Sunday, February 2, 2014

Bruno Mars -- "Just the Way You Are" (2010)


And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for a while
'Cause girl, you're amazing
Just the way you are

The star of the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show today is the five-foot-five Bruno Mars -- who was born Peter Gene Hernandez in Honolulu in 1985.  

Mars is no overnight sensation.  He started performing on stage with his family's band, the Love Notes, when he was four years old.  His Elvis impersonation was featured in the 1992 movie, Honeymoon in Vegas:



In 2009, he signed a record deal with Atlantic after an unsuccessful stint with Motown.  He helped write Flo Rida's "Right Round," and contributed vocals to B.o.B's "Nothin' on You."  

In 2010, his debut studio album (Doo-Wops and Hooligans) spawned two #1 singles -- "Grenade" and today's featured song, "Just the Way You Are," which sold over 12 million copies and won the 2010 Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance.  His second album (Unorthodox Jukebox) produced two more #1 singles.

Bruno Mars is known for his many hats
To date, Mars has sold 10 million albums and 58 million singles.  But despite his success, he seems like an odd choice for a Super Bowl halftime show. 

The NFL's choice became much more interesting when it was announced that Mars will be joined by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  They say politics make strange bedfellows, and so do Super Bowl halftime shows.

By the way, one gambling website says it is 5/1 that "Just the Way You Are" will be the first song Mars sings in today's performance.  (That's some sweet action!)

Nice chapeau!
Mars has not disclosed whether he's rooting for Seahawks or Broncos, but the Hawaii native did say that he usually cheers for "whoever's got the most Polynesians on their team."  Denver has only one player who sounds like he might be Polynesian (Duke Ihenacho), but that's one more than Seattle has -- so I'm guessing Mars is leaning towards the Broncos. 

Here's the official music video for "Just the Way You Are" -- 360 million views so far:



Click below to order the song from Amazon:

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