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Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars.^[1] About.com has described contemporary pop punk bands as having "a radio friendly sheen to their music, but still maintaining much of the speed and attitude of classic punk rock".^[2]

It is not clear when the term pop punk was first used, but pop-influenced punk rock had been around since the mid- to late-1970s.^[3] An early use of the term pop punk appeared in a 1977 New York Times article, "Cabaret: Tom Petty's Pop Punk Rock Evokes Sounds of 60s".^[4] In the mid-1990s, the California pop punk bands Green Day and The Offspring, who were later followed by Blink-182, would all achieve worldwide commercial success. From the mid-1990s onwards, some bands associated with the genre have been described as "happy punk," "faux-punk," "mall punk," "pseudo-punk," or "bubblegum punk." ^[5][6]

History[link]

Origins (1974-1989)[link]

Protopunk and power pop bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s helped lay the groundwork for the pop punk sound, which emerged at the onset of punk rock around 1974 with the Ramones.^[7] The Ramones' loud and fast melodic minimalism differentiated them from other bands in New York City's budding art rock scene, but pop punk was not considered a separate subgenre until later. The music of the Buzzcocks,^[8] Generation X, 999, The Jam,^[9] The Rezillos, The Lurkers, The Undertones,^[10][11] The Shapes and Toy Dolls featured catchy melodies, as well as lyrics that sometimes dealt with relatively light themes such as teenage romance. The US band Bad Religion, who started in 1979, were another band that helped lay the groundwork for contemporary pop punk.^[12][13][14] Many mod revival bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s also displayed pop punk leanings.

By 1981, hardcore punk had emerged in the United States, with louder, faster music than punk bands. Vocal harmony, melodic instrumentation and 4/4 drumming were replaced with shouting, discordant instrumentation, and experimental rhythms. A few bands, such as Descendents, Screeching Weasel, and The Vandals, began to combine hardcore with pop music to create a new, faster pop punk sound. Their positive yet sarcastic approach began to separate them from the more serious hardcore scene. In the 1980s, the term pop punk was used in publications such as Maximum RocknRoll to describe bands similar to Social Distortion, Agent Orange, and T.S.O.L..^[15]

Independent pop punk (1990-1993)[link]

Guttermouth - live in concert

Pop punk in the United States underwent a resurgence in the early- to mid-1990s, although the genre was not commercially viable at that time. Many pop punk bands retained a do it yourself (DIY) approach to their music, and a number of independent record labels emerged during that period, often run by band members who wanted to release their own music and that of their friends. The independent labels SST/Cruz Records, Lookout! Records, Fat Wreck Chords and Epitaph Records were about to achieve mainstream success.

Popular acceptance (1994-1997)[link]

In February 1994, Green Day released Dookie, the band's first album on a major record label, after starting out on the independent Lookout! Records in 1989. The first single, "Longview", instantly became a hit on MTV and modern rock stations across North America and the United Kingdom. Following the success of their first single, Green Day released "Basket Case", which became an even bigger hit. Other hits from the album included "When I Come Around", "Welcome to Paradise" and "She". As of 2007, Dookie has sold over 15 million copies worldwide.^[16] Green Day performed at Woodstock '94 and on Saturday Night Live, and appeared on the covers of Spin and Rolling Stone magazines. They won a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album.

Soon after the release of Dookie, The Offspring released the album Smash on the independent label Epitaph Records. The first single, "Come Out and Play", had a pop punk sound that differed from their earlier work, and it became popular first on radio and later on MTV. Other singles, "Self Esteem" and "Gotta Get Away", sold well. The album sold over 14 million copies worldwide, setting a record for most albums sold on an independent label.^[17] By the end of the year, Dookie and Smash had sold millions of copies.^[18] The commercial success of these two albums attracted major label interest in punk, particularly Epitaph bands from Southern California, with Bad Religion, NOFX and Rancid reportedly being offered lucrative contracts.^[19] Also during this period, Face to Face released their breakthrough album Big Choice, featuring their only top 40 hit "Disconnected",^[20] which also became popular on the Los Angeles radio station KROQ. 1998 saw the MxPx debut major label release of Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo, making the hits like "I'm OK, You're OK", "Party, My House, Be There", and "What's Mine is Yours". The album went Gold 2 years later.

In the early- to mid-1990s, ska punk achieved commercial success in the United States and several other countries. Some ska punk music — by bands such as Reel Big Fish, Goldfinger, Sublime and Less Than Jake — shared many characteristics with pop punk.

By 1997, pop punk's audience had expanded significantly and the genre had been brought to new levels of mainstream acceptance.

Continued mainstream ascent (1998-2002)[link]

In 1998, The Offspring released the album Americana, which went platinum many times over, and produced hit singles such as "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)", "Why Don't You Get a Job?" and "The Kids Aren't Alright". In 1999, Blink-182 released Enema of the State, which sold over 15 million copies worldwide.^[21] The album had three hit singles, including the number 1 single "All the Small Things" and the number 2 singles "What's My Age Again?" and "Adam's Song".^[22] Also in 1999, Lit released their second album, A Place in the Sun, which peaked at number 31 on the Billboard 200^[23] and spawned the single "My Own Worst Enemy", which spent 11 weeks at number 1 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart.^[24]

In 2000, The Offspring released their next album Conspiracy of One on Napster before they released it on Columbia Records, sacrificing album sales so their fans could hear their music for free. The same year, MxPx released The Ever Passing Moment which proved the hit "Responsibility", charting at number 24 on the Alternative Rock chart.^[25] In 2001, Sum 41 released their major label debut All Killer No Filler, which went multi-platinum and included the hit singles "Fat Lip", "In Too Deep" and "Motivation", all of which were featured prominently on TRL and modern rock charts.^[26] American Hi-Fi released their successful debut album which included the top ten hit "Flavor of the Weak".^[27] Also that year, Blink-182's album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket debuted at number 1 on the Billboard album charts^[28] and sold over four million copies in the United States. The album included the modern rock and TRL hits "The Rock Show", "First Date" and "Stay Together for the Kids".^[29]

In 2002, Good Charlotte released their second album, The Young and the Hopeless, which went triple platinum. Also in 2002, Simple Plan released their debut album No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls, and Face to Face released How to Ruin Everything, which would be their final album before disbanding two years later. Also that year, Blink-182 co-headlined one of the biggest concert tours in pop punk history, the Pop Disaster Tour with Green Day. In summer 2002, New Found Glory released their third album, Sticks and Stones, which experienced a fair amount of mainstream success with singles such as "My Friends Over You" and "Head on Collision". Sum 41 released their second album, Does This Look Infected, in 2002, giving them a harder sound with the singles "Still Waiting", "Over My Head (Better Off Dead)" and "The Hell Song". Solo artist Avril Lavigne has found success since 2002, combining confessional self-empowerment and teenage-angst lyrics with a pop punk catchy guitar-based sound.^{[30][31][32][33][34][35]} Some have referred to her as a "pop punk princess".^[36][37]

Contemporary mainstream pop punk (2003-present)[link]

In 2003, The Ataris released their breakthrough album So Long, Astoria, which included their first top 40 hit, a cover of "The Boys of Summer". Also in 2003, Blink-182 released a self-titled album that garnered several hits, such as "Feeling This", "I Miss You", and "Down". Same year American Hi-Fi released their second album The Art of Losing which climbed 80 on billboard 200. Also that year, Yellowcard's Ocean Avenue featured the hit singles "Ocean Avenue", "Way Away" and "Only One", and The Offspring's Splinter spawned another number 1 US hit with "Hit That". MxPx's Before Everything and After debuted at number 51 on the Billboard 200 to critical acclaim.^[38]

In 2004, New Found Glory released Catalyst, which included the hit "All Downhill from Here".^[39] In May 2004, Avril Lavigne released Under My Skin, which was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.^[40] Hawthorne Heights released their debut album The Silence in Black and White in August 2004, and it was certified gold in the United States. In October 2004, Sum 41 released the album Chuck. Its first single, "We're All to Blame", reached number 10 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks charts,^[41] and the single "Pieces" topped the charts in Canada. Also that year, Simple Plan released their second album Still Not Getting Any.... Its first single, "Welcome to My Life", reached number 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart and the Spanish Singles Chart, as well as reaching number 10 on the Top 40 Mainstream chart and number 21 on the Top 40 Tracks.^[42] Green Day released the rock opera album American Idiot in September 2004. The singles "American Idiot", "Jesus of Suburbia", "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", "Holiday" and "Wake Me Up When September Ends" received international airplay and MTV video rotation, and topped charts worldwide.^[43]

In 2005, MxPx released Panic which featured the radio hits "Heard That Sound" and "Wrecking Hotel Rooms".

In 2007, Sum 41 released the album Underclass Hero, which reached number 1 on the Top Canadian Albums chart.^[44] Around the same time, Avril Lavigne released the album The Best Damn Thing,^[45] which reached number 1 on the Billboard 200 and other charts,^[46] and was the fourth-best-selling album of the year.^[47] Also in 2007, Relient K released their fifth album Five Score and Seven Years Ago which debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200.^[48]

All Time Low became commercially successful in the late 2000s, gaining popularity with their albums So Wrong, It's Right (2007) and Nothing Personal (2009). In June 2008, The Offspring released the album Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, featuring their most successful single "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid", which topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks charts for 11 weeks, making it the longest consecutive run for any Offspring single at number 1.

In December 2009, All Time Low won the Best Pop Punk Band award at the Top In Rock Awards. In February 2009, Blink-182 reunited onstage for the first time since 2005, at the 51st Grammy Awards, announcing their reformation as a band. Also in 2009, Green Day released their rock opera album 21st Century Breakdown. Although not as critically acclaimed as American Idiot, it has still sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide.

In 2011, Blink-182 released Neighborhoods, which produced the singles "Up All Night" and "After Midnight". As of December 20, 2011, Neighborhoods has sold over 259,000 copies.

See also[link]

• List of pop punk bands

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

• The Mod Pop Punk Archives - includes information about early pop punk bands
• Punk pop - article about pop punk music
• The Buzzcocks, Founders of Pop Punk - article about the Buzzcock's role in developing pop punk genre

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Look up pop in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Pop may refer to:

Music and dance[link]

• Pop music, a musical genre
• Pop!, a UK pop group
• Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
• PoP!, the fictional band in Music and Lyrics
• Pop (U2 album)
• Pop (Mao Abe album)
• Pop (Gas album)
• Pop (Same Difference album)
• Pop (Joachim Witt album)
• "Pop" (song), by 'N Sync
• Popping, a style of dance

People[link]

• Iggy Pop, musician
• Iulian Pop, Romanian mayor of Cluj
• Gregg Popovich, National Basketball Association head coach
• Pop Chalee, also known as Merina Lujan (1906–1993), American painter, muralist, performer and singer
• Pop Corkhill (1858-1921), American Major League Baseball (MLB) player
• Pop Dillon (1873-1931), American MLB player
• Pop Foster (1878-1944), American MLB player
• Pop Gates (1917-1999), American basketball player and Harlem Globetrotters coach
• Pop Ivy (1916-2003), American football player and coach
• Pop Levi, English singer, musician, record producer and filmmaker
• Pop Robson (born 1945), English footballer
• Pop Schriver (1865-1932), American MLB catcher
• Pop Smith (1856-1927), Canadian MLB player
• Pop Snyder (1854-1924), American MLB player, manager and umpire
• Pop Tate (baseball) (1860-1932), American MLB player
• Glenn Scobey Warner (1871-1954), American football player and coach better known as Pop Warner
• Pop Williams (1874-1959), American MLB pitcher

Sports and games[link]

• Pop (professional wrestling)
• Pop (video game)
• Pokémon Organized Play, a trading card and figure organization
• Prince of Persia

Computing and technology[link]

• Package on package, a circuit packaging technique
• Parallel Ocean Program, an ocean circulation model
• Partial-order planning, an algorithm
• Point of Presence, a demarcation point between communications entities
• Post Office Protocol, an Internet e-mail protocol
• An operation of a stack data structure

Media and publications[link]

• Pop (UK TV channel), a UK channel
• Pop (fashion magazine), a British fashion magazine
• Pop Magazine (Australia), a sports magazine
• Pop (Swedish magazine)
• POP TV, a Slovenian television network
• Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, a medical journal

Places[link]

• Pop River (Jijia), Romania
• Pop River (Sadu), Romania
• Puerto Plata Airport, IATA code POP
• Poppleton railway station, station code POP
• Pacific Ocean Park, an amusement park

Other uses[link]

• Eton Society, an organization at Eton College, nicknamed "Pop"
• Pay on production
• Plaster of Paris
• Persistent organic pollutant, an organic compound resistant to degradation
• Pop art, a visual art movement
• Pop culture, the mainstream phenomena of a society
• Pop, another term for soft drinks
• Population, the collection of humans or organisms in a given area
• Probability of precipitation, a weather forecasting measure
• Problem-oriented policing, a policing strategy
• Process Oriented Psychology
• Progestogen only pill, a contraceptive
• Point of Purchase used often in retail
• Proof-of-payment, a fare collection approach

See also[link]

• Pops (disambiguation)
• PoP (disambiguation)
• Popping (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Look up punk in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Punk or punks may refer to:

• Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
• Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock
  • Punk fashion, clothing styles associated with the punk subculture
  • Punk ideologies, a group of social and political beliefs associated with the punk subculture
  • Punk literature, writings produced by the punk subculture
  • Punk visual art, artwork associated with the punk subculture
  • Punk film, film artwork associated with the punk subculture and music
• Cyberpunk or one of its various derivative literary genres

Works[link]

• Punk (magazine), a 1970s United States punk music fanzine
• P.U.N.K.S., a 1999 film about a group of bullied teens who find a suit that bestows superhuman strength
• Punks (film), a 2001 film centered around a group of LGBT African American friends
• "Punk", a song from the 2001 Gorillaz self-titled debut album
• "Punk", a song from the 2003 Ferry Corsten album Right of Way
• Punk'd, a hidden-camera television program that debuted on MTV in 2003
• The Encyclopedia of Punk, a 2006 reference work by Brian Cogan

People[link]

• CM Punk (born 1978), American professional wrestler
• Donny the Punk, United States prison reform activist
• David Otunga (born 1980), "Punk" from the reality TV series I Love New York 2 and now professional wrestler; husband of Jennifer Hudson

Tinder[link]

• Punk (fireworks), a smoldering stick used for lighting firework fuses
• Amadou and related substances decayed through the influence of fungus and used like tinder

Slang and other uses[link]

• "Punk", an archaic term for prostitute, as used by Shakespeare
• Punk, one of the Mega Man Killers, robots in the Mega Man Classic video game series
• A cattail

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Note: This page may need to be cleaned up to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Further information might be found on the talk page. Tools: DabFix

Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars performing in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 19, 2010
Background information
Birth name	Peter Gene Hernandez
Born	(1985-10-08) October 8, 1985 (age 26)[1] Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Genres	Reggae fusion, pop, soul, R&B
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, record producer, model, dancer
Instruments	Vocals, drums, guitar, keyboard, bass, piano, harmonica
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Atlantic, Elektra
Associated acts	The Smeezingtons
Website	www.brunomars.com

Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age. He performed in various musical venues in his hometown throughout his childhood. He graduated from high school and then moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a musical career. Mars produced songs for other artists, joining production team The Smeezingtons.

Mars had an unsuccessful stint with Motown Records, but then signed with Atlantic Records in 2009. He became recognized as a solo artist after lending his vocals and co-writing the hooks for the songs "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B, and "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy. He also co-wrote the hits "Right Round" by Flo Rida featuring Ke$ha, and "Wavin' Flag" by K'naan. In October 2010, he released his debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans. Anchored by the worldwide number-one singles "Just the Way You Are" and "Grenade", the album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200.^[2] Mars was nominated for seven Grammys at the 53rd Grammy Awards, winning Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Just the Way You Are".

Mars' music is noted for displaying a wide variety of styles and influences, and contains elements of many musical genres. He has worked with an assortment of artists from various genres. Mars acknowledges the influences that his collaborations have had on his own music. As a child, he was highly influenced by artists such as Little Richard,^[3] Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson and would often impersonate these artists from a young age. Mars also incorporates reggae and Motown inspired sounds into his work. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times referred to Mars as "one of the most versatile and accessible singers in pop."^[4] Worldwide, Mars became the best-selling digital artist in 2011. He had three singles in the top ten, including first place with "Just The Way You Are," which sold 12.5 million copies.^[5] Mars won Best International Male Solo Artist at the BRIT Awards in 2012.^[6] Bruno Mars has sold 5 million albums and 36 million singles worldwide.^[7]

Early life[link]

Bruno Mars was born Peter Gene Hernandez on October 8th, 1985, and raised in the Waikiki neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii, by parents Pete Hernandez, of Puerto Rican descent, and Bernadette "Bernie," a Filipina.^{[8][9][10][11]} His mother emigrated to Hawaii from the Philippines as a child and his father moved to the island from Brooklyn, New York.^[12] Mars' parents met while performing in a show, where his mother was a hula dancer and his father played percussion.^[12] At the age of two, he was nicknamed "Bruno" by his father, because of his resemblance to legendary professional wrestler Bruno Sammartino.^[13]

Mars was one of six children and came from a musical family who exposed him to a diverse mix of reggae, rock, hip hop, and R&B.^[14][15] In addition to being a dancer, his mother was a singer and his father used his musical ability to perform Little Richard rock n roll music.^[3] Mars' uncle was an Elvis impersonator. By the age of three his uncle had Mars up on the stage performing. He also performed songs by artists such as Michael Jackson, The Isley Brothers, and The Temptations.^[10] At age four, Mars began performing five days a week with his family's band, The Love Notes, in which he became known on the island for his impersonation of Presley.^[16]

In 1990, Mars was featured in MidWeek as "Little Elvis", going on to have a cameo in the film Honeymoon in Vegas in 1992.^[10][17] He later reflected on the influence Presley had on his music: "I watch the best. I'm a big fan of Elvis. I'm a big fan of 1950s Elvis when he would go on stage and scare people because he was a force and girls would go nuts! You can say the same thing for Prince or The Police. It's just guys who know that people are here to see a show, so I watch those guys and I love studying them because I'm a fan."^[18] In 2010, he also acknowledged his Hawaiian roots and musical family as an influence, explaining, "Growing up in Hawaii made me the man I am. I used to do a lot of shows in Hawaii with my father's band. Everybody in my family sings, everyone plays instruments...I've just been surrounded by it."^[19] In 2003, shortly after graduating from President Theodore Roosevelt High School at the age of seventeen, Mars moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a musical career.^[10][17] He adopted his stage name from the nickname his father gave him, adding "Mars" at the end because "I felt like I didn't have [any] pizzazz, and a lot of girls say I’m out of this world, so I was like I guess I'm from Mars."^[20]

Career[link]

[edit] 2004–10: Career beginnings and It's Better If You Don't Understand

Bruno Mars performing in Houston, Texas in November 2010.

Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, Mars signed to Motown Records in 2004, in a deal that "went nowhere".^[21] However, Mars' experience with Motown proved to be beneficial to his career when he met songwriter and producer Philip Lawrence, who was also signed to the label. Mars, Lawrence, and engineer Ari Levine began writing songs together, and formed the production team The Smeezingtons.^[21] In 2006, Lawrence introduced Mars to his future manager at Atlantic Records, Aaron Bay-Schuck.^[22] After hearing him play a couple of songs on the guitar, Bay-Schuck wanted to sign him immediately, but it took about three years for Atlantic records to finally sign Mars to the label.^[22] In the meantime, Bay-Schuck hired Mars and the Smeezingtons to write and produce songs for the label's artists.^[22] According to Bay-Schuck in an interview with HitQuarters, Mars had stated that although his ultimate goal was to be a solo artist, he was willing to write and produce for other artists, both to help improve his songwriting and help him discover the type of artist he ultimately wanted to be.^[22] Bay-Schuck credits this as a period of "self-discovery" that contributed significantly to Mars' later success.^[22]

Before becoming a successful solo artist, Hernandez was an acknowledged music producer, writing songs for Alexandra Burke, Travie McCoy, Adam Levine, Brandy, Sean Kingston, and Flo Rida.^[14][23] He also co-wrote the Sugababes' hit song "Get Sexy" and provided backing vocals on their album Sweet 7.^[24][25] His first musical appearance as a singer was in Far East Movement's second studio album Animal, featured on the track "3D".^[26] He was also featured on pastor and hip hop artist Jaeson Ma's debut single "Love" in August 2009.^[27][28] He reached prominence as a solo artist after being featured on and co-writing B.o.B's "Nothin' on You" and Travie McCoy's "Billionaire"; both songs peaked within the top ten of many charts worldwide.^{[29][30][31][32]} He said of them, "I think those songs weren't meant to be full-sung songs. If I'd sung all of "Nothin' on You", it might've sounded like some '90s R&B." Following this success, Mars released his debut extended play (EP), titled It's Better If You Don't Understand, on May 11, 2010.^[33] The EP peaked at the 99th position on the Billboard 200 and produced one single, "The Other Side", featuring singers Cee Lo Green and B.o.B.^[34][35] Mars collaborated with Green once more in August 2010 by co-writing his single "Fuck You!". He performed a medley of "Nothin' on You" and "Airplanes" with B.o.B and Hayley Williams at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010.^[36]

[edit] 2010–present: Doo-Wops & Hooligans

Bruno Mars' debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans, was released digitally on October 4, and saw its physical release on October 5, 2010.^[37][38] The lead single, "Just the Way You Are", was released on July 19, 2010,^[39] and has reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 as well as several other charts worldwide.^[40][41] The music video was released on September 8, 2010.^[42] The second single, "Grenade", was released September 28, 2010, and has also seen successful international chart performance.^[43][44] In the United States, Doo-Wops & Hooligans debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 for the week of October 13, 2010, selling 55,000 copies.^[2] The album also received generally positive reviews from critics. Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt praised Mars for his "instant-access melodies" and "sly snatches of dance-floor swagger", but noted weaknesses in songs deviant from his conventional pop and soul genres.^[45] He opened for Maroon 5 on the fall leg of the Hands All Over Tour starting October 6, 2010 and co-headlined with McCoy on a European tour starting October 18, 2010.^[38]

On September 19, 2010, Mars was arrested in Las Vegas for possession of cocaine.^[46] When talking to a police officer, Mars reportedly stated that what he did was "foolish" and that "he has never used drugs before".^[47][48] Mars pled guilty to felony drug possession, and in return for his plea, he was told that the charges would be erased from his criminal record as long as he stayed out of trouble for a year, paid a $2,000 fine, did 200 hours of community service and completed a drug counseling course.^[49]

On February 13, 2011, Mars won his first Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, having received six nominations; Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Nothin' on You", Record of the Year for "Nothin' on You" and "Fuck You", Song of the Year for "Fuck You", and Producer of the Year, Non-Classical at the 53rd Grammy Awards.

On September 16, 2011, Bad Meets Evil released their single, "Lighters", which featured Mars in the song. The song was met with mixed reviews from critics and many criticized Mars for doing this type of song.^[50] On September 22, 2011, it was announced on Mars' website that his new song "It Will Rain" will appear on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack which was released on November 8.^[51] On October 30, 2011, Mars gave an exclusive performance of "Runaway Baby" on the results show of The X Factor UK, the same day that Mars received six nominations for a Grammy Award; Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Doo-Wops & Hooligans, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for "Grenade", and Producer of the Year, Non-Classical at the 54th Grammy Awards. During the ceremony, Mars performed "Runaway Baby" but he did not win any awards as Adele won in all the categories he was nominated in and also lost to Paul Epworth for Producer of the Year.

Mars has confirmed on Twitter that his work on his second album has begun.^[52] On March 22, 2012, it was announced that Mars had signed a worldwide publishing deal with BMG Chrysalis US.^[53]

Musical style[link]

Mars performing on November 24, 2010. Mars plays several instruments including piano, guitar, bass and congas.^[54]

Mars' music has been noted for displaying a wide variety of styles and influences, including pop,^[55] rock,^[55] reggae,^[55] R&B,^[56] soul,^[45] and hip hop.^[57] His co-producer Philip Lawrence says, "What people don't know is there's a darker underbelly to Bruno Mars." Mars himself says, "I blame that on me singing to girls back in high school."^[58] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called him "one of the most versatile and accessible singers in pop, with a light, soul-influenced voice that’s an easy fit in a range of styles, a universal donor."^[4] Mars was initially influenced by R&B artists such as Keith Sweat, Jodeci and R. Kelly, as well as 1950s rock 'n' roll and Motown.^[59] In high school, he began listening to classic rock groups such as The Police, Led Zeppelin, and the Beatles.^[59] All of these genres of music have influenced Mars' musical style; he observed that "It’s not easy to [create] songs with that mixture of rock and soul and hip-hop, and there’s only a handful of them."^[59] Mars also stated that he is a fan of Alicia Keys, Jessie J, Jack White and The Saturdays.^[60]

In addition, Mars claims that his work with other artists influenced his musical style, saying that "'Nothin' on You' had a Motown vibe, 'Billionaire' was a reggae acoustic guitar-driven song, though one of my favorites is the Cee-Lo [Green] song ['Fuck You']. I don't think anyone else could've sung that song. And there's 'Just the Way You Are.' If you know my story, you know I love all different genres of music."^[61] He cites doo-wop as a major influence on his music, referring to the genre as "just straightforward love songs – so charming and simple and romantic."^[61] In addition, Mars states that growing up in Hawaii influenced his music, giving the songs a reggae sound. He explains that "In Hawaii some of the biggest radio stations are reggae. The local bands are heavily influenced by Bob Marley. That music brings people together. It's not urban music or pop music. It's just songs. That's what makes it cross over so well. The song comes first."^[12] Lyrically, many of Mars' songs have been described as "feel-good", carefree, and optimistic,^[62] however, darker subjects are addressed in songs such as "Grenade", "Liquor Store Blues", and "Talking to the Moon", which detail failed relationships and self-destructive behavior.^[45][63]

Discography[link]

• Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010)
• TBA (2012)

Tours[link]

• Doo-Wops & Hooligans tour (2010–2011)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]