As one of the most popular and widely-publicized individuals in the world Bruno Mars has hit the top spot more than once and he’s been one of those individuals that a lot of people know about either in passing or because they’re avid fans that don’t miss a single thing when it comes to his career. He’s been the kind of musician that breaks records wherever he goes and aspires to being one of the biggest names in the industry. While he came from fairly humble beginnings he’s blown up in a way that you can’t help but describe as meteoric in the way he’s risen to fame. Only a little over a decade ago a lot of people didn’t even know his name, but today there’s hardly a day that goes by that he’s not referenced in some way. That kind of notoriety can’t be bought, and it’s been hard-earned just about every step of the way.
Here are a few things you might not have known about him.
10. His real name is Peter Gene Hernandez.
It almost feels as though this is something that might come up on a quiz show that would stump all but the most dedicate of his fans. It’s also enough to note that it doesn’t add a whole lot of pop and could have very well created a stereotype since at least one label wanted him to sing something in Spanish.
9. The stage name he uses was based on a nickname given to him by his father.
Apparently his dad thought he looked like wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino when he was younger, though without seeing a photo it’s kind of hard to dispute. Mars though came from a lot of people telling him that he was out of this world when he performed, so he selected a name he thought fit.
8. Thanks to his family he does come from a musical background.
He was exposed to music from a very early age and therefore he had a very strong base from which to work when he gained enough interest to really get into it. You could say that he was perhaps born to be a famous singer.
7. His uncle was an Elvis impersonator and also the one that encouraged him to perform on stage.
Bruno even went on to impersonate Elvis and had a cameo in a movie doing this part. He had a lot of support from his family throughout his life and has still kind of kept the whole pompadour thing going as you can see.
6. The styles he uses have been inspired by some very famous musicians from the past.
Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, and Michael Jackson are just a few people that he’s managed to emulate throughout his career, styling himself in the manner of these famous singers so as to bolster his own sound and look on stage.
5. He didn’t do much with Motown Records but it did help his career.
Nothing really seemed to happen for him while he was at Motown, though it did help him to gain some experience and some added wisdom while he was there. Sometimes the first place you end up might not be the right place, but it’s the experience that count since it’s what helps a person learn.
4. There have been some notable controversies concerning his music.
A lot of people seemed to have issues with him and have even claimed that he’s been winning when others should be given a chance, or that he’s taking old sounds and copying or mimicking them and not creating his own music. For the most part a lot of these have been debunked and some of the folks that spoke out against him have apologized.
3. His mother’s passing was a hard hit for him to take.
She passed away due to a brain aneurysm unfortunately, and when Bruno learned she was ill he was on the first plane he could take back to Hawaii to be by her side. The loss shook him up quite a bit but he was back to work eventually as he continued to mourn.
2. He’s won a very impressive number of awards.
You can imagine that Bruno has an entire wall that’s been fashioned just to hold his many upon many awards since at this point there isn’t a lot that he hasn’t won and there are even awards that have less to do with music and more with the fact that he’s just such an impressive human being.
1. In all of his appearances he’s been known for being a showman.
If you watch him in any concert, stage show, or even in the Superbowls where he’s made an appearance you’ll know that his music is only half of the performance. The other half is him entertaining the crowd in whatever way possible, meaning that he concocts a show that knocks people on their heels on a regular basis.
Whatever you want to say about him, the man is all about the music, and that’s great.
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