the street between Park MGM and T-Mobile Arena, "Bruno Mars Drive". To commemorate the renaming of the avenue a parade and ceremony took place. The event was attended by Mars. MGM Resorts also confirmed plans with their partnership with the singer, possibly growing his brand presence both within and outside of Vegas, expanding to other MGM properties. On April 18, Mars released his first compilation album, titled Collaborations, which included eleven collaborative releases with other musicians. In the same year, he played the cowbell for the Rolling Stones's track "Never Wanna Lose You" from their studio album Foreign Tongues.
Artistry
Influences
Mars was raised on his father's 1950s doo-wop collection ("simple four-chord songs that got straight to the point") and on Little Richard, Frankie Lymon, Little Anthony, and Jerry Lee Lewis. As a child he impersonated Elvis Presley, affecting Mars's musical evolution: I'm a big fan of 1950s Elvis when he would go on stage and scare people because he was a force and girls would go nuts! You can say the same thing for Prince or The Police. It's just guys who know that people are here to see a show, so I watch those guys and I love studying them because I'm a fan. Mars also impersonated Michael Jackson (another inspiration), and hip-hop songs by The Neptunes and Timbaland which were played on the radio influenced him.
Mars's musical style initially gravitated towards R&B, and he was influenced by Keith Sweat, Jodeci, and R. Kelly. He noticed Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, New Edition, Bobby Brown, Boyz II Men, Teddy Riley and Babyface as a child, and listened to 1950s rock 'n' roll, doo-wop and Motown. Mars listened to Led Zeppelin and the Beatles in high school, and to singers with high voices such as Stevie Wonder and Freddie Mercury. Bob Marley and local bands in Hawaii gave Mars his reggae roots. Hip-hop acts like Jay-Z, the Roots and Cody Chesnutt were favorites, influencing his songwriting. Each musical genre has influenced the singer's style: "It's not easy to [create] songs with that mixture of rock and soul and hip-hop, and there's only a handful of them."
Other inspirations include Janet Jackson, Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse, Sly Stone, Carlos Santana, George Clinton, and Usher. Mars said he is a fan of Alicia Keys, Jessie J, Jack White, the Saturdays, and Kings of Leon.
Regarding his dancing influences, Mars explained "anybody that was natural", including Tina Turner as she had the confidence of doing what she felt at the moment. Others included Jackson, Prince and Jackie Wilson as "there was a confidence born of the assurance of knowing what they look like onstage."
Musical style and themes
Mars's music has been noted for a variety of styles, musical genres, and influences including pop, R&B, funk, and soul. He also includes other elements such as disco, reggae, and rock in his work. His debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans, is primarily a pop, reggae pop and R&B record. Many of Mars's songs on the album have "feel-good", carefree, optimistic sentiments. Darker subjects in his songs, however, address failed relationships, pain and loneliness. Mars's subsequent release, Unorthodox Jukebox (like his debut album) is influenced by disco, funk, rock, reggae and soul, and balladry. His second album differs from the first lyrically, addressing traditional notions of romance, male chauvinism and sexuality; the explicit content in "Gorilla" sparked controversy in Australia. Mars's third album, 24K Magic, was influenced by R&B, funk, pop and new jack swing. Lyrically, the album involves money and sex. An Evening with Silk Sonic is the debut studio album by Silk Sonic, composed of Mars and Anderson .Paak. The album is rooted in R&B, soul, funk, hip hop and pop music. It explores themes of seduction, romance, reconciliation and materialism.
Voice
Mars has a three-octave tenor vocal range. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called him one of the most "versatile and accessible singers in pop, with a light, soul-influenced voice that's an easy fit in a range of styles, a universal donor", and Tim Sendra of AllMusic described the singer's vocals on Doo-Wops & Hooligans as "the kind of smooth instrument that slips into your ear like honey." Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone called Mars a "nimble, soulful vocalist" on Unorthodox Jukebox. Jim Farber of the New York Daily News likened his voice to "the purity, cream and range of mid-period Michael Jackson" in a review of a concert promoting Unorthodox Jukebox. On 24K Magic, Consequence of Sound's Karen Gwen said that Mars showed his "pips" and pushed his vocals to the limit. She described his voice as a "clear, unapologetic tenor" and a modern-day "blessing". Jon Caramanica of The New York Times said that 24K Magic demonstrated the singer's vocal ability, from tenderness to "the more forceful side of his voice".
Songwriting
Mars has described his writing process: "I don't sit down and think, 'I'm going to write a song'"; inspiration comes out of the blue in different places. Ideas occur suddenly to him and, occasionally, he can materialize them into lyrics. He has said that he typically writes songs by playing the guitar or piano. Mars plays drums, guitar, keyboard, bass, piano, ukulele, and congas. He usually plays the instrumentation (or part of it) on his albums and the songs he composes for other artists.