Meet Bruno Mars, your Super Bowl star
- %27Locked Out of Heaven%2C%27 %27Just the Way You Are%27 and %27Grenade%27%3F Yeah%2C those are all his
- He got his start as an Elvis and Michael Jackson impersonator
- The Super Bowl is Feb. 2 in East Rutherford%2C N.J.
Fans of pop music are no doubt familiar with baby-faced hitmaker Bruno Mars. But if you're a football fan who first heard the singer's name when it was announced that he'd be the Super Bowl's halftime show performer, you probably live on a radio-less planet (not called Mars). But we're not here to judge. Here's a refresher on who the fedora-wearing pop juggernaut is:
He's the guy who sings that falsetto-heavy pop song called ...
Treasure (the song that sounds straight out of the '70s).
When I Was Your Man (melodramatic love ballad, gets us every time).
Locked Out of Heaven (sounds like a Police song; he's actually performed it with Sting).
Gorilla (his newest single about animalistic lovemaking; he has a thing for gorillas).
Grenade (he proves how much he loves you by describing the unnecessary extremes he'd go to for you, like "catch a grenade").
Just the Way You Are (the Grammy Award-winning single explaining your perfection).
The Lazy Song (that fun whistling tune).
He's a pop force who's sold literally MILLIONS of records.
According to the Recording Industry Association of America, his Grammy-nominated 2010 debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans went double platinum (platinum = 1 million units) and its singles Just the Way You Are and Grenade which each went five-times platinum. 2012's Unorthodox Jukebox album is platinum-certified. He's sold more than 100 million singles worldwide as a solo artist and writer/producer/featured performer.
He's not just a solo star.
Know those big hits Nothin' On You by rapper B.o.B and F--- You by CeeLo Green? Bruno Mars wrote and produced those with his Grammy-nominated production team, The Smeezingtons. Mars also sang the hook on Nothin' and has been featured on hit songs like Eminem's Lighters and Travie McCoy's Billionaire, both of which he co-wrote.
The former Elvis and Michael Jackson impersonator can put on a show.
Mars, born Peter Gene Hernandez in Honolulu, began performing around age 5 in a family revue and has become a go-to live performer. He's played VMAs, Billboard Music Awards, Saturday Night Live (as host and musical guest) and the Grammys, twice, after Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich convinced him to play a Bob Marley tribute earlier this year.
"I'll readily confess I have my favorite (performers) and they're people who understand the dynamics of live performance and deliver. ... Bruno picked the house off the floor with his James Brown impersonation (last year)," Ehrlich told USA TODAY.
Mars is currently headlining his second worldwide tour, the Moonshine Jungle tour. Fans compare Mars' flashy, vocally demanding performance style to Michael Jackson and Prince.
He's on Twitter.
Get to know the halftime performer by reading his goofy tweets.