Well known by his stage name, Bruno Mars was born Peter Gene Hernandez on October 8, 1985 and was raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. Bruno Mars is a Fil-American singer-songwriter and music producer. Bruno comes from a musical family, his Filipina mother, Bernadette “Bernie” Hernandez, is a very good vocalist while his Puerto Rican father Pete is “an incredible percussionist” who has a band. Bernie immigrated to Hawaii from the Philippines as a child while Pete moved to the island from Brooklyn, New York. Mars started singing at the age of 4 by fronting his uncle’s band, becoming Oahu’s youngest Elvis impersonator in the process. In an interview, Bruno said, “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.” 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.” Lyrically, many of Mars’ songs have been described as “feel-good” Mars’ music has been noted for displaying a wide variety of styles and influences, including pop, rock, reggae, R&B, soul, and hip hop. Although Mars has been referenced as “soft” because of his penchant for using a falsetto voice, 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.” 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. In high school, he began listening to classic rock groups such as The Police, Led Zeppelin, and the Beatles. 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.” 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.” Before becoming a successful solo artist, Mars was an acknowledged music producer, writing songs for Alexandra Burke, Travie McCoy, Adam Levine, Brandy, Sean Kingston, and Flo Rida. He also co-wrote the Sugababes’ hit song “Get Sexy” and provided backing vocals on their album Sweet 7. 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 10 of many charts worldwide. 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. Mars’ debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans, was released digitally on October 4 and saw its physical release on October 5, 2010. The lead single, “Just the Way You Are”, was released on July 19, 2010, and has reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 as well as several other charts worldwide. The second single, “Grenade”, was released September 28, 2010, and has also seen successful international chart performance. In the United States, ‘Doo-Wops & Hooligans’ debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 for the week of October 13, 2010, selling 55,000 copies. 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. And just before 2011, his song “Grenade” peaked at the top of Billboard Hot 100, ending 2010 with a big bang. He wrote on his website, “Grenade is the no. 1 song in the country. What a way to end my year! Thank you all for giving me the greatest year of my life.” 2010 has been Bruno Mars’ greatest year in his 25 years in the planet. “Grenade” is Mar’s third #1 after Nothin’ On You with B.o.B. and “Just the Way You Are.” “Grenade” sold over 500,000 singles in one week alone. His songs have scored nominations at the Teen Choice, BET Hip Hop and MTV awards. Bruno Mars also has been nominated for 7 Grammys award for his work as a recording artist, songwriter and record producer where he won Male Pop Vocal Performance for “Just the Way You Are”. Indeed, Mars is one of the hottest stars in pop music today. He is the first male act in over 13 years to take his first two charting radio singles as a lead artist to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. In fact, Mars is the biggest act to come out of Hawaii in almost 40 years, according to the Honolulu Star Advertiser, which featured him in its cover recently. “No artist from Hawaii has hit the national charts harder straight out of the box since Bette Midler [...]” said the Star-Advertiser of Bruno Mars. Get your Bruno Mars ringtones from a legal and safe source. We provide thousands of quality ringtones of every formats for use in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and other countries. Our list of available ringtones is constantly updated to suit your taste.
