Bruno Mars is our No. 20 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century for how he's consistently delivered top-level pop hits and performances for 15 years.
is spending the next few months counting down our staff picks for the 25 greatest pop stars of the last 25 years. We’ve already named our stars, and now we remember the century in Bruno Mars — one of the century’s great writers, performers and hitmakers, who essentially arrived to early-’10s pop already on top of the world and has scarcely left his perch since.century’s preeminent old-school musical showman was cutting his teeth in the pop songwriting trenches.
That anthem arrived in the first month of the last year of the ‘00s decade, and Mars quickly followed it up with a pair of tracks – K’Naan’s “Wavin’ Flag,” Coca-Cola’s 2010 FIFA World Cup anthem, and’ “Get Sexy” — that both hit No. 2 in the U.K. the following year. Recognized and respected for his songwriting chops, Mars closed out 2009 with the release of the song that would launch him into pop’s mainstream as a vocalist and artist in his own right:Positioned as the lead single from B.o.B.
Mars’ music didn’t yet call for the physicality of funk, so he found a sweet medium playing a coy multi-instrumentalist heartthrob who wasn’t afraid to bust out a few hip thrusts to get some pulses racing. His debut LP was the kind of smash album that spun gold out of deep cuts: Though they weren’t officially promoted as U.S. radio singles, you’d be hard pressed to find an American over the age of 15 who doesn’t know “Runaway Baby,” “Count on Me” or “Marry You.
To an extent, “Leave the Door Open” was lightning in a bottle: Between the hype of Mars’ comeback, the promise of a new musical superduo and the strength of its melody, “Leave the Door Open” reached heights unmatched by any of its follow-up singles. “Smokin Out the Window” was the album’s lone additional top 10 hit, reaching No. 5. Silk Sonic’s debut LP entered the Billboard 200 at No.
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