WHO IS BRUNO MARS?
From Industry Obscurity to Commercial Supremacy
Written by Abukar Ahmed
Once a mere upstart, Bruno Mars is perhaps the industry’s brightest and most promising up and comer; and all without an album to his name yet. His meteoric rise to success was instigated by his soothing hooks on two of the years best records. Having produced and written the debut single on rising Atlanta rapper B.o.B.’s (aka Bobby Ray Simmons) album, ‘Nothing on you’, he burst on to the scene by featuring on the record with a serenading chorus. The falsetto voiced Bruno’s delicately delivered melody, had girls swooning far and wide and drove the record to sell twice platinum and chart number one in seven different countries.
Interestingly, as with “Airplanes”, “Nothing on you” was initially slated for B.o.B’s Atlantic Records labelmate, Lupe Fiasco. While Lupe flirted with the record, writing and recording three verses over it, he eventually decided that it wasn’t for him and lobbied to have the project given to his good friend B.o.B. While Bruno Mars surely would’ve loved to have someone of Lupe Fiasco’s stature feature on his piece, its redirection to the then-relatively unknown Bobby Ray proved a masterstroke as the collaboration propelled the two to dazzling commercial success. The seamless chemistry between his flawless vocals and B.o.B.'s Southern twang, Bruno believes, contributed infinitely to the success of “the song that changed my life”.
And change his life it did.
Hailing from a musical family, Bruno had been involved in the industry for a long time before being plucked from the shadows of oblivion. He was on-stage as early as five years old, with features in mid-week magazine for his Elvis Presley impersonations and performing covers of prominent musicians such as Michael Jackson. After graduating high school at 17, Bruno left Hawaii for California in 2003 to pursuit his music aspirations and a career in the industry. He was signed to Motown Records after an L.A based A&R heard and liked one of Bruno’s demos. His deal proved fruitless however, as his efforts failed to produce due dividends and found himself struggling to make end meet soon after.
“I couldn’t pay rent, my phone bill was about to turn off, and I had to sell all my instruments. I sold my MPC, I sold my guitar (and) my drum set; just to make a buck.”
While recording opportunities weren't forthcoming, he soon found a breakthrough as a producer/songwriter.
“You know, I tried to be an artist and that wasn’t really working out. So, I started producing records and writing for other artists and that kind of took off.”
Although not the route he had in mind, Bruno slowly garnered attention and crafted a reputation within the industry with his production and songwriting exploits. Largely an unknown fact, Bruno Mars is behind world-wide smash hits, “Right Round” by Flo Rida as well as the wildly popular (and Coca-cola’s 2010 World Cup anthem) “Waving Flag” by Canadian-Somali emcee, K’naan. In addition to those, Bruno has also produced and composed songs for such artists like Adam Levine, Brandy, Travis McCoy and the Sugar Babes among others. He also co-wrote and produced Cee Lo's newest hit, "Fuck you".
A burgeoning producer, he formed a production team with close friend Phillip Lawrence called “The Smeezingtons”. They would land a publishing deal, with record labels calling on the duo to work with their artists and sold their work to industry gurus. While the appreciation of his work was gratifying, Bruno still found it bittersweet.
“We had the opportunity to sell a song that I wanted for myself. At first I was like, “No way! This is my work. This is my art!” And then they said, “We’ll give you $20,000.” (After that) I was like, “here, you can have it [Laughs].”
While flourishing with his production and composing, Bruno was still committed to his dream of landing a record deal as a solo recording artist.
"(When the production success came)I felt like alright well, let’s just do this in the meantime and, you know, hopefully one of these days one of these record labels will hear me sing these demos and dig it. And that’s kind of what happened”.
He always sensed that he was perpetually on the cusp; that his break was right around the corner – a vision that his partner Phillip shares:
“Bruno always had the voice," Lawrence declares, "but we just needed to put together the right song and the right package for him."
Today, not only did that package arrive, but it came wrapped picture perfect, complete with a red ribbon and - in lieu of a card -, a record contract signed sincerely, the luckiest record executive in the world.
Though he’d been struggling for years on end in his quest to be “put on”, ironically, his success ultimately came overnight.
Not dissimilar to his initial opportunity into the business, Bruno’s second chance in the industry came again thanks to a brush with an industry Artist and Repertoire agent(A&R).
“I kept doing the demos and singing the songs. And with ‘Billionaire’ and ‘Nothin’ on You,’ that was really the kind of artist I was trying to be, especially with ‘Nothin’ On You,’ with these beautiful melodies. I sang the song and gave it to an A&R at Atlantic. They loved it. And the rest, corny as it sounds, is history.”
'Billionaire' proved the perfect follow up project in capitalising on his ‘Nothing on You’ success. Produced by the ‘Smeezingtons’, the record charted in the top 10 in 7 different countries around the world; going number #1 in the UK and The Netherlands. In a further boost for Bruno, the song was recently certified as double platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), selling in excess of $2 million copies worldwide.
Largely responsible for the conception of two multi-platinum singles in the space of 6 months, Bruno Mars’ has definitely arrived.
“As long as I’ve been trying to do this, it does feel like overnight success. Although I have been struggling for four years trying to do this music thing, as soon as that song came out, [the label said] “Okay, we have to put your album out!”
Unlike, his first stint, Bruno Mars is most definitely here to stay this time around.
Between being dubbed “the voice of a new generation”, drawing comparisons to late the king of pop, Michael Jackson, and aligning himself with artist such as, Gnarls Barkly’s, Cee Lo Green, it seems as though Peter “Bruno Mars” Hernandez possesses a concoction of invaluable ingredients that provide for a precise recipe for lasting success.
With the recent release of his first single - ‘Just the way you are’ - from his forthcoming solo EP, Bruno has was wasted no time in consolidating his name, cunningly capitalizing on his booming success. Look out for his debut Album, “Doo-Wops & Hooligans” which is schedule for an October 5 release.
Bruno also released a mini-album entitled, 'It's Better If You Don't Understand', to precede his debut full length Project. An acclaimed body of work, the four-song effort is slightly pop influenced, all the while showcasing the very best of Bruno's songwriting prowess.
Check the leading single "The Other Side" (featuring B.o.B and Cee Lo Green) from his mini-album and also "Just The Way You Are" from his forthcoming debut studio album, after the jump. You can also find a download link to his mini-EP as well as Lupe's unmastered and original version of 'Nothin' on You'.
Bruno Mars feat. Cee Lo Green & B.o.B - The Other Side:
Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are
Lupe Fiasco ft. Bruno Mars - Nothin' On You (Unmastered)
And change his life it did.
Hailing from a musical family, Bruno had been involved in the industry for a long time before being plucked from the shadows of oblivion. He was on-stage as early as five years old, with features in mid-week magazine for his Elvis Presley impersonations and performing covers of prominent musicians such as Michael Jackson. After graduating high school at 17, Bruno left Hawaii for California in 2003 to pursuit his music aspirations and a career in the industry. He was signed to Motown Records after an L.A based A&R heard and liked one of Bruno’s demos. His deal proved fruitless however, as his efforts failed to produce due dividends and found himself struggling to make end meet soon after.
“I couldn’t pay rent, my phone bill was about to turn off, and I had to sell all my instruments. I sold my MPC, I sold my guitar (and) my drum set; just to make a buck.”
While recording opportunities weren't forthcoming, he soon found a breakthrough as a producer/songwriter.
“You know, I tried to be an artist and that wasn’t really working out. So, I started producing records and writing for other artists and that kind of took off.”
Although not the route he had in mind, Bruno slowly garnered attention and crafted a reputation within the industry with his production and songwriting exploits. Largely an unknown fact, Bruno Mars is behind world-wide smash hits, “Right Round” by Flo Rida as well as the wildly popular (and Coca-cola’s 2010 World Cup anthem) “Waving Flag” by Canadian-Somali emcee, K’naan. In addition to those, Bruno has also produced and composed songs for such artists like Adam Levine, Brandy, Travis McCoy and the Sugar Babes among others. He also co-wrote and produced Cee Lo's newest hit, "Fuck you".
A burgeoning producer, he formed a production team with close friend Phillip Lawrence called “The Smeezingtons”. They would land a publishing deal, with record labels calling on the duo to work with their artists and sold their work to industry gurus. While the appreciation of his work was gratifying, Bruno still found it bittersweet.
“We had the opportunity to sell a song that I wanted for myself. At first I was like, “No way! This is my work. This is my art!” And then they said, “We’ll give you $20,000.” (After that) I was like, “here, you can have it [Laughs].”
While flourishing with his production and composing, Bruno was still committed to his dream of landing a record deal as a solo recording artist.
"(When the production success came)I felt like alright well, let’s just do this in the meantime and, you know, hopefully one of these days one of these record labels will hear me sing these demos and dig it. And that’s kind of what happened”.
He always sensed that he was perpetually on the cusp; that his break was right around the corner – a vision that his partner Phillip shares:
“Bruno always had the voice," Lawrence declares, "but we just needed to put together the right song and the right package for him."
Today, not only did that package arrive, but it came wrapped picture perfect, complete with a red ribbon and - in lieu of a card -, a record contract signed sincerely, the luckiest record executive in the world.
Though he’d been struggling for years on end in his quest to be “put on”, ironically, his success ultimately came overnight.
Not dissimilar to his initial opportunity into the business, Bruno’s second chance in the industry came again thanks to a brush with an industry Artist and Repertoire agent(A&R).
“I kept doing the demos and singing the songs. And with ‘Billionaire’ and ‘Nothin’ on You,’ that was really the kind of artist I was trying to be, especially with ‘Nothin’ On You,’ with these beautiful melodies. I sang the song and gave it to an A&R at Atlantic. They loved it. And the rest, corny as it sounds, is history.”
'Billionaire' proved the perfect follow up project in capitalising on his ‘Nothing on You’ success. Produced by the ‘Smeezingtons’, the record charted in the top 10 in 7 different countries around the world; going number #1 in the UK and The Netherlands. In a further boost for Bruno, the song was recently certified as double platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), selling in excess of $2 million copies worldwide.
Largely responsible for the conception of two multi-platinum singles in the space of 6 months, Bruno Mars’ has definitely arrived.
“As long as I’ve been trying to do this, it does feel like overnight success. Although I have been struggling for four years trying to do this music thing, as soon as that song came out, [the label said] “Okay, we have to put your album out!”
Unlike, his first stint, Bruno Mars is most definitely here to stay this time around.
Between being dubbed “the voice of a new generation”, drawing comparisons to late the king of pop, Michael Jackson, and aligning himself with artist such as, Gnarls Barkly’s, Cee Lo Green, it seems as though Peter “Bruno Mars” Hernandez possesses a concoction of invaluable ingredients that provide for a precise recipe for lasting success.
With the recent release of his first single - ‘Just the way you are’ - from his forthcoming solo EP, Bruno has was wasted no time in consolidating his name, cunningly capitalizing on his booming success. Look out for his debut Album, “Doo-Wops & Hooligans” which is schedule for an October 5 release.
Bruno also released a mini-album entitled, 'It's Better If You Don't Understand', to precede his debut full length Project. An acclaimed body of work, the four-song effort is slightly pop influenced, all the while showcasing the very best of Bruno's songwriting prowess.
Check the leading single "The Other Side" (featuring B.o.B and Cee Lo Green) from his mini-album and also "Just The Way You Are" from his forthcoming debut studio album, after the jump. You can also find a download link to his mini-EP as well as Lupe's unmastered and original version of 'Nothin' on You'.
Bruno Mars feat. Cee Lo Green & B.o.B - The Other Side:
Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are
Lupe Fiasco ft. Bruno Mars - Nothin' On You (Unmastered)
To Download Bruno Mars' "It's Better If You Don't Understand" Mini-EP, Click HERE
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