On this day in 1985, Peter Gene Hernandez was born into a musical family in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii. In Just a few short years, Hernandez would move to Los Angeles, California and become the musician we’ve all come to know as Bruno Mars.
After moving to L.A., Mars signed to Motown Records in 2004, however, that deal “went nowhere” as he put it and he was forced to move on. This ties he made while at Motown would still prove beneficial when he, along with producer Philip Lawrence and engineer Ari Levine created the production team, The Smeezingtons. As a producer, Mars would write a number of successful songs for artists like Travie McCoy (Gym Class Heroes), Adam Levine (Maroon 5), Brandy, Sean Kingston, and Flo Rida.
Though well known in the industry, Mars would not become a household name until co-writing and singing on B.O.B. and Travie McCoy’s “Nothin’ On You”.
In 2010, Mars released his debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans, and the rest, as they say, is history. In just a few years, Mars has built an enviable and solid career. He currently has 112 various nominations under his belt (with The Smeezingtons and for his solo work), and of the 69 solo nominations, he has won 26.
His second album, Unorthodox Jukebox is scheduled to be released December 11, 2012 (Christmas present? wink wink), but the album’s first single, “Locked Out of Heaven”, was released on October 1.
!Feliz Cumpleaños, Bruno!
