Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age and performed in various musical venues in his hometown throughout his childhood. He graduated from high school and then moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a musical career. Mars produced songs for other artists, joining production team The Smeezingtons.
Mars had an unsuccessful stint with Motown Records, but then signed with Atlantic in 2009. He became recognized as a solo artist after lending his vocals and co-writing the hooks for the songs "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B, and "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy, which were worldwide hits. He also co-wrote the hits "Right Round" by Flo Rida featuring Ke$ha, and "Wavin' Flag" by K'naan, allowing him to work with an assortment of artists from various genres. Mars' debut studio album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010) peaked at number three on the Billboard 200. Anchored by the worldwide number-one singles "Just the Way You Are", "Grenade" and the hit single "The Lazy Song". The album was nominated for seven Grammy Awards, winning Best Pop Vocal Performance for "Just The Way You Are". His second album, Unorthodox Jukebox (2012), peaked at number one in the United States. The album spawned the international hit singles, "Locked Out of Heaven" and "When I Was Your Man", so far. In addition to his solo music, Bruno has collaborated with numerous other artists, notably being featured on the worldwide hits "Lighters" (with Bad Meets Evil), "Young, Wild & Free" (with Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa) and those already referenced.
