Speaker 1: You know, I am telling you this on the record,
Speaker 1: what I have been converted to a fan of Bruno Mars.
Speaker 1: I do like his music. It's just sometimes it's too sexy.
Speaker 2: You know, it's too slow jam for you, Like it's
Speaker 2: too slow jammy, like too Jodicy.
Speaker 1: The Quiet Storm. You know, like you just want to
Speaker 1: be like like you where you would be eating chocolate
Speaker 1: cover Star.
Speaker 2: You know, it's like that's like corny freeze, and.
Speaker 1: I just kind of like, don't be like that. Let's
Speaker 1: just get the way, bitch.
Speaker 2: After a long road of rejections and a mistake that
Speaker 2: nearly cost him everything, Bruno Mars is living his best life.
Speaker 2: He's a star, y'all.
Speaker 1: But being a star's no biggie. We want to get
Speaker 1: into what exactly makes him an icon.
Speaker 2: That's right, because he went from impersonating Elvis Presley as
Speaker 2: a little kid living the Presley drink.
Speaker 1: He almost lived it a little too closely, methinks.
Speaker 2: But he cleaned up his act quickly and realized that
Speaker 2: what he had gained was too good to lose. We
Speaker 2: took you on Bruno's journey on the Highway to Hell,
Speaker 2: but now we're going to give you a front row
Speaker 2: seat to his climb up the stairway to heaven.
Speaker 1: And how that ass didn't get lucked out of it.
Speaker 2: I don't think he was saying about success and stardom
Speaker 2: in that song.
Speaker 1: Joseph, Let's pretend, kay, for the sake of these metaphors
Speaker 1: we got going.
Speaker 2: On, I'm well listen the last decade for him, and
Speaker 2: this episode is really all about the music. An orthodox jukebox,
Speaker 2: twenty four care magic and one of my all time shaves,
Speaker 2: an evening with silk so on it, but of course
Speaker 2: a little super Bowl mixed in well two to be exact,
Speaker 2: because at this point I feel like it's a rite
Speaker 2: of passage for the icons on our podcast one one
Speaker 2: hundred and Oh my god, can you believe it?
Speaker 1: If we got an ad spot at the super Bowl,
Speaker 1: We're becoming an icon.
Speaker 2: I'm sorry. Do we have those kinds of budgets? I
Speaker 2: was highly unaware that we had that kind of cash,
Speaker 2: but if we did, I would literally die.
Speaker 1: We'll also give praise, where praise is due to his
Speaker 1: killer sense of style and how he enforces that wait
Speaker 1: a dress code for his recordings. Shut your butt, No
Speaker 1: he doesn't, Oh he does.
Speaker 2: But first, let's take a look at how Bruno Mars
Speaker 2: eviscerated the dreaded sophomore set. I'm your host Lilianavosquez.
Speaker 1: And I'm Joseph Carrio and this is Becoming an Icon.
Speaker 2: A weekly podcast where we give you the rundown on
Speaker 2: how today's most famous LATINV stars have shaped pop culture.
Speaker 1: And given the world some extra level.
Speaker 2: Sit back and get comfortable.
Speaker 1: Because we are going in the only way we know
Speaker 1: how with when I be with us, unassas.
Speaker 2: And a lot of opinions as we really their greatest
Speaker 2: achievements on our journey to find out what makes them
Speaker 2: so iconic.
Speaker 1: Bruno Mars gained recognition quickly for being a so called
Speaker 1: master mixer of disco, funk, rock, reggae and soul.
Speaker 2: Joseph so called like stop playing with Bruno, Stop playing
Speaker 2: with me?
Speaker 1: Okay, I'm kiddying it.
Speaker 2: Douops and Hooligans was a successful album in every aspect, but.
Speaker 1: It wasn't a number one album. The do Ops in
Speaker 1: Hooligan's tour is over. What comes next for Bruno?
Speaker 2: This Smeusingtons aka Bruno, Philip Lawrence, and Ari Levine. They
Speaker 2: all got together again to start working on Bruno's second
Speaker 2: album right after Duops, but they promised to take their
Speaker 2: time with this one. They had felt rush with the
Speaker 2: first album.
Speaker 1: Because they totally were one month.
Speaker 2: I mean, come on, there were two many people from
Speaker 2: the label telling him what to do and how the
Speaker 2: record should actually sound.
Speaker 1: And if there's one thing Bruno never wants to be,
Speaker 1: it's a sellout.
Speaker 2: Which is why there's such a notable difference when you
Speaker 2: compare the sound of Duops to Unorthodox Juthbox. They couldn't
Speaker 2: afford perfection with the first album.
Speaker 1: But with this record, they had time to really sit
Speaker 1: with the art, the sound, and the whole vibe.
Speaker 2: It was designed to be more dynamic, more in tune
Speaker 2: with how Bruno sees himself as a performer, not just
Speaker 2: a songwriter.
Speaker 1: And that meant reconnecting with his heritage.
Speaker 2: Between albums, Bruno made a trip to Puerto Rico, his
Speaker 2: first visit ever to the island.
Speaker 1: He was shooting for Vogue alongside Puerto Rican model Victoria's
Speaker 1: Secret Angel Joan Small's, who by the way, is just
Speaker 1: absolutely gorgeous.
Speaker 2: She's so pretty. And the way that Bruno recalls this moment,
Speaker 2: he said it felt like coming home, getting to see
Speaker 2: other people with the same features, hair texture, and his
Speaker 2: skin color. And when you look at these photos, a
Speaker 2: they're in my sane.
Speaker 1: It was a good shoot, I'll say that.
Speaker 2: And what I love so much about this shoot is
Speaker 2: it was the first time that I think Bruno was
Speaker 2: discovering how powerful and influential Puerto Rico was in his
Speaker 2: personal style.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: He even said that his dad used to tell him
Speaker 2: about fashion, when you walk in a room, let them
Speaker 2: know you're there, how you wear your hat, how you
Speaker 2: wear your suit, like take up space mehole, like that's
Speaker 2: what he was telling him. And being in old San
Speaker 2: Juan with the vintage cars and kind of the vintage
Speaker 2: styling of the suits and the clothes, I think for
Speaker 2: the first time, Bruno was really connecting to this style
Speaker 2: that he thought his dad, you know, created, but really
Speaker 2: this is like the style of Puerto Rico, like it
Speaker 2: was in his DNA, and he was for the first
Speaker 2: time finding out the origins of it.
Speaker 1: I'm going to say, I am going to take this
Speaker 1: piece of advice from Papa Bruno myself.
Speaker 2: It's true, Like you know, you walk into a room
Speaker 2: and it's like shoulders back, head up, own the space
Speaker 2: that you're in and let them know you're there. Thank you,
Speaker 2: Papa Bruno.
Speaker 1: Thanks Papa Bruno.
Speaker 2: And that trip was not just about the style and
Speaker 2: about the vague shoot.
Speaker 1: Because because he also added a little bit of pr
Speaker 1: to his love life.
Speaker 2: Bruno met his current partner, Puerto Rican model and actress
Speaker 2: Jessica Caabon, back in twenty eleven in a hotel restaurant
Speaker 2: in New York City on the Lower East Side.
Speaker 1: Caban and Bruno fell so hard for each other because
Speaker 1: she packed up all her shit in Spanish Harlem and
Speaker 1: made the jump to La with the singer.
Speaker 2: I mean, who wouldn't I would leave Spanish Harlem to
Speaker 2: go pretty much anywhere with Bruno, Like, okay, take me away, Bruno,
Speaker 2: take me away. But here's a little fun tidbit for you.
Speaker 2: Guess who gave Jessica her very first modeling job.
Speaker 1: Mmmmm, I don't know, Wilhelmina.
Speaker 2: Good guess, j Lo j Lo.
Speaker 1: On top of everything we talked about in her episodes,
Speaker 1: Jlo is also a part time fairy godmother Jaylome.
Speaker 2: Gabon and Bruno start was a bumpy one, but they
Speaker 2: have been thick as these ever since.
Speaker 1: And much of their time together inspired songs for his
Speaker 1: next album, Unorthodox. Jukebox was an uncensored and personal look
Speaker 1: at Bruno Mars. When I Was Your Man was inspired
Speaker 1: by a rough.
Speaker 2: Patch he had with Gabon. She never actually loved him
Speaker 2: or found another man, thank god that would treat her better.
Speaker 1: But he envisioned this to remind himself of what he
Speaker 1: could lose if he didn't get his shit together.
Speaker 2: To this day, did you guys know that he actually
Speaker 2: refuses to talk about what exactly happened to inspire such
Speaker 2: raw emotion on the track. He often says, I'm not
Speaker 2: answering any questions about this song. It's too close to home.
Speaker 1: And it's that personal touch that he adds to this
Speaker 1: music that connected with so many people when Jukebox came out.
Speaker 2: Authenticity is what Bruno strives for, Remember you, guys, Bruno
Speaker 2: received multiple rejections after he got dropped by Motown.
Speaker 1: He was misunderstood, and it was.
Speaker 2: Because he was trying to make music that's in line
Speaker 2: with what ultimately ended up on Jukebox. It's a hybrid
Speaker 2: of genres.
Speaker 1: Rock, reggae, soul, funk.
Speaker 2: Disco, inspired by a bevy of musicians.
Speaker 1: The Police, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson parents.
Speaker 2: Sounds that feel indescribable yet you.
Speaker 1: Need, and that was the winning formula. Those record execs
Speaker 1: who initially passed on him and this sound, well, jokes
Speaker 1: on you, because jukebox was popping.
Speaker 2: The music industry is a business. Execs don't look at
Speaker 2: your potential as an artist. They look at your potential
Speaker 2: to make a profit. They want you to appeal to
Speaker 2: the masses, even if it means conforming. Bruno had heard this.
Speaker 2: You don't know who you are. Your music's all over
Speaker 2: the place, and we don't know how to market this stuff.
Speaker 2: Hick alane and come back to us. These people called
Speaker 2: everything he did quote unquote unorthodox, So, like Lisa Rena says,
Speaker 2: he owned it. For his sophomore album, he brought back
Speaker 2: Jeff Basker, who's known for working with the likes of
Speaker 2: Kanye and Beyonce, and.
Speaker 1: And a few new faces joined the phrase. Well.
Speaker 2: There was Jat singer Esperdanza Spalding, record producer Emily Haney,
Speaker 2: ADM artist Diplow, and English DJ Mark Ronson.
Speaker 1: Up town Funk, you up, uptown funk, you up.
Speaker 2: Not yet, not yet, not yet, Joseph I hold that thought.
Speaker 1: Those This project feels like the musical Avengers, and their.
Speaker 2: Goal was super simple, keep the silky smooth live instrumentation,
Speaker 2: and give priority to the vocals. Unorthodox Jukebox was finally
Speaker 2: released in December of twenty twelve. This sound is I'm
Speaker 2: gonna call it experimental. It's just such a dichotomy of
Speaker 2: sounds because when you think of experimental, you think of
Speaker 2: crazy music that you find on SoundCloud, and you're like,
Speaker 2: what the hell is that? You don't think of treasure
Speaker 2: or when I was your man? But I don't know
Speaker 2: the way they blended all of the songs together to
Speaker 2: create this one album is what felt experimental extense.
Speaker 1: It totally does. It's just here's the thing. The sound
Speaker 1: is so unique. It's throwbacks, but it's now.
Speaker 2: I think that exactly is why Bruno is so hard
Speaker 2: to define, because how do you do that?
Speaker 1: Right?
Speaker 2: The sound is inspired greatly by doop, but it feels
Speaker 2: so current and fresh when you release this in twenty twelve,
Speaker 2: and if you guys are listening to this going wait,
Speaker 2: what was on an Orthodox Jukebox? Let me just give
Speaker 2: you a little rundown of some of the hits, right, So,
Speaker 2: You've got Locked out of Heaven, loved When I Was Your.
Speaker 1: Man, Stop it right now, I love.
Speaker 2: Dot Com Moneymaker Smile, which was the song that Joseph
Speaker 2: usually does his performance to on the poll. That's kidding,
Speaker 2: He's not a stripper anymore. And Treasure, Oh my god, Treasure.
Speaker 2: I fucking love this song. It's one of my favorites.
Speaker 2: It might be my favorite. No, Okay, locked out of
Speaker 2: Heaven is my favorite on the album, but Treasure is
Speaker 2: so good.
Speaker 1: When I Was Your Man and Locked Out of Heaven
Speaker 1: is exactly like. Actually, those were the two that I
Speaker 1: listened to the most.
Speaker 2: So the other thing I have to talk about with
Speaker 2: this album is, oftentimes with the Bruno Mars albums, there
Speaker 2: are so many good songs that I feel like some
Speaker 2: get left off the hits list. Natalie is one of
Speaker 2: those songs. If you guys have not listened to this song,
Speaker 2: please go back and listen to it. It is so
Speaker 2: fucking funny. The lyrics are so good. So he basically
Speaker 2: talks about this woman Natalie, who I need to know
Speaker 2: who Natalie is coded for, like because Natalie ran away
Speaker 2: with all his cats.
Speaker 1: Okay, I'm Natalie, Natalie.
Speaker 2: Is me you're Natalie, and specifically this song. There's like
Speaker 2: this quote about it that I read and rollings which
Speaker 2: I want to share with you guys. So it was
Speaker 2: produced by Benny Blanco, who is this major music producer
Speaker 2: like in La He's worked with everyone, and he says this,
Speaker 2: it's like some throwback Nina Simone type shit like Cinnerman,
Speaker 2: but it's Bruno. He can sing the ABC's and you'd
Speaker 2: be like, holy fuck, he knows how to vibe. If
Speaker 2: that does not sum up everything that we have said
Speaker 2: about Bruno so far, I don't know what.
Speaker 1: Does you know what? Yeah, that sentence is just it.
Speaker 2: The album in itself, along with Bruno, has such a range.
Speaker 2: It gives you so many feels and it is truly
Speaker 2: a vibe. Like there has never been a better way
Speaker 2: to describe an album than a vibe. He knows how
Speaker 2: to vibe. He delivers a vibe.
Speaker 1: And we are vibing period.
Speaker 2: Unorthodox debuted on the second spot of the Billboard two hundred.
Speaker 1: But the next week it dropped to third.
Speaker 2: However, the record did stop selling and suddenly surpassed projected
Speaker 2: sales numbers, which man Is eventually made its.
Speaker 1: Way to the number one spot on the chart.
Speaker 2: It sold over one point three million copies in the US,
Speaker 2: making it the fifth best selling album of twenty thirteen.
Speaker 1: Bruno Mars officially had a number one album ab Blaoso
Speaker 1: a Blao saw. Oh yeah.
Speaker 2: Not only that. With this record, Mars also became the
Speaker 2: first male artist since Presley to have five number one
Speaker 2: singles in his career.
Speaker 1: You know he loved that shit.
Speaker 2: Oh it's like all full circle. I love a full
Speaker 2: circle moment. We have so many, but this one feels
Speaker 2: really good. Bruno also won the award for Best Pop
Speaker 2: Vocal Album for Unorthodox Jukebox at the twenty fourteen Grammys
Speaker 2: and earned himself a Juno Award for International Album of
Speaker 2: the Year.
Speaker 1: And how's the guy to celebrate so many wins taking
Speaker 1: over the super Bowl halftime show.
Speaker 2: That's how Bruno Mars had a number one album.
Speaker 1: Now it's time to promote the shizz out of it.
Speaker 1: In between his suddenly uber busy schedule, he had to
Speaker 1: make a quick pitstop at what has become our favorite
Speaker 1: stage on becoming an icon, the super Bowl Halftime Show.
Speaker 2: The show was held on February second, twenty fourteen, at
Speaker 2: the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Speaker 1: Bruni performed with his band The Hooligans and The Red
Speaker 1: Hot Chili Peppers were the halftime special guests.
Speaker 2: Brunito made history that night he became the first halftime
Speaker 2: headliner under thirty, making him the youngest artist to ever
Speaker 2: perform at the super Bowl. So it opens with a
Speaker 2: children's choir, which I mean like, talk about all the feels,
Speaker 2: give me a choir moment, I heard for it. Then
Speaker 2: you see Bruno solo on the stage on the drums.
Speaker 2: He's not singing, he is just hitting this killer drum solo,
Speaker 2: of course, also reflectively taking us back to his beginnings
Speaker 2: as an musician, right. And then it explodes, locked out
Speaker 2: of Heaven, it comes over. People are losing their fucking
Speaker 2: minds in the stands. Then he goes to Treasure, which
Speaker 2: I'm like, here for okay. Then he goes to a
Speaker 2: song that I think is so underrated, which is Runaway Baby.
Speaker 2: This is one of the best songs that I've ever
Speaker 2: seen performed live. And I mean this not just at
Speaker 2: the super Bowl, but also in a concert because his band,
Speaker 2: like they are part of the routine. I'm talking like
Speaker 2: the tuba player can get the fuck down. Everybody is dance.
Speaker 2: It's like the music is so fast, it's like it's
Speaker 2: on speed. And then he goes into like do you
Speaker 2: know the song Shout by the Isley Brothers.
Speaker 1: Then shout no, no, no no, then shout a little
Speaker 1: bit softeren now right.
Speaker 2: Okay, fine, right, yes, that's it. So that little piece
Speaker 2: where you say a little bit softer now you know,
Speaker 2: he like whispers it and he goes lower and lower.
Speaker 2: So Bruno does that with Runaway Baby, and the audience
Speaker 2: goes wild. He's such a tease and then he gets
Speaker 2: them down and he brings you back up. And then
Speaker 2: who comes out Joe your favorite.
Speaker 1: Dope red hot chili peppers.
Speaker 2: Wow, it was so good. And then like it ends
Speaker 2: soft takes you back to like a more reflective place
Speaker 2: with just the way you are. There's a special dedication
Speaker 2: from the armed forces. And then bam, like mm hmm,
Speaker 2: I do remember this the fireworks show?
Speaker 1: The fireworks.
Speaker 2: Yes, And by the way, you guys, this is the
Speaker 2: most fireworks that have ever been used in a halftime show.
Speaker 2: And if you watch halftime shows, that's a hell a
Speaker 2: lot of fireworks.
Speaker 1: And he's wearing this like gold jacket.
Speaker 2: What I loved about this style choice for him was
Speaker 2: that he was dressed just like his band. There's so
Speaker 2: much respect between him and his musicians. And yes it's
Speaker 2: his name on the halftime show, it's Bruno Mars, but
Speaker 2: he was like, no, it's me and my band. They
Speaker 2: were unified and it just signals what respect he has
Speaker 2: for his band and how like they don't exist without
Speaker 2: each other, like it's a symbiotic relationship. And I like
Speaker 2: love him for this, like he's a musician first, he's
Speaker 2: a musician first. Icon Second.
Speaker 1: Love love that the Red Hot Chili Peppers were just Also,
Speaker 1: they stayed true to form in there like ninety they
Speaker 1: are still in there. What is it like in Dicky's
Speaker 1: and they're just dressed. They're California guys. Like whatever, Now
Speaker 1: here's a super Bowl chief man. There was a bunch
Speaker 1: of disagreements over how the show should go. The people
Speaker 1: in charge of the broadcast wanted to invest in those
Speaker 1: trendy little concert light up bracelets.
Speaker 2: But Bruno thought it would be a waste of time
Speaker 2: and money. He believed they should just focus the camera
Speaker 2: on him and his band and let them do their thing.
Speaker 1: But the production team did what they wanted to do.
Speaker 2: Bruno's response to the whole thing was so very unbrand
Speaker 2: for him. He said, God bless the super Bowl. They
Speaker 2: hooked me up. They took a chance on me. But
Speaker 2: I had to keep reminding them why they took a
Speaker 2: chance on me. I told them, if you take that
Speaker 2: camera off me, you're doing yourself a disservice. And what happened.
Speaker 2: They spent all this money on those things and it
Speaker 2: didn't work.
Speaker 1: Well. Damn Bruno, come and get a little bit of
Speaker 1: that confience over here.
Speaker 2: It's next level is undeniable.
Speaker 1: Even Chris Martin from Coldplay was like, get me some
Speaker 1: of that facts.
Speaker 2: But we got to talk about uptown Funk before we
Speaker 2: get into Super Bowl nou mido loss con.
Speaker 1: Chris Mark Ronson, welcome to becoming an.
Speaker 2: Icon, Joseph, I know you want to sing it again.
Speaker 1: I better get paid extra for this. Up town funk,
Speaker 1: You up, uptown bunk, you up.
Speaker 2: Ronson and Mars weren't strangers. They had collaborated before, producing
Speaker 2: three songs together on Unorthodox Jukebox. Four months after the
Speaker 2: Super Bowl, Ronson announced that Mars and m were back
Speaker 2: together making magic, but it would take a minute for
Speaker 2: us to hear it. Well, let's be honest, more than
Speaker 2: a minute?
Speaker 1: How long?
Speaker 2: Seven months for one song? Let's just say it was
Speaker 2: a stressful process. Rumor has it there could literally be
Speaker 2: more than one hundred versions of this one song.
Speaker 1: They were total overthinking it, so.
Speaker 2: Much so that Ronson literally really fainted. According to an
Speaker 2: interview he did with NPR, he couldn't quite nail the
Speaker 2: guitar part of the song, and after sixty attempts, he
Speaker 2: decided to break and went to lunch, where he passed
Speaker 2: out and, in his polite words, yup, he redecorated the
Speaker 2: walls in the bathroom of this nice restaurant and had
Speaker 2: to be carried out.
Speaker 1: I listen, anxiety, ain't no joke, girl.
Speaker 2: Luckily, he nailed the guitar two days later, and the
Speaker 2: song finally came out on November tenth, twenty fourteen. Uptown
Speaker 2: Song spent over fourteen weeks at the top of the charts.
Speaker 1: It became ictic.
Speaker 2: And I know we over use the word all the time,
Speaker 2: but like, let's just be honest, it's exactly what it was. Like,
Speaker 2: how else would you describe this dam song?
Speaker 1: It wasn't enough just to listen to the song like
Speaker 1: you had to own it, you had to buy it,
Speaker 1: like it's just it's yours, it's your song.
Speaker 2: I just feel like this song became a cultural revolution,
Speaker 2: and I just have to shout out our sound engineer, Santiago.
Speaker 2: Not only was this a cultural revolution here in the
Speaker 2: United States, but Santhia attended school in Mexico City and
Speaker 2: he made an entire music video with his classmates as
Speaker 2: like a senior project, where they were in the streets
Speaker 2: dressed up like Bruno Mars dancing to this song.
Speaker 1: And they were uptown funky. They were giving it to you.
Speaker 2: They served Bruno Mars. It was amazing.
Speaker 1: That just shows how much of an impact this was.
Speaker 2: So much so that this song went beyond the cultural moment.
Speaker 2: It actually won Ronson and Mars two Grammys Best Pop
Speaker 2: Duo Group Performance and Record of the Year. And someone
Speaker 2: who was definitely paying attention.
Speaker 1: Mm hmm, Grice Martine, the cold Play frontman, wanted one
Speaker 1: thing Bruno performing uptown Funk at his Super Bowl halftime
Speaker 1: show with.
Speaker 2: A little guest appearance from none other than Beyonce. Bruno
Speaker 2: of course said yes.
Speaker 1: One percent, Yes, no takebacks.
Speaker 2: He turned Chris Martin down, No, You're lying, no, I'm serious.
Speaker 2: He turned down b a SI. He had already been
Speaker 2: down this road with the NFL. He knew how it
Speaker 2: all worked, and he was all, sorry, dude, been there,
Speaker 2: done that, Grassies, Biro no gracias.
Speaker 1: But Cristito wasn't going down without a fight.
Speaker 2: Martin invited Bruno to his a Malibu studio to pitch
Speaker 2: him the show in.
Speaker 1: A person He wanted Nay needed Beyonce and Bruno to
Speaker 1: perform the song.
Speaker 2: Martin wanted to give that gift to us to the world,
Speaker 2: but Bruno was playing hard to get. He said, you've
Speaker 2: got to be careful with those multi artist performances. They
Speaker 2: do it a lot on award shows when you've got
Speaker 2: so many cameos but nothing solid.
Speaker 1: Before he was about to turn it down for the
Speaker 1: second time, Bruno had an idea.
Speaker 2: He said, let's call Beyonce and see what she thinks
Speaker 2: before we make a decision.
Speaker 1: Chris Martin pulled out his phone and was like, shit,
Speaker 1: I don't have her number. Just kidding. He got her
Speaker 1: on the whole being about a boom she was in.
Speaker 2: And that meant Bruno was on board.
Speaker 1: Being in the presence of Beyonce was the masterclass. He
Speaker 1: didn't know he needed.
Speaker 2: Watching Beyonce prep for the event, you had this to say,
Speaker 2: She's not fucking joking around. She's gonna get on stage
Speaker 2: and show everybody why she's the best every single time.
Speaker 2: She's got that monster in her.
Speaker 1: The show finally went live on February seventh, twenty sixteen,
Speaker 1: at the Levi Stadium in Cali, and their hard work
Speaker 1: paid off.
Speaker 2: Okay, I'm not being shady because I am such a
Speaker 2: big Chris Martin fan. Like I love Coldplay, I have
Speaker 2: also seen them in concert multiple times, and I feel
Speaker 2: like it was like Bruno featuring cold Play.
Speaker 1: When you have that much Pizzazmitch like you take over.
Speaker 2: Whether you agree with me or not, it doesn't matter
Speaker 2: because all of YouTube agrees with me. When you click
Speaker 2: on the video to watch back the performance on YouTube
Speaker 2: and you go to the most replayed section, do you
Speaker 2: know who pops up?
Speaker 1: I know exactly who.
Speaker 2: You cannot deny his energy, his stage presence, his talent
Speaker 2: as a performer, and even when he's standing next to
Speaker 2: larger than life Beyonce like one of the most talented
Speaker 2: musicians on the planet with his band Chris Martin, It's
Speaker 2: like all about Bruno. The camera finds him, like the
Speaker 2: audience finds, and he just has a magnetic energy about him.
Speaker 2: And what was incredible about this performance is that it
Speaker 2: came at a time when what Bruno was dealing with
Speaker 2: personally and internally was a little different. Like he had
Speaker 2: all of this success and all of this praise, but
Speaker 2: inside he was grieving. Right before he set foot on
Speaker 2: the NFL's highly coveted stage, he got word that his
Speaker 2: mother had unexpectedly passed away. In September twenty fourteen, Mars
Speaker 2: began working on his third studio album, twenty four care
Speaker 2: at Magic.
Speaker 1: It wasn't until the promotion of this record that he
Speaker 1: was able to fully open about the toll that losing
Speaker 1: his mom took on him.
Speaker 2: One day in twenty thirteen, he's flying back to Los
Speaker 2: Angeles when he gets the call that his mom has
Speaker 2: been hospitalized in Honolulu. It was a big surprise for
Speaker 2: him because nobody was worried about her health. She was
Speaker 2: fine one day and the next she was in the er.
Speaker 1: She suffered a brain aneurysm and was unconscious.
Speaker 2: He didn't even make it out of the airport. He
Speaker 2: got right back on a plane and flew all the
Speaker 2: way to Hawaii to see her, but she never woke up.
Speaker 2: She passed away a day later at the age of
Speaker 2: fifty five.
Speaker 1: The last time she spoke with him was through text.
Speaker 2: She'd seen pictures and videos of him performing in Germany
Speaker 2: and messaged him this, you need rest. Look at you.
Speaker 2: You've got bags under your eyes. Heart broke in, he
Speaker 2: admitted to a during an interview to this day, I
Speaker 2: don't know how to handle it. That piece of your
Speaker 2: heart is just gone forever. I don't know how to
Speaker 2: talk about it with you. It's a nightmare. It's literally
Speaker 2: a nightmare.
Speaker 1: Since then, Bruno jokes that he feels her with him
Speaker 1: every time he messes up on stage.
Speaker 2: He hears her saying, you're flat, you missed that move.
Speaker 2: Tell your brother to shave his mustache.
Speaker 1: Grief can definitely weigh you down, and that night it
Speaker 1: must have been especially intense, but at least he didn't
Speaker 1: have to go through it alone. He had just got
Speaker 1: alein on when things got tough.
Speaker 2: Oh and don't forget they're cute, af Rottwiler Geranuo. Eventually,
Speaker 2: Bruno would be able to get back in the game
Speaker 2: and keep making music to help him heal. When it
Speaker 2: came to twenty four Carrot Magic, it was supposed to
Speaker 2: be released in March twenty sixteen, Buddy got pushed back
Speaker 2: because of the halftime show with Coldplay and Beyonce.
Speaker 1: A worthy sacrifice.
Speaker 2: By the time Coldplay's halftime show came around, Bruno already
Speaker 2: had seven songs for twenty four Carrot Magic, but he
Speaker 2: didn't feel the album was quite ready.
Speaker 1: Mars the one and twenty four Carrot to be better
Speaker 1: in every sense, better singles, better music videos, better ste low.
Speaker 2: And it finally released on November eighteenth, twenty sixteen. Twenty
Speaker 2: four care Of Magic was set to be a groove
Speaker 2: oriented record. It was full of nineties influences.
Speaker 1: His goal making music so infectious that people can't help
Speaker 1: but feel happy and dance.
Speaker 2: The album only ended up having nine songs because his
Speaker 2: philosophy was this, if I can't pull you in with
Speaker 2: nine songs, I'm not going to pull you in with nineteen.
Speaker 1: His vision for the album was very much visual. He
Speaker 1: wanted it to feel like a movie.
Speaker 2: He imagined it following in his words of VERSACEI wearing
Speaker 2: camp in New York during a summer night at the
Speaker 2: baddest rooftop house party, two thirty in the morning. The
Speaker 2: band comes out fucking dipped in versace. The girls are.
Speaker 1: Screaming, Okay, all right, calm down, Spike Lee.
Speaker 2: He wanted to take everyone back to the R and
Speaker 2: B of the nineties, taking inspiration from Jimmy jam and
Speaker 2: Terry Lewis, Boys to Men and becoming an icon featured
Speaker 2: artist Mariah Now yet again. Bruno was pumped for this album,
Speaker 2: but Atlantic Records took some convincing still, I know, like,
Speaker 2: can we get some new people at Atlantic Records? Like,
Speaker 2: what is wrong with y'all? It's okay, though, It's fine
Speaker 2: because the album was released with Bruno's vision fully intact.
Speaker 2: It debuted on the second spot of the chart with
Speaker 2: multiple number one singles, and it's gone on to sell
Speaker 2: over five million copies globally. In addition to the nine
Speaker 2: songs on the record, a remix of Finess featuring RG
Speaker 2: Cardi b and released later with an accompanying music video.
Speaker 1: If you want to hear more about that, tune into
Speaker 1: Carti two.
Speaker 2: Okay, you guys, the time has come. I'm just so
Speaker 2: happy that we have finally arrived at twenty four carat magic.
Speaker 2: I remember there was a dime when I was riding
Speaker 2: in my car and I sort of got the entire
Speaker 2: block was Bruno. Bruno Mars is one of those artists
Speaker 2: that is consistent because at the Grammys in twenty eighteen,
Speaker 2: he was able to win every single award he was
Speaker 2: nominated for.
Speaker 1: It has versace on the floor. How could it not
Speaker 1: win anything?
Speaker 2: You mean the music video that you love with Zendeia.
Speaker 1: Don't get me started Lill's Do you remember Lipsync Battle?
Speaker 2: I love that show.
Speaker 1: Why do you remember when Zendia performed as Bruno Mars.
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1: I literally was like, Bruno Mars is tall, it was him.
Speaker 1: It was Bruno.
Speaker 2: She became Bruno.
Speaker 1: You're gonna die because I actually and I know it's
Speaker 1: I know it's Lipsync Battle, but I actually thought it
Speaker 1: was Bruno Mars from just literally how she persona fied
Speaker 1: him maximum like the hair, the air spanking, the finesse
Speaker 1: and pizzazz, like it really was something. She is a
Speaker 1: fucking actress.
Speaker 2: So that's one of my favorite lip Sync Battle episodes.
Speaker 2: I was so impressed with it, you were impressed with
Speaker 2: the world was impressed with it. But you know who
Speaker 2: was really impressed with all of this.
Speaker 1: Let me take a guess who Brunito.
Speaker 2: Brunito was so blown away by Zendia and enraptured with
Speaker 2: her acting and presentation that he calls her and pitches
Speaker 2: her the idea of Versace on the floor and was like,
Speaker 2: I want you to be a part of it. And
Speaker 2: she didn't understand why. She had no idea what she
Speaker 2: was in store for. Like this became one of the
Speaker 2: most beautiful videos. It was cinematic right, like how cool?
Speaker 2: It felt like a feature film. She looked beautiful, he
Speaker 2: looked gorgeous, and.
Speaker 1: I actually thought it was kind of cool that Donna
Speaker 1: tell Versaci posted on her Instagram the video featuring the song.
Speaker 2: Oh we have still not talked about something that is
Speaker 2: very close to Bruno's.
Speaker 1: Heart and ours.
Speaker 2: The fashion Bruno Mars's sick sense of style.
Speaker 1: His call it ants, I see what you did there.
Speaker 2: So here's a little detail about Bruno Mars's creative process.
Speaker 2: He actually likes to emulate the different decades that he's
Speaker 2: channeling in his music through his choice in clothing and yes, Joseph,
Speaker 2: that means that the man enforces a dress code, not
Speaker 2: just for performances, but also for his.
Speaker 1: Recordings, I still think you're lying.
Speaker 2: I'm happy that I'm not, because this is my kind
Speaker 2: of man like. He is all about the aesthetics, so
Speaker 2: like for Duop and Huliguans it was sixties inspired suits
Speaker 2: and the faded hair or unorthodox jukebox, we got the
Speaker 2: faded teas, the gold jewels and his hair, Oh natchial.
Speaker 1: For a super Bowl performance, they in wrote the style
Speaker 1: of Michael Jackson, Prince and James Brown.
Speaker 2: They were dressed in those beautiful customs Sant Laurent by
Speaker 2: Heidi Slamain. Like it was those cold jackets, the crisp
Speaker 2: white shirt, the black trousers, the skinny tie, and.
Speaker 1: The fashion is literally in every single song for twenty
Speaker 1: four Karro Magic. That era was especially strict with Mars
Speaker 1: preferring everyone to be on their damn best. Bruno Mars
Speaker 1: is literally the embodiment of clothes make the man.
Speaker 2: It's so true, and I think his style can best
Speaker 2: be described as like it's just over the top, like
Speaker 2: it's it's how did a kids say? They say? What
Speaker 2: it's like extra?
Speaker 1: He has so much in everything that he does, but
Speaker 1: on the carpets, I feel like I've seen his style
Speaker 1: just be very timeless.
Speaker 2: I think so because I think he tends to go
Speaker 2: more like tuxedo like Saint Laurent looks. But for me,
Speaker 2: when I think of Bruno's style, I automatically think of
Speaker 2: who he is on stage versus who he is irl.
Speaker 1: I don't know why he doesn't bring that. I personally
Speaker 1: don't get upset. I personally don't love him in suits.
Speaker 1: I love him in his like streetwear, streetwear.
Speaker 2: I think it's sexier, it's extra extraordinary.
Speaker 1: I love it. But An Evening with Silk Sonic took
Speaker 1: it a step further.
Speaker 2: Everyone loved twenty four care packet, there's no denying that,
Speaker 2: and we wanted more.
Speaker 1: Bruno didn't take this anticipation for granted. He wrote music
Speaker 1: every day during quarantine.
Speaker 2: And by February twenty twenty one, exactly one year after
Speaker 2: the pandemic started, Bruno and Anderson Popp confirmed that they
Speaker 2: had an album coming out together under the name silk Sonic.
Speaker 2: An Evening with Silk Sonic was released on November twelfth,
Speaker 2: twenty twenty one.
Speaker 1: Okay, so an Evening with Silksnic and me, we just
Speaker 1: didn't mesh.
Speaker 2: Joseph does not enjoy a slow jam, not yet, Like
Speaker 2: he does not want to be like laid down in
Speaker 2: a bed with silk sheets and like seduce now it's
Speaker 2: too hot.
Speaker 1: I'm not into that. We're not doing that.
Speaker 2: But if that is your vibe, what I'm saying is
Speaker 2: that is like not Joseph's vibe, and so I can
Speaker 2: understand why Silksnic is like not for you, Okay, leave
Speaker 2: the door open to me. Musically, it's like you have
Speaker 2: to remember that there is an entire generation of Bruno
Speaker 2: Marsh fans that don't know Keith's sweat. There are people
Speaker 2: that don't know like Genuine or Joe to see or
Speaker 2: oh my god, boys to men, I'll make love to.
Speaker 1: You, like.
Speaker 2: There are people that don't know any of that. So
Speaker 2: when they're hearing Silksonic and they're hearing leave the Door Open,
Speaker 2: they think this is new and like, ooh, a slow jam.
Speaker 1: Know that.
Speaker 2: I don't think they're gyrating. I think it's the opposite
Speaker 2: of a slow jam. I am never going to erase
Speaker 2: the image of Joseph rating on this podcast. Okay, point
Speaker 2: is I feel like it hit the spot like we
Speaker 2: were like ooh, it's sensual and soft, like it was.
Speaker 2: I love it. I also love that song.
Speaker 1: Is that your number one song? Though? We're going to
Speaker 1: move on, but I want to know you got to
Speaker 1: just pick one. Okay, if you didn't pick leave the
Speaker 1: door open, because that one's just going to be obvious
Speaker 1: because that one was all over the radio. So pick
Speaker 1: another one that you're like, oh damn, this was.
Speaker 2: After last night. Okay, Okay, I'm going to convert you.
Speaker 2: I'm going to convert you to know what.
Speaker 1: Actually, when I go on my hot Daddy walks, I'm
Speaker 1: going to really just try to listen to this album
Speaker 1: a couple of times. Really, I really want to give
Speaker 1: a shot because I have been converted to be a
Speaker 1: Bruno fan really like I think he's just a cool,
Speaker 1: amazing person from his upbringing and all that. So I
Speaker 1: feel like I do want to give his music a chance.
Speaker 2: When you go on your hot Daddy walk next time,
Speaker 2: just bring a fan, Bring a fan. All I got
Speaker 2: to say. Joseph may not have enjoyed an evening with
Speaker 2: Silk Sonic, but the critics did, you guys? This album
Speaker 2: won them so many awards, to the point that they
Speaker 2: bowed out of submitting the album for consideration at the
Speaker 2: twenty twenty three Grammy Award. This is what Mars told
Speaker 2: Rollingstone about the decision. Silk Sonic would like to gracefully, humbly,
Speaker 2: and most importantly sexually bow out of submitting our album
Speaker 2: this year.
Speaker 1: In a year that had Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny.
Speaker 1: It was a noble sacrifice on their part, despite how
Speaker 1: the night ended. We're talking about you, Harry Styles.
Speaker 2: Ssh Joseph. We do not need Harry Styles fans boycotting
Speaker 2: becoming an icon. I personally love you, Harry. I love
Speaker 2: your fashion. Joseph also loves you. Harry. Bruno sometimes laments
Speaker 2: that maybe he was born at the wrong time, but
Speaker 2: he most certainly has come up to us at a
Speaker 2: time when people need to be reminded of what makes
Speaker 2: a good performer. Bruno is well aware that anything in life,
Speaker 2: especially his career, could all be gone in the blink
Speaker 2: of an.
Speaker 1: Eye, so he doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon. In
Speaker 1: February twenty twenty three, Mars began working on his four
Speaker 1: solo studio album.
Speaker 2: He told eight time Grammy winner Brody Brown to join
Speaker 2: him in the studio, saying, ma'am, I'm working on my
Speaker 2: fourth album, Let's get It. Let's hurry up and go
Speaker 2: on the next.
Speaker 1: Becoming an Icon, we're talking Selina go megs.
Speaker 2: That's right, y'all. From her days with Barney to creating
Speaker 2: her own lifestyle empire. We're talking all things wonderful and
Speaker 2: admirable about this badass Mexican. Becoming an Icon is presented
Speaker 2: by Sonoo and Iheart's Michael Duda podcast Network. Listen to
Speaker 2: Becoming an Icon on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or
Speaker 2: wherever you get your podcast