Classic showmanship in the vein of James Brown and Michael Jackson is alive and well, and Bruno Mars is here to prove it. Mars takes the stage with The Hooligans, a tightly choreographed nine-piece soul band that serves as the perfect representation of his commitment to the live experience – a commitment that led to his selection as the halftime performer at Super Bowl XLVIII. A classic song-and-dance man and multi-platinum selling pop star, Mars references everyone from Prince to The Police in both his image and sound, but the result is more than mere imitation; as a songwriter and producer, he has successfully combined the sounds of his pop idols with reggae and hip hop to create a new generation of genre-crossing hits. In anticipation of his Super Bowl performance, fans can get tickets to catch Bruno Mars in concert on 2013’s Moonshine Jungle Tour.
Mars was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he gained his first exposure to music playing rock and Motown covers in his family’s band, The Love Notes. By age five, the Elvis Presley impersonations he performed with the band had gained him a reputation on the island and landed him a cameo in the 1992 film Honeymoon in Vegas. After high school, Mars moved to Los Angeles to pursue music, finding initial success as a member of The Smeezingtons, the writing and production team behind Flo Rida’s 2009 hit “Right Round.” His first success as a solo artist came in 2010 with “Nothing On You,” a collaboration with rapper B.o.B. that peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned the duo several Grammy nominations. Mars’ debut album, 2010’s Doo-Wops & Hooligans, landed at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and contained two worldwide No. 1 hits with “Grenade” and feel-good ballad “Just The Way You Are,” which nabbed him his first Grammy (Best Male Pop Vocal Performance). Sophomore album Unorthodox Jukebox (2012) was an even bigger success, peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and spawning the ubiquitous hits “Locked Out of Heaven” and “When I Was Your Man.”