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Our 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Bruno Mars article takes a look at one of the most successful contemporary musicians of the past twenty years. He was born on October 8, 1985, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Bruno Mars first started singing at family gatherings when he was just 2 years old. Initially starting off playing drums with his brother Eric, Bruno became interested in music thanks to Babyface and Bobby Brown (Hawaii News Now).
At age 13, Bruno Mars’ family moved from Hawaii to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. But after several roles on TV shows such as “The Mickey Mouse Club” and “Home Improvement,” he got discouraged with the lack of acting opportunities. Thus, Bruno Mars decided to focus on music instead (GMA).
He formed a production company called The Smeezingtons with songwriting partner Philip Lawrence to produce other artists. However, they soon started writing songs for Bruno Mars because other recording artists rejected their early works. After all, they were considered too similar to a particular hit at that time (Hawaii News Now).
Bruno Mars‘ debut album, entitled “Doo-Wops & Hooligans,” was released in October 2010 and made it to #3 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. The following year his single from the album, “Just the Way You Are,” was nominated for four Grammy Awards, including Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Record of the Year.
Bruno Mars‘ debut album received many nominations for various industry awards such as the Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, and MTV Video Music Awards. The accolades recognized his talents as a singer-songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and dancer (Braudie). To get to know more about your favorite musician, here are 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Bruno Mars:
# 1 – His real name is Peter Gene Hernandez
Peter Gene Hernandez, better known as Bruno Mars, is a Puerto Rican and Filipino American singer-songwriter born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on October 8, 1985. He adopted the stage name “Bruno Mars” during high school because he believed it represented his musical style.
# 2 – Bruno was one of six children
He’s not just Bruno; he’s the baby of six siblings. Bruno Mars has three sisters and two brothers alongside him. Growing up, his family moved all over the place – Hawaii, California, and even Utah. All for a good reason, though – to teach their children about various cultures around the world in a time when diversity was hard to come by.
# 3 – The stage name he uses was based on a nickname given to him by his father
Bruno Mars‘ dad, Pete Wentz Sr., gave his son the nickname as a child because Mars’ real name starts with P, and so does Wentz’s stage name, “Pete Wolf.” So he called him “Little Pete Wolf.” The other kids then shortened that to “Bruno.”
# 4 – At age 4, Bruno Mars was known as “Little Elvis”
At just 4 years old, Bruno Mars‘ mom took her son down to see the Elvis Presley movie “Blue Hawaii,” When it ended, she said something extraordinary happened in that theater that night. As they were walking out, Bruno Mars stopped in front of the screen and pretended to be Elvis, giving everyone who had been watching an impromptu concert.
# 5 – Bruno Mars is of Puerto Rican and Filipino descent
Bruno’s father, Pete Wentz Sr., was born in Monterey, California, to a Puerto Rican mother and a German father. Although his father is half-German, he identifies as predominantly Hispanic because he only speaks Spanish and considers himself more Latin than anything else; this includes playing bongos and singing rock songs by Selena Quintanilla (a famous Tejano singer). His mother, Bernadette “Bernie” Hernandez, is of Filipino descent with roots in San Diego, California, where she met up with Wentz while stationed there with the Navy.
# 6 – He was arrested for Cocaine possession in 2010
In 2010, Bruno Mars was arrested by Hawaiian police on charges of possessing cocaine, but these charges were dropped when the evidence mysteriously disappeared from the station. This would have all been over if Bruno didn’t refuse to take a plea bargain, so instead, he spent 3 days behind bars and paid a fine worth $2,000.
# 7 – Bruno Mars’ favorite dish is Chicken Adobo
Bruno Mars has claimed in many interviews that his favorite dish of all time is his mom’s Chicken Adobo. He claims it is one of the most delicious things you will ever eat and says he could eat it every day.
# 8 – His mom was a hula dancer, and his dad was a percussionist
The two met while Bernadette “Bernie” Hernandez was performing at a hotel she used to work at as a Hula dancer. Wentz went to watch her performance multiple times before finally asking for her number. She said no to it because she did not think him being from California would last or have longevity, considering Hawaii isn’t exactly known for its diversity. But Wentz wasn’t going to give up on this girl so quickly, so every week after that, he was at the hotel she worked at performing with his band, and finally, after 8 months of persistence and showing up to her job, they started dating.
# 9 – One of his favorite television shows is Family Guy
Bruno Mars has even said that if he could be someone on TV, it would be Peter Griffin from “Family Guy.” And although Bruno’s mom doesn’t like this choice because of all the sexual innuendos Peter makes, Mars says he would choose him anyway because he’s a funny father/husband who loves his kids more than anything else in the world.
# 10 – Bruno has four tattoos
Bruno Mars has 4 tattoos, including a sun, an Albert Einstein portrait, and two music notes on his arm. One of the reasons he got his first tattoo was because he wanted to get over a girl who broke his heart when high school. He got it on his 16th birthday and said that although he doesn’t regret getting it at all, what does scare him is thinking about how much more ink is going to be covering up that original tattoo one day.
Conclusion
Bruno Mars is a singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He’s been in the music industry for many years and has performed with some of the most famous artists in pop culture today, including Beyoncé, CeeLo Green, and Mark Ronson, among others. He is considered one of the most successful male artists of all time. He has been nominated for six Grammys and won three, including “Best R&B Performance” for his song “That’s What I Like.” In addition to being a musician, he also produces music and writes songs for other artists.
