Bruno Mars Page 6

Beyonce was the big winner at the Bet Awards 2017, with five awards to her name, while Chance the Rapper took home three and Bruno Mars landed two. As usual there were a few surprises, a lot of predictions were realised and some stars even tied for awards.

Beyonce spotted at Tidal red carpet event

Bruno Mars and Beyonce tied for Video of the year with the latter's 'Sorry' and the former's '24K Magic', while they both scooped Best male R&B/pop artist and Best female R&B/pop Artist respectively. 

Continue reading: Beyonce And Chance The Rapper Reigned At BET Awards 2017

Bruno Mars is set to appear on James Corden's 'Carpool Karaoke' segment this week and he could not look more thrilled to be on there in the preview clip that sees them singing along to Mars' new single '24K Magic' with some real gusto.

Bruno Mars to appear on 'Carpool Karaoke'

We will see the chart-topping pop sensation take a ride with 'The Late Late Show' host James Corden tonight (December 13th 2016), according to a brief 44 second preview clip featuring the pair singing along to his latest hit '24k Magic' which has already got more than 385,000 views.

Continue reading: Bruno Mars Shares '24K Magic' With James Corden On 'Carpool Karaoke'

Bruno Mars feared '24K Magic' wouldn't be as successful as 'Uptown Funk'.

The 31-year-old musician has admitted he found it ''daunting'' working on a new album and has hinted he felt pressure to come up with more hits following the success of the 2014 track, which Bruno claims was ''the biggest song'' he has worked one.

Speaking on '60 Minutes', the Hawaii-born star said: ''This album, it was daunting, because coming off of 'Uptown Funk' was like the biggest song I've ever been a part of. And then you're like, alright, now what are you gonna do?''

Continue reading: Bruno Mars Feared 24K Magic Wouldn't Be As Good As Uptown Funk

Bruno Mars will be the next star to take a ride alongside James Corden for ‘The Late Late Show’s’ Carpool Karaoke.

The ‘Grenade’ singer was spotting filming with Corden in Los Angeles and later confirmed his upcoming appearance on Instagram.

Continue reading: Bruno Mars To Join James Corden For Carpool Karaoke

Bruno Mars has announced an extensive world tour to promote his forthcoming third studio album '24K Magic'. He is due to set out on no less than 85 dates across North America and Europe next year, and if he's planning to cover more international ground later on we are yet to uncover the details.

Bruno Mars to embark on his 2017 world tour

'24K Magic' is due for release this Fall and the world tour will span North America and Europe, reaching countries the likes of France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Scandinavia. There will also be a number of shows in the UK and Ireland, including a two-date performance at London's O2 Arena. 

Continue reading: Bruno Mars Is Taking '24K Magic' Around North America And Europe

Bruno Mars has confirmed he will release his new single on Friday (04.11.16).

The 30-year-old singer has recently released his latest track '24K Magic' last month and has revealed he will be unveiling another hit from his forthcoming LP at the end of this week.

Speaking on Capital FM Radio's Breakfast show with Dave Berry, George Shelley and Lilah Parsons, Bruno said: ''What can I tell you about the new album? You know what I'll tell you guys ... I wasn't going to do it but I've changed my mind. I'm going to release one more song on Friday.

Continue reading: Bruno Mars Will Release His New Single On Friday

Lady GaGa is set for a very busy few months with a headline performance at the highly anticipated Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in Paris this December.

The 30 year entertainer, who is currently topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic with her new album Joanne, will play the prestigious fashion show on December 5th this year, in addition to her already-confirmed slot headlining the Super Bowl half-time show in February 2017 and a show on November 20th in L.A. as part of the American Music Awards.

Lady Gaga is to perform at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Paris this December

Continue reading: Lady Gaga To Headline Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

Bruno Mars has announced he will release his new song '24k Magic' this week.

The 30-year-old singer songwriter has publicly revealed to his 7.1 million followers he will unveil his first track from his upcoming third studio album, which will be his first release in four years, on Friday (07.10.16).

And the Hawaii-born star has teased the forthcoming LP will be the new ''party'' anthem.

Continue reading: Bruno Mars Will Release His New Song '24k Magic' This Week

A leather-clad Beyonce eclipsed even the multi-million selling clout of Coldplay at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, as she and Bruno Mars joined the British rockers onstage in Santa Clara.

The 34 year old star briefly had the stage all to herself as she delivered a rendition of brand new single ‘Formation’, released just 24 hours before, with her backing dancers’ costumes seemingly heavily influenced by the armed rights group the Black Panthers, clad in black leather and berets.

Continue reading: Beyonce Steals The Show From Coldplay In Super Bowl Halftime Show

We didn't think it was possible to pack this much awesomeness into one sentence, but here it is: Michelle Obama and Ellen Degeneres just posted a video of themselves dancing to Uptown Funk. 

Ellen and the First Lady are actually age-old workout buddies.

It was all in honour of the FOTUS' Let's Move campaign, its five year anniversary, to be precise. So, being the skilled multi-tasker that she is, Mrs. Obama decided to kill two (actually, several) birds with one stone. 

Continue reading: Michelle Obama And Ellen Degeneres Also Like To Move It, Especially To The Tune Of "Uptown Funk"

Mark Ronson has made his new album Uptown Special available online in full, a week ahead of its physical release. The producer has already scored a smash-hit with first single Uptown Funk and by the sounds of the new record, he appears to have more where that came from.

Mark Ronson has made his new album available for streaming on The Guardian's website

The chart-topper is now streaming Uptown Special - his fourth record - over at The Guardian, where he's also penned a track-by-track guide explaining the provenance and recording process of each song.

Continue reading: Hey, You Can Listen To Mark Ronson's 'Uptown Special' Album, Now

Sam Smith continues to win over the nation with his debut album 'In The Lonely Hour' as it slides back up to number one in the UK Album Chart for its fifth non-consecutive week with more than 1.2 million copies sold.

Sam Smith back at number one

The British singer-songwriter shot to the top of the charts in June 2014 with the record, which includes the hit singles 'Money On My Mind' and 'Stay With Me', before returning to the top spot in September and no once again re-claiming that marker. The multi-platinum release has now had five weeks at the top according to the latest count.

Continue reading: Sam Smith Returns To Number One Yet Again With 'In The Lonely Hour'

Don't you know about the bird? Well, Spix's Macaw to be precise and a new kids' movie that's bound to get you feeling in the mood for some summer sun and the Brazilian world cup. Rio 2 is currently out in the US and UK and picks up where its successful 2011 predecessor left off. But have critics given the new release the encouragement it needs to soar at the box office?

It's Looking Pretty Good Box Office-Wise For 'Rio 2' This Weekend - If Only The Critics Could Be Convinced...

Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway reprise their roles as Blue and Jewel, two bright blue endangered who have settled into familial bliss since we last saw them. The news of more of their kind deep in the Amazon rainforest sends the itchy-footed Jewel reeling with excitement at the thought of moving to the wild.

Continue reading: 'Rio 2': Critics Squawk Their First Verdicts On The Colourful Kids' Comedy [Trailer]

It's common knowledge that a sequel has to be more spectacular than the film that came before it, which is one of the reasons people are starting to worry about the Marvel universe (saving the world from imminent destruction three times a year seems a bit much). But for animated movies the formula has a different twist: just add some new characters.

Will The Success Of The Original 'Rio' Be Crowded Out By The Introduction Of New Characters In 'Rio 2'?

This also presents a problem, as sequels tend to feel increasingly crowded as the expanding cast of characters jostles for screen time. From Toy Story to Shrek, animated ensembles get bigger and bigger as they go along. Sometimes the filmmakers find a character so popular that it gets its own spin-off movie ('Puss in Boots'), and sometimes what started as a smaller side character grabs the spotlight from the progressively crowded main cast (Ice Age's Scrat or Madagascar's penguins).

Continue reading: Will 'Rio 2' Soar, Or Will It Fall Victim To The Curses Of The Sequel?

Red Hot Chili Pepper’s bassist Flea has tried to end the controversy over the band miming their insturments during their Superbowl performance with Bruno Mars by explaining their decision.

Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea

In a lengthy blog post published on the Red Hot Chili Peppers website,  Flea explains why the band were forced to go ‘unplugged’ on Sunday. The bassist wrote, “when we were asked by the NFL and Bruno to play our song 'Give It Away' at the Super Bowl, it was made clear to us that the vocals would be live, but the bass, drums, and guitar would be pre-recorded.” He went on to explain that this was the NFL’s policy because “they only have a few minutes to set up the stage, there’s a zillion things that could go wrong and ruin the sound for the folks watching in the stadium and the t.v. viewers. There was not any room for argument on this, the NFL does not want to risk their show being botched by bad sound, period.”

Flea went on to explain that under usual circumstances the band would not mime. He gave the expample of the last time they were forced to do so, on UK show Top of the Pops in the late 80s, where the performance turned into a farce, basically “making a mockery of the idea that it was a real live performance.”

He admits that the band were originally apprehensive about accepting the Superbowl gig, because they would have to mime, but they eventually agreed calling it, “a surreal-like, once in a life time crazy thing to do.” He also revealed that he’d spoken to “many musician friends for whom I have the utmost respect, and they all said they would do it if asked, that it was a wild trippy thing to do, what the hell.”

The backing track used by the band was one they had specifically recorded for the performance. As to why the band decided not to plug in their guitars, Fleas explained, “for the actual performance, Josh, Chad, and I were playing along with the pre recorded track so there was no need to plug in our guitars, so we did not. Could we have plugged them in and avoided bumming people out who have expressed disappointment that the instrumental track was pre recorded? Of course easily we could have and this would be a non-issue. We thought it better to not pretend.” He went on to say that making the decision not to plug the guitars in “seemed like the realest thing to do in the circumstance.”

Continue reading: Why Did The Red Hot Chili Peppers Play Air Guitar At The Superbowl? Bassist Flea Explains

Even before the Super Bowl show, Bruno Mars was a highly successful young performer – he wouldn’t have been invited otherwise. Though the typical football fan might not have been aware of Mars before the half time show, he’s had a pretty good thing going for a few years now. But, however big he was before, the Super Bowl is bound to make him bigger – especially given the great performance he gave.

Now, Mars was not paid for his 12-minute appearance Sunday night, since the exposure should have been payment enough. In his case, the dividends have been immediate. During his brief show, 2.2 million tweets about it were posted online with more to come in the following minutes, hours and days. Most were highly impressed with Mars’ near perfect performance.

Opening the show behind a drum kit, the Hawaiian-born singer made sure to establish his musical credentials, before launching into a high-energy show, which included recognizable elements of 50’s, 60’s and 70’s nostalgia, seamlessly incorporated into his songs. Locked Out of Heaven has been a proven crowd pleaser since its release, but it was clever of Mars to also perform some of his lesser known songs, Treasure and Runaway Baby, giving football fans a taste of what to expect at one of his Moonshine Jungle shows.

Continue reading: The Super Bowl Is Already Pushing Bruno Mars' Career To New Heights

The Super Bowl halftime show next month will not only feature Bruno Mars, but the Red Hot Chili Peppers will be joining the stage as well.

In one of the most watched televised events of the year, the 28 year-olds performance will not be a one man show.

The rock 'n' roll hall of famers will be carrying some of the huge pressure that comes with playing live in the coveted halftime show, The Los Angeles Times reports.

Continue reading: Red Hot Chili Peppers To Join Bruno Mars For Super Bowl Halftime Show

2013 is the year of Bruno Mars, according to Billboard magazine.

The 28 year-old beat the likes of Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake and Rihanna to be crowned the 'Artist of the Year'.

Mars has dominated the charts this past 12 months due to the 2012 release of 'Unorthodox Jukebox' which stayed in the Billboard 200 chart for almost a year.

Continue reading: Bruno Mars Beats Taylor Swift And Justin Timberlake To Be Crowned Billboard's Artist Of The Year

The nominees for the 2014 Grammy Awards have been announced and after a year when hip-hop comebacks and newcomers have dominated the music scene, it is rap that leads the way in the Grammy nominations for next year. Jay-Z leads the nominations with nine nods in total, followed closely by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Kendrick Lamar, both of which have seven nominations each.

Jay-Z and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are among the most celebrated artists this year

It isn't just hip-hop being honoured at the awards show, as the two most coveted categories: Record of the Year and Album of the Year, only have two rap representatives in them (three if you count T.I.'s verse on 'Blurred Lines,' which is up for Record of the Year), with Good Kid, M.A.A.D City by Kendrick and The Heist by Macklemore both up for Album of the Year. Daft Punk are up for both categories, with 'Get Lucky' and their album Random Access Memories earning recognition from the Grammy committee. The Blessed Unrest by Sara Bareilles and Red by Taylor Swift make up the rest of the album list and 'Blurred Lines,' 'Locked Out of Heaven' by Bruno Mars, 'Royals' by Lorde and 'Radioactive' by Imagine Dragons completing the Record of the Year category.

Continue reading: Jay Z And Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Lead The Grammy Nominations, But There's Little Love For Justin Timberlake And Kanye West

Katy Perry is apparently a huge fan of 'Treasure' singer/songwriter Bruno Mars, and prior to her performance at the iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas this weekend, the singer revealed her hopes that they can one day get into the recording studio together.

Katy prior to her performance at the iHeartRadio Festival

"I've always said I'd wanna collaborate with Rihanna, but I'd love to collaborate with Bruno Mars," she told E! News on the pre-festival red carpet. "I always say, 'When I grow up, I wanna be the female version of Bruno Mars', cause he's so wildly talented in showing everybody that he has so much diversity in him."

Continue reading: Katy Perry Wants To Hook Up With Bruno Mars For Collaboration

The Super Bowl is arguably the biggest sports event in the US, so it’s no wonder that with months still left until the big game, announcements have already started to slip – such as Bruno Mars reportedly playing the half timeshow. This according to a source for the Associated Press, who chose to remain anonymous, because no official announcement has been made yet.

Mars has had a lot of success with his most recent album Unorthodox Jukebox.

The XLVIII Super Bowl has been set for February 2, a date which has left some eyebrows raised, since the game will be played at the open-air MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N. J. This means that the game will be subject to weather conditions in an area susceptible to cold weather and snowstorms.

Continue reading: Straight After His European Tour, Bruno Mars Might Stop By In New Jersey For The Super Bowl Half Time

It’s the same with any high-profile award ceremony; a spike in sales always welcomes the big-hitters. This year, Justin Timberlake’s reunification with the band that made him, Nsync, saw the band’s fortune rise just a little bit.

Justin Timberlake and NSYNC at the VMAs

Continue reading: So, What Have The MTV VMAs Done For Sales?

'Blurred Lines,' the smash-hit pop single by Robin Thicke leads the Billboard Hot 100 for the seventh week running. It's the most time spent atop the chart this year, eclipsing the five-week record set by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis's 'Thrift Shop' in February-April.

According to the compiler of the chart, Billboard, 'Lines' has also set an impressive airplay record, claiming the Hot 100's top Airplay Gainer award for an unprecedented eighth week. Songs to manage seven weeks include Beyonce's Irreplaceable (2006/2007), Mariah Carey's 'We Belong Together' (2005-2006), Rihanna's 'What's My Name?' (2010-11) and Rude Boy (2010).

Robin Thicke's song, featuring rapper T.I. and Pharrell Williams, also tops the Digital Songs chart for an eighth week, selling 340,000 downloads in the Nielsen SoundScan tracking week. That's down 11% though was easily enough to maintain its stranglehold on the top of the chart. 

Continue reading: So, You're All Still Buying Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines'

Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars and Katy Perry are among the names confirmed for the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas in September. The two-day festival, set to be held on September 20 and 21, will also feature performances from Elton John, Keith Urban and a special pairing of Queen (with Brian May) and the former American Idol star Adam Lambert.

The main festival line-up was announced on Monday morning (July 15, 2013) in a press conference hosted by Ryan Seacrest. A final schedule will be announced closer to the festival, though Timberlake, Perry, Elton and Bruno Mars are likely to be the marquee names. The likes of Muse, Tiesto, Chris Brown, Fun, Phoenix, Maroon 5, Tim Mcgraw, Ke&ha, Thirty Seconds to Mars and Benny Benassi are other high profile names to have been confirmed. 

Last year's festivals played host to No Doubt, Pink, Usher and Swedish House Mafia though it will be remembered for Billie Joe Armstrong's meltdown during Green Day's set. After smashing the band's instruments in protest of his set being cut short, Armstrong left the stage and was admitted to rehab the next day, cancelling his band's tour dates and promotional appearances. 

Continue reading: IHeartRadio Festival To Welcome Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars And Err, Queen

As America celebrates independence of 4th July, cable entertainment channel MTV will host its own spin on the day's festivities with a planned 'Music Independence Day', which will celebrate music, giving lesser-known artists an opportunity to gain exposure, according to the Associated Press.

In a return to its musical roots, along with VH1 and CMT, MTV will turn Wednesday 4th into an all-day party with hours dedicated to various different genres.

Successful mainstream acts, like Justin Timberlake or Bruno Mars, will be honoured but emerging bands will be able to compete with each other on the online 'Artist Platform' to win a TV-airing of their music video.

Continue reading: Music Independence Day: MTV's Twist On 4th July Celebrations

Several high profile stars have come forward to offer their support to the stricken Bruno Mars, after the pop star lost his mother Bernadette on Saturday (June 1, 2013). The 55 year-old, whom Bruno wrote a song called I Love You Mom about, had an unexpected brain aneurysm over the weekend, killing her.

According to Hello! Magazine, tweets of support have come in from Mars’ family as well as stars like Rihanna and Randy Jackson. Rihanna posted, "Sending my love and condolences to @BrunoMars at this difficult time! I'm sincerely praying for you bro! #1Love," while Randy Jackson tweeted "terrible news. Praying for you @brunomars."As well as those, Mars’ sisters Presley Hernandez and Jaime Kailani also took to Twitter to pay tribute to their mother. "Mom, could you be the most beautiful girl in the world? Duh! Of course! I love you! ❤" tweeted Jaime. Her sister Presley, meanwhile, uploaded a photo of their mother in a hula bikini outfit, with the caption, "The most beautiful girl in the world. Until forever. I love you ma."

Mars has also received a huge outpouring of support from his fans, with tweeters showing their support in wake of Bernadette's hospitalization, by using the hashtags #PrayforBernie and #StayStrongMamaMars. Mars lyrics in I Love You Mom included the line "My mommy helps me with my voice, because a superstar singer is my first choice," indicating the influence she had on him.

Continue reading: Bruno Mars Supported By Rihanna Over Twitter Following Mother's Death

Bruno Mars was left grieving this weekend following the sudden and unexpected death of his mother, Bernadette Hernandez, on Saturday (June 1) after suffering a brain aneurysm. Bernadette passed at the Queens Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she was rushed to after becoming unresponsive following a collapse at her home in the Hawaii city.

Bruno's mother immigrated to Hawaii from the Philippines at an early age, meeting Bruno's father Peter Hernandez whilst she worked as a hula dancer at the the same bar he played percussion for the house band. The two nurtured Bruno's musical talents from a young age and the Grammy-winning singer has commented on the influence of his mother on his success in countless interviews in the past. Bernadette was also a singer.

Understandably, the bereaving Mars - real name Peter Gene Hernandez - has remained silent since the death was made public and has yet to comment on the situation to the press. The singer was due to begin a tour in the U.S. in late June (beginning June 22), however the death could potentially affect the concert schedule. There hasn't been any word on whether the death will result in some concert rescheduling just yet.

Continue reading: Bruno Mars Remains Silent Following Mother's Death

Heidi Klum was mobbed by equal rights protestors bearing Heidi Hate messages across their naked torsos during a crucial moment on 'Germany's Next Top Model' yesterday (May 31st 2013).

The supermodel was about to name the winner of the modelling competition on live television when two topless female demonstrators for FEMEN burst onto the stage to shout at her with the angry message on their chests reading 'Heidi Horror Picture Show'. The organisation they were rallying for was a Ukrainian group who regularly coordinate naked and topless campaigns in defence of equality between men and women. Though the incident was cut from the live recording, Heidi kept her cool and quipped to the audience, 'I have just been seeing boobies in front of me. Too bad it happened at this special moment!'

The protestors seemed to be the only ones who disliked Heidi, however, with 'Gangnam Style' rapper Psy Tweeting a picture of the two of them with the caption: '[Heidi Klum] stoped by my green room and said "ThankU psy". She's so beautiful & nice at the same time!! #Unfair lol'. Heidi also Tweeted a photo of herself and Bruno Mars saying, 'Thank you for a great performance on my show last night in Germany [Bruno Mars] You are a really cool dude!'

Continue reading: Heidi Klum Mobbed By Half-Nude Women's Rights Demonstrators

Rudimental at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend

BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend was just that - a BIG weekend! With a huge range of hit artists, the radio station left no genre uncovered over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend (May 24th - 26th 2013).

Day 1 saw performances from Dizzee Rascal as he promotes his upcoming fifth album due out later in the year; Rudimental, whose debut album 'Home' has had some remarkable reviews and a number one spot on the UK album chart; Rita Ora who is also working on a new album; and her platinum selling boyfriend Calvin Harris. Saturday brought in an equally impressive line-up with Ellie Goulding who is in the UK before she embarks on a lengthy US tour later in the summer; The Saturdays minus Rochelle Humes who is still recovering from the birth of her first baby Alaia-Mai; and Iggy Azalea whose debut album release is imminent. As for day 3, it certainly wasn't a day of rest as hitting the stage in Derry, Northern Ireland were alt-rock threesome Paramore, BRIT award nominated Jessie Ware and Grammy winning Bruno Mars who's set to kick off a major world tour in the summer spanning through 'til March 2014.

Continue reading: Rudimental, Iggy Azalea And Bruno Mars Make Star Performances At BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend [Photos]

Dizzee Rascal was on the bill to open day one of the Radio 1 Big Weekend in Derry’s Ebrington Square on Friday (May 24), but rather than just keep the performance to himself the rapper decided to treat the fans to a special guest: Robbie Williams! The two performed their new duet 'Goin’ Crazy' much to the pleasure of the audience, who were already being treated to some amazing weather and performances over the weekend.

The three day event, which began yesterday (May 24) and will end on Sunday (May 26), has already seen its fair share of surprises in addition to the Dizzee-Robbie hook-up, with troubles at Heathrow forcing two acts (Angel Haze and Aluna George) to pull out of the festival last minute, whilst drum and bass duo Chase & Status saw a way around the problem by hiring their own private jet to get to the three-day event.

Meanwhile, Rudimental, who were in Northern Ireland at the time but their equipment wasn't, had to borrow their kit from other performers in order to play their set. Producer Amir Amor said: "We borrowed guitars, bass, microphones, a bit of love! Everything we could. But the gig just blew us away."

Continue reading: Robbie Williams Hooks Up With Dizzee Rascal At Radio 1 Big Weekend To Kick Start The Festival In Style

It’s fair to say that Bruno Mars has done a lot of growing up of late, you can tell it from his latest album Unorthodox Jukebox and its more mature sound, and you can tell it from reading the quotes of the man himself, who has come a long way from a couple of years ago when he was locked up in Las Vegas after being found in possession of narcotics.

Two and half years ago Mars was arrested at the Hard Rock Café with narcotics and allegedly denied any wrongdoing to the police. Yet, talking to GQ recently, Mars has spoken with regret about the incident, admitting "I was young, man! I was in f***ing Vegas. I wasn't thinking.”

Continuing, he added "I wasn't thinking. Oh yeah, just like any other human, anyone that's ever been arrested before: 'Yeah, dummy' ... I was given a #1 record and I'm out doing dumb s***."

Continue reading: Mature Bruno Mars Regrets Tarnished Narcotic Past

Bruno Mars fan to prom? Or Bruno Mars prom to fan? When Emily Torres from Michagan pleaded for Bruno Mars to take her to her high school prom, we doubt she envisioned what would happen. The Locked Out of Heaven singer made her day, week month and year with his response.

He said: "I'm gonna hook you up with a dress to make you look just as beautiful and amazing as you are and when I come to the city near you I got four tickets for you and your friends so you can see me. You're gonna be front row and you're gonna be my guest." Now, we’re assuming a custom Gucci dress goes someway towards atoning for his absence, and if it doesn’t, then tickets to see him at his show as “his guest” definitely will. And if THAT wasn’t enough, on his appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show, after giving Emily the good news, he treated her to a dance in front of the audience, saying that because he couldn’t be at her prom, he’d bring the prom to her. Adorable scenes, inevitably, ensued.

Continue reading: Bruno Mars Fan To Prom - Singer Delights Fan With Faux-Prom Fun

Annually, the Grammys is one of the biggest events for music across America and in Europe. In fact, it has dubbed itself 'music's biggest night'. Celebrating the best in pop, hiphop, soul, R&B and much of what comes in between, it never fails to be a veritable who's who from the Spotify playlists of the masses. And this year will be no different. Not only are the nominees ones to look out for, absences are worthy of note, as are this year's presenters and some very special performances.

As Yahoo report, this year's presenters include Grammy royalty, Prince, Beyonce, and Jennifer Lopez, all of whom have been nominated or won Grammys before.  

In terms of performances to look forward to, this year we have some unusual and largely unexpected pair ups. Elton John and Ed Sheeran will take to the stage together. An unusual pairing, they're both Brits with unusual song writing talent. While John is a true showman and is well known for his intereSting outfits and outrageous glasses, Sheeran is distinctly more low key. We're not sure how this is going to work, but we're guessing it'll be great. Bruno Mars, Sting and Rihanna will all also perform together, as will Alicia Keys and Maroon 5, and Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert. 

Continue reading: 55th Grammys Preview: 'Music's Biggest Night' Wont Fail To Impress

Some unexpected twists and turns have hit this week’s Billboard Hot 100, including Justin Timberlake’s 'Suit and Tie's' massive leap from 84 to 4. 

'Suit and Tie' marks Justin's 12th Hot 100 Top 10 single as a solo or featured artist and his first since her appeared on Ciara’a 'Love Sex Magic' in 2009. The biggest news, though, is probably the number one. Bruno Mars’s 'Locked Out Of Heaven' finally got bumped from the top spot, after a six-week reign, by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s 'Thrift Shop'. The song snagged the top spot mostly because of its digital sales (431 000 downloads last week, coupled with a lot of streaming). 'Thrift Shop' actually beat the streaming record, with 1, 68 million streaming plays this week, beating out the previous streaming record holder, Gotye’s 'Somebody That I Used To Know' by a narrow margin. 'Locked Out Of Heaven' has slipped to number 3, followed by The Lumineers’ 'Hey Ho' at number 4 and Taylor Swift’s 'I Knew You Were Trouble', which fell down one spot this week to number 5.

Good ol’ Britney Spears comes in at number 6 with 'Scream and Shout', featuring Will.i.Am, while Swedish House Mafia’s 'Don’t Worry Child' stays put at number 7. Rounding out this week’s top ten are 'Diamonds' by Rihanna, Justin Bieber’s 'Beauty and a Beat' and Philips Philips’ 'Home' at 8, 9 and 10 respectively.

The reviews are in and it looks like Bruno Mars’ new album, Unorthodox Jukebox, will be a critics’ darling.

While most don’t deny the record’s tendency to imitate or, to put it more gently, resonate classic '80s and '90s pop and the call-backs to artists like Michael Jackson and Sting are duly noted, everyone seems to love or at least appreciate Unorthodox Jukebox. Rolling Stone calls the album “the stuff of great pop” and Mars himself - “a master song-crafter and a nimble, soulful vocalist”. The songs that receive the highest praise from most reviewers are, unsurprisingly, tracks like 'Gorilla,' 'Natalie' and 'Money Make Her Smile' – songs, which don’t deviate too much from Mars’ poppy roots, but still emphasize his new found edge. The The Independent’s Andy Gill criticizes the singer's decision to go for imitation, albeit well-executed, while Vibe’s John Kennedy notes the record’s constant mood swings, referring to it as “schitzophrenic” but also praising its emotional charge and ease at incorporating numerous influences.

Mars’ strong vocals are praised in nearly every review across the web. No surprises there, since it was the Hawaii-born singer’s crooning that attracted fans and critics alike to his first album. Overall, if the reviews are anything to go by, it looks like Unorthodox Jukebox is definitely one to look out for.

Bruno Mars has revealed a slightly surprising influence on his new album Unorthodox Jukebox – the late British blues singer Amy Winehouse! We reviewed the multi-million selling 27 year-old’s second album and, though we found ourselves impressed with it, we must admit we’d be hard-pushed to pinpoint the Winehouse influence stylistically.

However, talking to The Associated Press, Mars said "I felt like everything I've been saying, everything I wanted to do, she did it. It was one of those things like, 'Damn it! Damn it!' It was perfect.” He went on to enthuse "You couldn't put it in a box 'cause it could be played on rock stations, it could be played on rhythmic stations, it could be played on pop radio, and I've always wanted to make music like that – that could be spread out, and can't be pigeon-held to one thing. And they did it. Her and Mark Ronson."

Mars once again re-enlisted the help of his song writing pals The Smeezingtons for Unorthodox Jukebox but also has Mark Ronson on too – who of course was instrumental in Winehouse’s fame. Talking of the additional collaborations on the album – several producers are involved – Mars enthused “That's when the fun comes in. Now, it's time to have some fun. Let's put the dream band together... I love their take on pop music... It was a big ole science project.” Unorthodox Jukebox is out now and, a challenge from The Game notwithstanding, should find itself on top of the US Billboard 200 this weekend.

Continue reading: Bruno Mars Reveals Amy Winehouse As Surprise Influence On Unorthodox Jukebox

Like many artists that eventually plough their way out of the woodwork, Bruno Mars began his career as a writer for other singers. His work crops up in the portfolios of Flo Rider, Alexandra Burke, Sean Kingston, Travie McCoy, Adam Levine and Brandy. He even co-wrote Cee Lo Green's 'Forget You'. However, he always set his sights very high and revealed in an interview recently that he aspired to the musical heights of Amy Winehouse- which, it appears, is why he's now teaming up with Mark Ronson, the producer that pushed Amy into super-stardom.

"It was perfect," he said, of Amy's Back to Black album. "You couldn't put it in a box 'cause it could be played [anywhere]... And they did it. Her and Mark Ronson." Having grown up listening to a wide variety of music, all of it has rubbed off but in a kind of mis-matched way, he's an endearing if not brilliant patchwork quilt. His latest album 'Unorthodox Dukebox' is also a great patchwork, as Mars has brought together some of the business' best producers including Diplo, The Smeezingtons (who did his entire first album), Jeff Bhasker, Paul Epworth, and Emile Haynie. He described these collaborations to the Associated Press as "a big ole science project."

The album has got fairl good reviews so far but he's already joking about a future 'comeback', saying "You know my sister sings, my brother plays drums in my band. My whole family is a bunch of musicians. So, when the right time comes, you'll see it on some kind of reunion tour, CBS special, 'Behind the Music: Bruno's Family,' trying to revive my career." 

Last week saw the mighty talents of Alicia Keys displace Rihanna’s Unapologetic from the top of the Billboard 200 in a big way, with the former holder of the number one spot falling down to sixth. Girl On Fire was Keys’ fifth number one record in the States, taking in sales of 159,000 on its way to the top spot. Those are solid figures to be sliding off coming into the new weekend, but will they be enough to hold on? The good news for Keys is that, with Christmas approaching, new releases are thin on the ground. The bad news is that one of them’s the new Bruno Mars album.

Yes, though he may appear to physically have the consistency of candle wax, Mars has written a darn fine second album, with Unorthodox Jukebox a canny exercise in carefully choosing the right combination of influences to click together; allayed with the Grammy Award-winning star’s penchant for a big whole-hearted chorus, we can see this doing just as well as his 2010 debut Doo-Wops & Hooligans, which went on to sell over six million copies worldwide including 1.7 million in the States. 

Read our review of Unorthodox Jukebox

Continue reading: Out Now: US Album Releases - The Game Enlists Some Big Competitors; Can They Stop Bruno Mars From Going Stratospheric Again?

Albums of Note... It looks as though Bruno Mars has stepped things up a gear on Unorthodox Jukebox. From straight-up pop songs, to disco and funk stylings, and a nod to reggae in there too, Mars very rarely fails to hit the mark with these new tracks. “Unorthodox Jukebox is a rich pick and mix of different and colourful elements. His lyrics sometime fall short, but a likeably mischievous personality shines through nonetheless, and so on the whole this is a real step up even from the songs that broke him so hugely two years ago.”

Adding a fresh slant to the out-dated genre of twee-duets, Adam Green & Binki Shapiro release a self-titled album of brief ditties, which may appear cutesy at first glance but soon reveal their darker side, with lyrics such as “I can't be the first to say you're the worst, surely there's one or two? / I care more if you act as though you like me than if you really do.” Adam Green is probably the better known of the two, from his work as part of Moldy Peaches and of course his solo work, too. Binki Shapiro already has indie cred from her other band, Little Joy. “Like everything the pair have done individually, together they have made a record that's short, sweet, and maturely macabre; a late contender for an album of the year.”

Continue reading: A Week In Music: Bruno Mars Steps Up A Gear, Ke$ha Delivers Bonkers Pop, The Killers Release Bizarre Xmas Video And Much More!

Rihanna, Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber hit the stage at the 2012 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show to perform alongside the scantily clad models as they walked the runway.

While Rihanna and Bruno Mars focused on their sets, Rihanna singing 'Diamonds' strutting her own stuff in a tight fitting black dress and unusual white rimmed sunglasses and Bruno crooning his hits into a mic surrounded by a brass band, Bieber looked pretty distracted while performing his latest hit singles 'As Long as You Love Me' and 'Beauty and a Beat' when the models passed his way. Doutzen Kroes, Joan Smalls, Lily Donaldson, Sui He and Miranda Kerr were among the Victoria's Secret angels and while the show kicked off with a circus theme, it soon progressed to St. Patrick's Day, July 4th and even Halloween in a calendar girl style run rounding off with a glamorous flower theme.

As much as he tried to deny it, Justin's mind was really not on the job in hand at the hour long show and appeared to arose much speculation about his loyalty to his then girlfriend Selena Gomez. In pictures from the filming of the show, his mouth seemed to permanently hang open while he starred wide eyed at all the VS girls, but none more so than Barbara Palvin who he apparently went out to see The Lion King on Broadway with after the show which, according to her simple Twitter message of '.' next to a photo of the pair together with another friend, Selena wasn't too impressed by.

Rihanna performs at Victoria's Secret Show, NY

Victoria's Secret shows are always the 'who's who' of the world's beautiful women. Their models have been named 'angels', which is a trope carried through by every show's prop wings. This year, performing alongside the models and not looking at all out of place was Rihanna, who was showing off more than just her amazing voice.

Continue reading: Rihanna Performs At Victoria's Secret Show (Photos)

Rihanna performs at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York

Rihanna, Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber sang, whilst models like Toni Garrn and alessandro ambrosio strutted their stuff: that's right, it was the glitz and glamous of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at the Lexington Armory in New York. A bedazzling event, the show was split into six sections, each with their own titles; Circus, complete with acrobats, contortionists and a sword eater; Dangerous Liaisons; Pink Is Us; Silver Screen Angels; Angels in Bloom; and Calendar Girls, which turned out to be the rather odd spectacle of Mars serenading a model for each month of the year. 

Continue reading: PICTURES: Glamorous Victoria's Secret Show 2012 Sees Rihanna, Justin Bieber And More Come Out To Play

Bruno Mars celebrates his 27th birthday today, and the Do-Wops & Hooligans star looks like he's going to have quite the year ahead of him has he readies for the release of his second album Unorthodox Jukebox in December. Before that, his new single Locked Out Of Heaven has been getting played on the radio, and it's something that - even after millions of sales - the artist hasn't grown tired of. He tweeted on Saturday (October 6th) "Locked out of heaven is on the radio!!! This feeling never gets old. So thankful. Thank you Thank you Thank you."

No word on how Mr Mars is celebrating his birthday as yet, indeed it may be unlikely he'll get much of a chance given the hectic promotional schedule he'll be getting involved with over the coming weeks. There are high hopes from his record label Elektra that he'll be giving them another smash hit after his debut LP went in at the third spot on the Billboard charts in 2010, going on to sell six million records worldwide.

It's going to be a tall order, but the omens are looking good with some of the Twitter feedback Mars has received for his new song looking positive. We're pretty sure that even if he doesn't have time to celebrate today, there's going to be plenty of revelry to be had in the coming months.

This fall sees Bruno Mars on the rise again, as he will be presenting on Saturday Night Live on October 20th where he will also be performing his new single. It has been two years since his last album release Doo-Wops & Hooligans and with this single as a taster for his new album Unorthodox Dukebox fans are unlikely to be disappointed with his new material.

The new album, he says, is “me going into the studio and recording and writing whatever I want. This album represents my freedom”, so reports Digital Spy. Mars continued saying: "I listen to a lot of music, and I want to have the freedom and luxury to walk into a studio and say, 'Today I want to do a hip-hop, R&B, soul or rock record'."

Bruno Mars' 'Locked Out of Heaven' has its roots in soul and could almost be plucked out of Motown's '60s heyday. Akin to many of his previous songs, his new single is a love song for the ladies, and with lyrics like “Never had much faith in love or miracles … But swimming in your world is something spiritual” his female fan base is only like to grow.

Continue reading: Bruno Mars Debuts New Single: 'Locked Out Of Heaven'