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TIME drags Bruno + shades K$
Who Is This Bruno Mars Dude, and How Did He Get to the Super Bowl?
The NFL taps a relatively unknown young talent in place of past superstars such as Bruce Springsteen, Madonna and the Rolling Stones
TIME
So here it is, Super Sunday. And you’re looking at the Super Bowl halftime show lineup and you figure you’re going to see a big name, like you do every year: Beyoncé, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Prince.
Not this year. You’re looking for the headliner and all you keep seeing are two words: Bruno. Mars. You figure it’s a mistake, or maybe a typo. Bruno must refer to Bruce Willis’ would-be-pop-icon alter-ego. And the typo on Mars is that it was supposed to be MARY, and they just left off the rest: J. BLIGE.
But no. The scrawny little dude with the gravity-defying haircut named Bruno Mars is, in fact, your halftime entertainment. And just because you’ve never heard of him doesn’t mean you should be taking a bathroom break or flipping over to the Puppy Bowl, because this tiny little keg of dynamite can rock your world.
Here’s what you need to know:
OK, But I Still Don’t Know Who He Is: Bruno Mars was born Peter Gene Hernandez in Hawaii. He’s 28, of Filipino, Puerto Rican and East European Jewish (by way of Brooklyn) descent. He’s 5-foot-5, three inches taller than Prince. He grew up in a musical family, loving everything from reggae to rockabilly. In 2009, he co-wrote and sang on two Top 5 Billboard hits by hip-hop crooner b.ob. and rock-rap star Travie McCoy (of the band Gym Class Heroes). But the one that really scored was rapper Flo Rida’s “Right Round,” which featured vocals from trashy-party-girl-pop-tart Ke$ha. Mars co-wrote that worldwide smash, which set him up to sit in a room with the ultra-funky Cee Lo Green. When they were done, the two had come up with a little ditty called “F–k You” that took the universe by storm.
Who’s He Gonna Perform With? A band you’ve actually heard of! The Red Hot Chili Peppers.
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