All You Need To Know About: Bruno Mars in Vancouver
Despite standing at only five-foot-five, you’d be hard pressed to find a bigger performer than Bruno Mars right now. Beginning his career writing hits like CeeLo Green’s “Fuck You” and Travie McCoy’s “Billionare”, the Hawaii-born singer soon graduated to the Billboard number one spot under his own name, effortlessly dropping hits like “Uptown Funk” and “Locked Out of Heaven”. Still riding high off the back of 2016’s 24K Magic, the singer will headline a double-header on Wednesday (July 26) and Thursday (July 27) at Rogers Arena.
1. Better than Charmin. One of the perks of being in a famous rock band is that you get to ask for whatever the hell you want before a show and people have to give it you. You know, the way that Van Halen used to request all the brown M&Ms be removed from the backstage candy bowl. And the way that Madonna demands that the crappers in her dressing rooms come with a fresh-outta-the-box new toilet seat. Mars is on the low-maintenance side of things. He’s told everyone from TMZ to James Corden that the only thing that he asks for is a package of Huggies wet wipes and a single bottle of wine. Epic respect to a man that not only knows it’s important to cultivate a good buzz before going onstage, but also to leave the venue at show’s end with a sparkling clean turd cutter.
2. Rolling the dice. Mars used to pay his rent by gambling. Before signing a deal with Atlantic records, the star made his money at the card tables, telling James Corden during his Carpool Karaoke that poker was his game of choice. On top of his betting dollars, Mars was also offered $75 cash under the table for a few DJ gigs—despite not knowing how to do it. Discovering at his first gig that there was more to DJing than just pressing play, the performer quickly got the boot. You’ve got to admire that optimism, though.
3. Stereo-type. The singer refused to be pigeonholed by his race. Half Puerto Rican and half Filipino, Mars initially found it difficult to be taken seriously by execs in the U.S. music industry. In his cover story for Entertainment Weekly, the performer revealed that his hit “Nothin’ on You” with B.o.B was rejected by a big decision-maker because of his ethnicity. Describing how he felt like a “mutant” and as if he “wasn’t even in the room”, Mars confessed that the meeting was his lowest point. The single eventually went three times Platinum in the States—which is a pretty convincing “fuck you”to the industry boss.
4. Up in smoke. Mars is a financial backer of the NJOY Electronic Cigarette Company. The singer used to be hooked on the cancer sticks, but decided to quit on Mothers’ Day four years ago. Posting a photo on Twitter of him using the e-cig, Mars endorsed the business with the statement “I’ve been using NJOY Kings instead of cigarettes these days and I’m sticking to it. I believe in the product and the company’s mission.” Our parents made us stop after smoking a whole packet at once—but hey, whatever works.
5. Pint-size Presley. When Mars performed at the Super Bowl in 2014, he became the youngest performer to ever headline the big game’s halftime show. When he was even younger—five years old, to be precise—he appeared as part of the halftime entertainment at the 1990 Aloha Bowl in Honolulu. Back then Mars was known as “Little Elvis”, and was touted as the world’s youngest Presley impersonator. This was the singer’s first taste of fame: he was interviewed on TV and in print, and he even appeared on Pauly Shore’s MTV show, surely a career highlight for both. Mars reached the zenith of his Kingship when his “Little Elvis” act was featured in the Nicolas Cage comedy Honeymoon in Vegas. It’s probably a good thing no one ever told Mars’s parents that “Little Elvis” was Presley’s nickname for his penis.
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