Songfacts®:

• Like his monster hit "Uptown Funk," "24K Magic" is a joyful party song which finds Bruno Mars tearing up the town. This time, he's "a dangerous man with some money in my pocket," which he's used to buy the finest in pimpwear: a mink coat, a pinkie ring, and the finest shoes Inglewood, California has to offer. It's going to be a good night.
• "24K," which Mars renders in Roman numerals on the album (XXIV K), refers to 24 karat gold, which is the highest purity. The "24K Magic" is what he and his crew are bringing to the party. The title isn't purely figurative: they're also wearing lots of (presumably 24 karat) gold, including the "Cuban links" chains Mars is sporting.
• The first single and title track to Mars' third album, "24K Magic" was released on October 7, 2016. A few days earlier, Mars posted on Instagram: "You can call it my first single, but I call it the invitation to the party."
• The video takes place in a good spot for hedonism: Las Vegas. Directed by Cameron Duddy, the clip starts with Mars and co. arriving at night in a private jet. They quickly get to work, hitting the hottest nightspots and cruising the strip.
  
  In some scenes, Mars is riding a Jet Ski in front of the famous fountains at the Bellagio hotel. How did he get this kind of access? Maybe because the hotel created a special fountain show set to "Uptown Funk."
• This song uses many of the same elements found in "Uptown Funk," including lots of group vocals and responses ("Hot Damn," "Keep Up"), clever metaphors for flyness ("Make a dragon want to retire," "Give the color red the blues"), and semi-choreographed dance scenes where the five-man crew stakes out the territory and impresses onlookers.
  
  Mars noted to NME: "We wrote '24K Magic' when 'Uptown Funk' was #1. So if you hear the same spirit in that song, that's why. I'd say that it was always in the back of my mind when we were doing it. It was to get me to this record. It's a bridge."
• Bruno Mars brought his funk to Saturday Night Live when he performed the song on the October 15, 2016 episode. The energetic rendition was the Hawaiian-born singer-songwriter's fourth appearance on the show.
• You can be irritated with Mars because of his splendid style and superb jewelry, but as he points out in the second verse, Jesus is responsible for gracing him with his talent and riches, so there's no use condemning him for it:
  
  We too fresh
  Got to blame it on Jesus
  #blessed
• Mars and his Hooligans are living the good life in the video, roaming Sin City and scootering around the Bellagio's hallways with baskets full of cash and literally throwing it in the air. Mars is so money, except he actually knows it.
  
  In an interview with BET, he told Damien Scott, "What I hope I can bring to the table, is that pure joy."
• This won Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards in 2018. Mars also won Song of the Year for "That's What I Like ."
• "24K Magic" comes in handy for tuning car stereo systems, according to Bose engineer Mark Armitage. The song "features a lot of instruments that are spread wide across the soundstage, from the high tweeter notes all the way down," he told Car And Driver. "It's very full."