If Bruno Mars is still rocking a pompadour, bow-tie and Ray Bans at the 2013 Grammys, scientists will be forced to use carbon dating to determine when exactly his schtick passed its expiration date. Yes, we admire his zeal and celebratory shout-out to Whitney Houston... but the call for the crowd to "get up off [their] rich asses?" Fatiguing -- and a bit patronizing when you think of all the commercial placement "Just The Way You Are" has gotten over the past year.
Bruno Mars‘ latest single, “Locked Out of Heaven,” has set a Spotify record as the first track to be streamed more than a million times in a one-week period. The song also became the most-streamed in Spotify’s history as of Dec. 16. That same week, it was also the most downloaded song in the U.S. with sales of 226,000.
Produced by Mark Ronson and written by Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine, “Locked Out of Heaven” was the lead single from Mars’ Unorthodox Jukebox album. The song has remained in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for five straight weeks, supported in part by Spotify’s on-demand streams. It’s currently in the Top 10 in more than 20 countries. Mars’ sophomore album, via Atlantic Records, has sold more than a half-million copies since its Dec. 11 release.
Many music critics and fans have compared the sound of “Locked Out of Heaven” to English rock band The Police. Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone comments that the song’s “jittery Police-esque rock-reggae verses that erupt, amid thunder-boom synths, into a steamrolling four-on-the-floor chorus.” Paste Magazine‘s Ryan Reed calls it “a driving pop anthem that moves from a punchy, ‘Roxanne’-esque new-wave groove to a soulful, synth-driven chorus.”
Speaking about the comparisons to The Police, Mars told MTV News, “Hell yeah! You try to write a Police song! I grew up listening to The Police, I grew up performing in bars, singing Police songs. I remember performing a song like ‘Roxanne.’ “
Bruno’s next single is the soulful ballad “When I Was Your Man.”
Twitter: @THRMusic
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