Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Born and 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 moved to Los Angeles 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 to the songs "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B, and "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy, which were worldwide hits, and for which he co-wrote the hooks. 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" and "Grenade", as well as by 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", "When I Was Your Man" and the moderate hit success "Treasure". In addition to his solo music, Mars has collaborated with numerous other artists, notably being featured on the worldwide hits "Lighters" (with Bad Meets Evil) and "Young, Wild & Free" (with Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa).
Throughout a singing career spanning 3 years, he has sold 10 million albums[5] and 58 million singles worldwide. Including not only his work as a singer but as a songwriter and producer as well, his total single download sales surpass 115 million worldwide. He has achieved a total of five number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and seven top ten singles, as a solo artist placing himself in the record books by being the second solo artist to do so after Richard Marx. He reached first place with "Just the Way You Are", which sold 12.5 million copies and contributed to Mars becoming the best-selling digital artist in 2011. In 2011, Mars was named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. In 2014, he was ranked number one on the Forbes 30 under 30 list.
He is currently nominated for five Grammy Awards at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Vocal Album (Unorthodox Jukebox), and both Record of the Year and Song of the Year (Locked Out of Heaven)
