The artist of the month for February is Bruno Mars! Fun fact: he was born on Oct. 8 in Honolulu, Hawaii. His real name is Peter Gene Hernandez, while his stage name, Bruno, comes from a nickname his father gave him as a little kid. His father thought he resembled the wrestler Bruno Sammartino. He chose Mars because he wanted to avoid the stereotypes that would force him to make music only in Spanish because of his last name, Hernandez.

Mars is typically known for a mix of pop, R&B, funk, and soul genres in his songs. His most famous songs are “Uptown Funk,” “24K Magic,” which are funk and soul, and “Just the Way You Are,” which is a pop-R&B ballad.

His most recent hit is “I Just Might,” released in January of this year, which has 5 million daily streams on Spotify as of now.

Some other notable mentions about Mars are his collabs. In 2024, he collaborated with Lady Gaga to make “Die With a Smile” and Rose from the K-Pop group Blackpink to make “APT.” These were both massive hits for Mars and continue to grow in streams each day. These were also back-to-back hits, with one in August and the other in October.

Mars has also announced a tour ranging from North America, Europe, and the UK called “The Romantic Tour.” It starts in Las Vegas in April and ends in Vancouver in October. Some locations he will be touring include London, Paris, Toronto, New York, Miami, Chicago, and Amsterdam.

Students here at CHS enjoy listening to Mars’s songs. One student said that their favorite song by Mars is “It Will Rain” which was released in 2011.

One thing that can definitely be said about Mars is that he has been making hits from 2011 up until now, which shows his love for music and the passion to continue.

Maybe you know more about Bruno Mars than you did before, but if you didn’t, then keep checking every month to read about another artist–possibly one you don’t know about to learn more fun facts. Have a great day, and check out our Instagram @chsanchornews.org