Gorilla

Album: Unorthodox Jukebox (2012)
Charted: 62 22
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Songfacts®:

  • This sexed-up rocker finds Mars referencing drugs, alcohol, and the pleasures of the flesh in true rock 'n' roll fashion as well as some cussing. "It's about good old animalistic sex," Mars told Rolling Stone.
  • Mars was arrested in 2010 for possession of cocaine, and Rolling Stone asked the singer whether he was concerned the lyric "Got a body full of liquor with a cocaine kicker" might remind listeners of the drug bust. Mars didn't seem concerned. "To take that line out would dilute my art," he replied. "The song needs a sense of danger. When I was a kid, pop could be dangerous but still massive. Michael Jackson would grab his crotch. Prince would rock assless chaps. With this album, I wanna let loose."
  • So why the gorilla on the Unorthodox Jukebox album cover? Mars explained to MTV News that the primate is there because, "that was the first song we wrote for this album and it really set the tone for the entire project and it kind of became the mascot. Why not put it on the cover?"
  • The song's steamy music video was co-directed by Bruno Mars and his frequent collaborator Cameron Duddy. It finds the singer and his band performing the song in a seedy south-of-the-border strip club. The opening sequence features a cameo appearance by Puerto Rican American actor Luis Guzman (Boogie Nights, Traffic) as the club's sleazy owner and the clip also co-stars Slumdog Millionaire actress Freida Pinto as Isabella the stripper.

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