Bruno Mars

Born on October 8, 1985, in Honolulu, Hawaii, Bruno Mars (Peter Gene Hernandez) was raised in a performing family and started working stages as a kid, first as an Elvis impersonator in Waikīkī before expanding into old-school soul, funk, and pop influences he later folded into his own sound. After moving to Los Angeles to launch his own career, he landed a job as house songwriter and producer at Atlantic Records and went on to work on material for Alexandra Burke, Flo Rida, Brandy, Adam Levine, Travie McCoy and Sugababes (he co-wrote the hit "Get Sexy" and sang backing vocals on their album Sweet 7). Bruno Mars gained even greater recognition after collaborating on B.o.B's "Nothin' on You" and Travie McCoy's "Billionaire," resulting in the release of his debut EP It's Better If You Don't Understand in 2010, including the hit single "The Other Side" featuring Cee Lo Green and B.o.B. He topped the US singles charts for four weeks with "Just The Way You Are" - which was also a smash in many other territories and garnered a Grammy Award in 2011- and his debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans was released in late 2010 with production team The Smeezingtons, producing another worldwide hit, "Grenade." He pushed further into retro-pop and R&B on Unorthodox Jukebox (2012) with hits including "Locked Out of Heaven" and "When I Was Your Man," then delivered the slick, funk-leaning 24K Magic (2016) and a run of major singles including "24K Magic" and "That’s What I Like." In 2014, he joined Mark Ronson for "Uptown Funk," one of the era’s defining pop-funk crossovers. Bruno Mars later formed Silk Sonic with Anderson .Paak, releasing An Evening with Silk Sonic (2021) led by "Leave the Door Open," and he stayed active in the mid-2020s with high-profile collaborations and ongoing live work, including a Las Vegas residency. In 2025, Bruno Mars won a Grammy with Lady Gaga for "Die With a Smile," then returned to solo work with The Romantic (2026), introduced by "I Just Might" and the mariachi-leaning "Risk It All."