Peter Gene Hernandez born October 8, , known professionally as Bruno Mars , is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. Mars is accompanied by his band, the Hooligans , whose members are also backup singers and dancers. In , Mars and fellow singer Anderson. Paak formed the musical superduo Silk Sonic.
Mars moved to Los Angeles in to pursue a musical career. Following a brief contract with Motown Records , he established his name in the music industry as a songwriter and co-founder of the production team the Smeezingtons. He rose to fame as a recording artist following his guest performances on the singles " Nothin' on You " by B. B and " Billionaire " by Travie McCoy , which peaked at numbers one and four on the Billboard Hot , respectively.
His second album, Unorthodox Jukebox , explored various genres and spawned two U. The album produced the U. Mars has sold over million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Eight of his songs have reached number one on the Billboard Hot and his concert tours are some of the highest-grossing in history. Mars became the first artist to receive six diamond-certified songs in the United States and has been regarded as a pop icon due to his influential career.
Mars has stated that his Jewish ancestors were from Hungary and Ukraine. Mars is one of six children and came from a musical family which exposed him to a diverse mix of music genres, including first and foremost rock and roll , and later reggae , hip hop , and rhythm and blues.
However, Mars never wavered. When Mars was six years old, he was featured on The Arsenio Hall Show and throughout grade school, he performed with his family's band, two shows a night, covering Frankie Lymon and Little Anthony. When he was a child he had a small version of a drum set, guitar, piano, and some percussion and learned to play the instruments. When Mars was 12, his parents divorced, ending The Love Notes act.
