HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Student: Hang Do

MUSI 1306

Professor Jack Westmoreland

A Biographical Essay on a Favorite performer

 Bruno Mars

One of my favorite singers is Bruno Mars. He is not only a famous singer, composer, and

choreographer, but he also plays the drums, keyboard, bass, and guitar. With his knowledge and

ability to play several instruments, he has dabbled through various musical styles, including pop,

reggae, funk, hip-hop, and rock.

Bruno Mars was born on October 8th, 1985 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Bruno Mars’ real name

is Peter Gene Bayot Hernandez. He grew up in the neighborhood of Waikiki, in a family of

musicians. He was the fourth son of six children, the product of the union of the Puerto Rican

percussionist Peter Hernandez with the dancer and Filipina singer Bernadette San Pedro Bayot.

For this reason, it was not strange that from an early age he demonstrated aptitudes for singing.

Throughout his childhood, he signed up to perform in each available musical, which would mark

the taste for his future two vocations. Due to his similarity with the boxer Bruno Sammartino, his

father begins to refer to him in this way, giving him the nickname of Bruno.

In 1990, he made his first appearance in the media: an article in the New York Times that

presented him as “Little Elvis” and two years later he would make a paper with this name in the

movie Honey Moon in Vegas. Since he was four years old, he accompanied and supported the

family band The Love Notes in all his musical presentations, playing with them five days a

week. Both his role imitating Elvis Presley, and the subsequent influence of Jimi Hendrix

and Michael Jackson laid the foundation for his music skills. His studies were conducted at

President Theodore Roosevelt High School, where he collaborated with the foundation of the

band The School Boys. When he was 17, he graduated from school, and from then on, he

dedicated himself to fulfill his dream of making his way in the world of music. By 2003, he

traveled to Los Angeles, and thanks to the help of his sister he got the contacts that would take
him to Philip Lawrence, with whom he would form the production team The Smeezingtons. The

creation of a demo that attracted attention gave him the contract with the label Motown.

On his arrival in Los Angeles, he decided to take the nickname his father gave him as a

stage name, but he felt that something was missing that would give him more strength, deciding

to add “Mars” for the opinion of some girls that he is someone out of this world, understanding

by this that he belonged to Mars.

He released his first solo single, "Just the Way You Are," from his debut studio album,

Doo-Wops & Hooligans, released in October 2010. The song quickly proved to be another hit for

the artist, putting him back at the top of the Billboard singles chart. Additionally, Doo-Wops &

Hooligans reached No. 3 on the Billboard album charts, and its follow-up singles, "Grenade" and

"The Lazy Song," cracked the Top 10 on the singles chart. Mars scored another hit with "It Will

Rain," a song that he contributed to The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 soundtrack in

late 2011. Mars went on to pick up several Grammy Award nods for his debut effort, including

for Album of the Year. 

In December 2012, Mars released his second studio album, Unorthodox Jukebox,

featuring yet another gamut of hit songs and quickly meeting with both commercial and critical

acclaim. The album's lead single, "Locked Out of Heaven," topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six

consecutive weeks, won an MTV Award for Best Music Video, and landed in the Top 10 in 20

countries. The project's second release, "When I Was Your Man," reached No. 1 on the Billboard

Hot 100, and the song "Treasure" won an MTV Award for Best Choreography in 2013. In 2014

Mars also won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album. The hits continued for Mars as seen with

his collaboration with Mark Ronson. The two had a big No. 1 tune with their dance jam "Uptown

Funk," from Ronson's 2015 album Uptown Special.

 He continued his immensely successful run with the release of his third studio effort, 24K

Magic, in November 2016. The album included the catchy title track, a retro-tinted dance

number in the vein of "Uptown Funk," as well as the sultry "That's What I Like," which climbed

to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Nine days later announced a world tour in 86 countries,

selling one million tickets in less than 24 hours. The artist continues to be successful since then,

occupying with his songs the first positions of popularity and cramming the places wherever he

performs.

Besides, he cleaned up at the 2018 Grammy Awards, winning in all six categories for

which he drew nominations, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the

Year. He also delivered a quality performance alongside Cardi B for his latest single, "Finesse,"

cementing his standing as arguably the top all-around act in the business.

In my opinion, Bruno Mars is a talented singer and he is also my idol. Being the successful

artist that he has become allows him to do what he does best, sing. Having support from his

friends and fans is what keeps him going. "Music is not math. It's science. You keep mixing the

stuff up until it blows up on you, or it becomes this incredible potion." Bruno Mars said.

References:

https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/bruno-mars-6089.php

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bruno-Mars

https://www.boomsbeat.com/articles/133/20140120/32-interesting-facts-about-bruno-mars.htm