• October 8, 1985
• His real name is Peter Gene Hernandez. He was nicknamed "Bruno" by his father at the age of 2 because he was a chubby kid and there was a famous chubby wrestler at the time named Bruno Sammartino. At the start of his career he added "Mars" to his stage name because "a lot of girls say I'm out of this world, so I was like, I guess I'm from Mars."
• His first brush with show business was at the age of 4. He gives more details in an interview with National Public Radio: "Dad started bringing me up onstage every night till finally they worked a little segment out for me. My mom made me an Elvis outfit, and I'd go up there and do my thing." His impersonation of Elvis also won him the role of Little Elvis in the movie Honeymoon In Vegas (1992). As a young boy, he continued to make performances impersonating Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.
• Growing up in Hawaii in a family of musicians marked his music with traces of traditional Hawaiian music, reggae, pop, rock, R&B, soul, doo-wop and hip-hop.
• Before launching a solo career, Bruno Mars was part of a writing and production team called The Smeezingtons, with Phillip Lawrence and Ari Levine. They wrote and produced songs for other artists, including Brandy's "Long Distance," Flo Rida's "Right Round," and Cee-Lo Green's "Forget You." He also sang and co-wrote the hooks for "Nothin' On You" by B.o.B and "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy.
• He named his debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans because it has songs that both women and men are going to relate to: doo-wops are for the girls, and hooligans are for the guys. His favorite song on the album is "Grenade."
• Bruno is just 5 feet 5 inches tall. His relatively low stature was noticeable when he received a VMA (Male Video of The Year for "Locked Out of Heaven") from Taylor Swift, who at just under 6 feet, appeared to tower over him. Height, of course, has no impact on talent - Bono is about 5 feet 6 inches.
• Bruno Mars was arrested in 2010 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas after a bathroom attendant caught him using cocaine in a men's room stall. He pleaded guilty, paid a $2,000 fine, and did 200 hours community service. He's kept a clean record since.
• His second album, Unorthodox Jukebox, solidified his superstar status when it was released in 2012, but he went four years before releasing another album (24K Magic). His 2014 Mark Ronson collaboration "Uptown Funk" helped keep him in the pubic eye; he headlined the Super Bowl halftime show that year and made a guest appearance the following year.
• He's a meticulous songwriter, constantly refining the tracks. He says the challenge is coming up with something original. "I'm competing with billions of other songs," he told Rolling Stone. "It's like winning the lottery - you just gotta get lucky."
• Mars is a serial collaborator, teaming up with artists across a range of genres with tremendous success. Examples include:
  
  "Nothin' On You" with B.o.B (2009)
  "Mirror" with Lil Wayne (2011)
  "Finesse" with Cardi B (2016)
  "Die With A Smile" with Lady Gaga (2024)
  "APT." with Rosé (2024)
  
  He also paired with Anderson .Paak in the duo Silk Sonic. They had a huge hit with "Leave The Door Open" in 2021.
• Bruno's heritage is a stew that includes Puerto Rican and Ashkenazi Jewish roots from his father and Filipino and Spanish roots from his mother. As the comedian Roy Wood Jr. put it, "He literally looks like every race at the same time."
• Dude can dance, which comes in handy for music videos and live shows. Growing up, he studied the moves of James Brown, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley to come up with a smooth style that looks effortless. You can see him get his groove on in the videos for "24K Magic" and "Uptown Funk."
• Mars is one of the most-streamed artists in history, with his new songs and his back catalog consistently putting up staggering numbers across platforms. He emerged in 2010 just when streaming was becoming the preferred method of listening to music.
• Bruno Mars' solo track listings have been consistently short: Doo-Wops & Hooligans and Unorthodox Jukebox each have 10 tracks, while 24K Magic and The Romantic both contain just nine. Mars explained the reasoning to iHeartRadio's Graeme O'Neil: "It's very hard for me to get excited because I know what it feels like to be a part of a special song. I'm not talking about charts; I'm not talking about awards - I'm talking about just for me."
  
  This self-imposed quality filter is why his albums are short and why they take years between releases, with Mars adding, "I just got to keep showing up to the studio and hope one day God walks into the room and everything just fits; the chords, the groove, the melody, the lyric."
• After 24K Magic in 2016, Bruno waited 10 years to release another solo album, The Romantic. True to form, it was loaded with hits, starting with the lead single, "I Just Might," another chart-topper. The album was previewed at record stores on February 25, 2026, two days before release, then live-streamed on TikTok and various radio stations the day before release, an innovative marketing strategy that moved away from teasers on social media.

Comments: 1

• Emma from 8haverhillst.I love ATP!

More Songfacts:

FireThe Pointer Sisters

Bruce Springsteen originally wrote "Fire" for Elvis Presley in 1977, and even sent him a demo. Sadly the King died before he ever heard it, and it was left to the Pointer Sisters to record the song.

GloryJay-Z

Jay-Z's 2012 "Glory" features his daughter Blue Ivy Carter's cries and coos. At less than two days old, she became the youngest ever credited artist to feature on a Billboard chart when the song debuted on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at #74.

3 AMMatchbox Twenty

The Matchbox Twenty song "3 AM" is about the difficult times lead singer Rob Thomas spent caring for his mother, who had cancer.

YYZRush

The instrumental "YYZ" by Rush got its title from the transmitter code for Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Toronto, near where the band is from.

She Blinded Me With ScienceThomas Dolby

Thomas Dolby wrote "She Blinded Me With Science" so he could direct the video, which was inspired by silent films and set in a "home for deranged scientists."

AirplanesB.o.B

"Airplanes" by B.o.B was written by Lupe Fiasco, who recorded it but decided to pass.

Editor's Picks

Mike Scott of The WaterboysSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Whole Of The Moon" and "Red Army Blues," and why rock music has "outlived its era of innovation."

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in SongsSong Writing

Elvis, Little Richard and Cheryl Cole have all sung about Teddy Bears, but there is also a terrifying Teddy song from 1932 and a touching trucker Teddy tune from 1976.

Bob DaisleySongwriter Interviews

Bob was the bass player and lyricist for the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums. Here's how he wrote songs like "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" with Ozzy and Randy Rhoads.

JJ Burnel of The StranglersSongwriter Interviews

JJ talks about The Stranglers' signature sound - keyboard and bass - which isn't your typical strain of punk rock.

DevoSongwriter Interviews

Devo founders Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale take us into their world of subversive performance art. They may be right about the De-Evoloution thing.

David Paich of TotoSongwriter Interviews

Toto's keyboard player explains the true meaning of "Africa" and talks about working on the Thriller album.