Bruno Mars

Half-Puerto Rican, half-Filipino, Peter Hernandez (aka Bruno Mars) was born in Honolulu and as a child was nicknamed Bruno by his father, who thought his son's chubby features resembled a famous wrestler called Bruno. From a musical family and influenced by a broad diversity of material, Mars was performing from an early age - his first stage appearances were in Hawaii with his father's band. After moving to Los Angeles to launch his own career, Mars landed a job as house songwriter and producer at Atlantic Records and went on to work on material for Alexandra Burke, Flo Rida, Brandy, Adam Levine, Travie McCoy and Sugababes (he co-wrote the hit Get Sexy and sang backing vocals on their album Sweet 7). Mars gained even greater recognition after collaborating on B.o.B's Nothin' On You and Travie McCoy's Billionaire, resulting in the release of his debut EP It's Better If You Don't Understand in 2010, including the hit single The Other Side featuring Cee Lo Green and B.o.B. He topped the US singles charts for four weeks with Just The Way You Are - which was also a smash in many other territories and garnered a Grammy Award in 2011- and his debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans was released in late 2010 with production team The Smeezingtons, producing another worldwide hit Grenade.

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