Bruno Mars

Bruno Mars
Mars in 2017
Born	Peter Gene Hernandez (1985-10-08) October 8, 1985 (age 38) Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Occupations	Singer songwriter musician record producer dancer director
Years active	1992, 2004–present
Works	Discography
Partner	Jessica Caban (2011–present)
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Genres	Pop R&B funk soul
Instruments	Vocals guitar piano keyboards drums bass ukulele congas
Labels	Universal Motown Atlantic Elektra
Member of	The Hooligans Silk Sonic
Formerly of	The Smeezingtons
Website	brunomars.com
Musical artist

Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical styles, including pop, R&B, funk, soul, reggae, disco, and rock. Mars is accompanied by his band, the Hooligans, who play a variety of instruments, such as the electric guitar, bass, piano, keyboards, drums, and horns, while also serving as backup singers and disco dancers. In 2021, Mars and fellow American singer Anderson .Paak, formed the musical superduo Silk Sonic.

Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Mars moved to Los Angeles in 2003 to pursue a musical career. Following a brief contract with Motown Records, he first established his name in the music industry as a songwriter and co-founder of the production team the Smeezingtons, who worked on releases for others artists and Mars himself. He rose to fame as a recording artist following his guest performances on the singles "Nothin' on You" (2009) by B.o.B, which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100, as well as "Billionaire" (2010) by Travie McCoy, which peaked within the top five. In the same year, Mars released his debut studio album Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010), which blended pop with reggae and R&B. It spawned the international number-one singles "Just the Way You Are", "Grenade", and "The Lazy Song". Drawing inspiration both aforementioned genres, as well as disco, funk, rock, and soul, his second studio album, Unorthodox Jukebox (2012), became his first to top the Billboard 200. It amassed two Billboard Hot 100-number one songs: "Locked Out of Heaven" and "When I Was Your Man".

In 2014, Mars was featured on Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk", which topped various music charts, spending a total of fourteen and seven weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, respectively. Mars's third studio album, the R&B-focused 24K Magic (2016), received seven Grammy Awards, winning the major categories of Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year. The album also yielded the top-five singles "24K Magic", "That's What I Like" (his seventh Billboard Hot 100 number-one single), and a remix of "Finesse" featuring Cardi B. In 2021, as part of Silk Sonic, Mars released the collaborative studio album An Evening with Silk Sonic, which delved into 1970s R&B and soul and was led by the chart-topping single "Leave the Door Open". It received four Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

Mars has sold over 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Eight of his songs have reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and his concert tours are some of the highest-grossing in history. He has received 15 Grammy Awards (including three Record of the Year wins), four Brit Awards, eleven American Music Awards, 13 Soul Train Awards and holds three Guinness World Records, among other accolades. He featured on Music Week's best songwriters (2011) and Billboard's Greatest of All Time Artists (2019) lists and rankings such as the Time 100 and Forbes Celebrity 100. Mars became the first artist to receive six Diamond-certified songs in the United States and has been regarded as a pop icon due to his influential career.