Album of the Month

Singer, songwriter, dancer, and record producer Bruno Mars has released his fourth solo studio album, The Romantic, his first full length solo project since 24k Magic (2016). Mars returned with an instantly popular comeback after ten years with the album reaching #2 on its Billboard Top 200 debut. The album's lead single “I Just Might” debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Mars his tenth #1 hit in his career.

Born Peter Gene Hernandez in Honolulu, Hawaii, Bruno Mars grew up surrounded by music. As a kid, he became very popular on the island as an Elvis impersonator in his family’s band which developed his incredible stage presence, vocals, and confidence as a performer. However, early in his career he became known for writing and producing hit songs for other artists. Mars was a part of The Smeezingtons, a production team that wrote songs for musicians like Adele, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, CeeLo Green and many others. Before releasing his own hit tracks, he was already writing hits for other artists.

Mars released his debut studio album, Doo Wops and Hooligans, in 2010. Since then, he has won 16 Grammys for his projects and gone on two world tours and is touring again this year. Given Mars’s history of chart-topping hits and top-notch production, The Romantic has been released with major expectations. After listening to the album, it's clear that Mars was going for a vibe that matches his old music but also experiments with new sounds. He featured sounds from his Puerto Rican percussionist father, such as salsa and Mexican boleros. The project blends this retro 1970s soul and funk with romantic themes while exploring Mars’s latin roots.

One of my personal favorite tracks on the album is “Why You Wanna Fight?” The song has a smooth electric guitar intro that hooks the listener instantly. Mars’s vocals on the song are very unique with each harmony layering smoothly over the instrumental adding to the laid-back groove of the song. I also really enjoyed the track “Nothing Left.” Again, Chris Payton, Mars’ lead electric guitarist on this album, did a great job perfectly accenting the song with a great guitar solo that matched the intensity of the vocals. While Bruno Mars is not at the top of my personal playlist, I think that anyone can appreciate the extremely high level of production quality that is displayed in this album. This release proves that Mars has the ability to create memorable songs that live up the hype of his return.