Bruno Mars tells Beats 1 Radio that his early failures in the music industry made him who he is today.
”[Those days] sucked, but in a beautiful way. Without getting dropped, I might not be here. All of these things you have to go through. It ain’t easy. If it was easy everyone would be doing it.The worst absolute moment was telling everybody I got dropped. I’m broke. I’m in debt. Walking into a room saying, ‘Yeah, I’m a signed Motown artist,’ then walking in and saying, ‘I’m a dropped Motown artist.’ But I’m not blaming anybody over there.”
Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, Mars signed with Motown Records in 2004, in a deal that “went nowhere”, and had a conversation with Will.i.am’s management which turned out to be fruitless. However, Mars’ experience with Motown proved to be beneficial to his career when he met songwriter and producer Philip Lawrence, who was also signed to the label.
After Mars was dropped by the label less than a year of being signed, he stayed in Los Angeles and landed a music publishing deal in 2005 with Steve Lindsey and Cameron Strang at Westside Independent.
Lindsey showed Jeff Bhasker and Mars the ins and outs of writing pop music, and acted as a mentor helping him to hone his craft. Bhasker, met Mars through Mike Lynn (the A&R at Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment who first heard Mars’ demo tape through his sister and flew him to LA), who explained: “He’d mentor us, and kind of give us lectures as to what a hit pop song is, because you can have talent and music ability, but understanding what makes a hit pop song is a whole other discipline.”
“Sylvia Rhone gave me a deal and the timing wasn’t right. I had to go through this journey. I had to meet Jeff [Bhasker] and beg him to come play at Pickwick’s Pub on Ventura with me. I had to sing these songs and gig. I was 20-years-old. I wasn’t even supposed to be in these places probably.”
After serving as guest vocalist on B.o.B’s and Travie McCoy’s singles, Mars released “Just the Way You Are” on July 19, 2010. The song was the lead single from his debut studio album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans, and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as several other charts worldwide, in September. The song holds the record as the longest-reigning debut format hit, spending twenty weeks atop Adult Contemporary.
Currently, things are going well for Bruno. “24K Magic” was released as the lead single from 24K Magic on October 7, 2016. Mars will start his Las Vegas residency show in MGM’s Park Theater at Monte Carlo on December 27, 2016. What kind of legacy does Bruno Mars hope to leave?
“I hope that my music does the talking. I just wanna do music. It could be boring for people this day and age, but I don’t wanna be known for no scandals or controversy. I want to be the guy that brings joy to your life through his music. That’s it.”
