We've given you school holiday activities, recipes, and while there are no events happening in Tamworth, here's another music special: Top Ten Bruno Mars Songs!
Tune in on 92.9fm to hear one whole hour from 8am Saturday 18th July of Bruno Mars!
10. Finesse ft Cardi B | 24K Magic, 2018
There's something about Bruno Mars that is almost genre defying—and this song is no exception. Pulling inspiration from Bell Biv DeVoe's Poison for the drum beat in the intro, Finesse cements itself as a 90s throwback tune in 2018. Bruno collaborated with Cardi B, mixing her Bronx attitude with his funky and soulful vibe.
Finesse charted in Australia at number 6 and was a top ten hit in seven countries.
9. Treasure | Unorthodox Jukebox, 2013
Don't you just wanna get up and dance when you hear this tune? Well that's exactly what Bruno Mars and his then-songwriting team, The Smeezingtons felt when they were working on Unorthodox Jukebox.
We didn't really get to do a lot of that (dance and party) on the first album. Even going to festivals and seeing big bands live, like Coldplay or Bruce Springsteen, we knew the second time around we wanted something fun. It's the kind of song where the whole band can get up and jam and have this Earth, Wind and Fire kind of moment.
- Phillip Lawrence, The Smeezingtons
Funk and disco was key to this record being so successful as it made it in 20 different charts across the US, Canada, Australia, UK plus countries all over Europe, including Mexico, South Africa and more.
8. Marry You | Doo-Wops & Hooligans, 2010
While Bruno Mars basically captured the spontaneity of having too much to drink, getting married in Vegas and probably regretting it in the morning, this song became so much more. If you haven't seen this video before then you probably weren't watching viral videos on the internet in the early 2010s....
Isaac proposed to his long time partner in 2012 with a live lip-dub proposal and a full choreographed performance of the song Marry You, complete with 'dancing jews'. (The lyric was actually dancing juice, but you get the idea). Today this video has 34 million views and yes, Isaac and Amy are still together.
7. 24K Magic | 24K Magic, 2016
This was perhaps one of the few times in history auto-tune actually worked in a song! 24K Magic was the first single and of course, title track to his third album. When it was released, Bruno Mars posted on Instagram: "You can call it my first single, but I call it the invitation to the party."
This became another smash hit for Bruno Mars charting in 38 countries, topping out the ARIA singles chart in Australia at number 3.
6. Grenade | Doo-Wops & Hooligans, 2010
Grenade was the second single on Bruno's first album, and after months of working on it, the song was re-written days before the album's release. Don't be fooled in thinking this was the beginning of his career though—Bruno had spent many years learning the craft of song-writing.
He helped to write songs for Adam Levine, Sean Kingston, Flo Rida and the Sugababes. Grenade was a smash hit and topped the charts in 14 countries.
5. The Lazy Song | Doo-Wops & Hooligans, 2010
Just another example of Bruno Mars being 'genre-defying' with his reggae-pop/ska influenced track, The Lazy Song. Charting at number 6 in Australia, and sitting in the top ten for almost 30 countries, this was a song Bruno wanted to be better than the Beatles.
"That song just came out of the studio. We were trying to make a song that was better than the Beatles. We were trying to be magical and historic. After five hours, it all turned to rubbish. The frustration got to me and I said, 'Today I don't feel like doing anything at all.' That opened up everyone's eyes. When you're overshooting, you get the worst work. When you're relaxed, you have your best. I'm a light kind of guy."
- Bruno Mars
4. That's What I Like
(24K Magic, 2016)
Bruno Mars had so much success with this album, giving him 7 American Music Awards and specifically for this song, he won Soul/R&B, Favorite Song and Video of the Year. The following year That's What I Like won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 2018, beat Jay Z's 4:44 and Logic's 1-800-273-8255.
Ultimately the song had so much success because it's an absolute bop. Don't believe me? Listen for yourself.
3. Locked Out of Heaven | Unorthodox Jukebox, 2012
As the lead single from Bruno's second album, Locked Out of Heaven began his working relationship with successful producer Mark Ronson. Bruno Mars was inspired by Mark's work with Amy Winehouse on Back to Black and has always wanted to know his creative process. No doubt it helps when you have the right supporting band, and Ronson brought in soul band, the Dap-Kings (who worked on Back to Black).
Locked Out of Heaven became the highest selling single from the album, charting in the top ten in over ten countries, reaching number 5 in Australia.
2. Just The Way You Are | Doo-Wops & Hooligans, 2010
2010 was the year Bruno Mars made it in the charts under his own name, his first single and first album. Prior to this he had already achieved success as a feature singer and being a member of the production trio The Smeezingtons, where he learned much of the talent that would give him the success he has today.
And what an entrance to the charts and the world of music: this was a number 1 hit in over 10 countries, and won a Grammy award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 2011.
1. Uptown Funk | Uptown Special, 2014 (Mark Ronson)
This song took so long to put together, that it almost was scrapped entirely. Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson rejoin to create perhaps one of the best songs of all-time, Uptown Funk. Because this song drew on so many styles and genres, it became the subject of many lawsuits over copyright infringements. In fact The Gap Band was awarded 17% of the publishing royalties because of the similarties to their song Oops Upside Your Head from 1979.
Uptown Funk charted at number 1 in 19 countries, and made the top ten in over 30 countries, breaking streaming records and becoming a cultural phenomenon of its own.