Bruno’s Back?

Bruno Mars, the popular and well-loved musical artist, recently released his newest album, Silk Sonic, on Nov. 12, 2021. Silk Sonic is Bruno’s 7th album, having been produced over five years, almost to the day.

Bruno Mars keeps his albums versatile in terms of style and beats—he often swings back and forth between styles, such as doing R&B, funk, soul, and pop. This album is decidedly more in the R&B and funk category, with plenty of jazzy influences from accompanying instruments like the bass, saxophone, and piano. Mars has collaborated with artist Anderson .Paak, who is a well-known American rapper that debuted his music career in 2012. The two met each other while on tour in 2017 for Bruno Mars’s 24K Magic World Tour, and the two were soon seen collaborating in the studio together.

On Feb. 26, 2021, Mars and .Paak announced that they had officially recorded an album together, under the band name Silk Sonic. They also announced the release of the first single that following week, along with the album title as confirmation of its future release. Wikipedia states: “.Paak says Mars considers every detail of a song—such as its theme, its sounds, and how are we going to engage people with the chorus—while he is more freestyling and perceptive of ‘What’s the vibe?’.”

“It had a variety of styles and vibes that it gave off, like, chill, sad, upbeat—just overall an album you could listen to, in any mood,” states Elkhart junior Owen Swinehart. The two musicians took influences from classic artists like Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder, and Prince—likely these influences being why the album is so “versatile” when trying to appeal to the listener’s potential moods.

The first song of the album that was released was Leave the Door Open, having been released on Mar. 5, 2021. Leave the Door Open earned the performing duo a number one spot on Billboard’s Hot 100. They also gained a spot to perform the song at the 2021 Grammy’s.

Swinehart’s opinion on Leave the Door was quite positive: “Yeah, it was definitely a good song; it for sure deserves a Grammy performance.” Leave the Door Open was a fantastic single release, one that made all fans excitedly anticipate the return of Bruno, leaving them yearning for more. One satisfied fan—Elkhart senior Jai’Lin Parker— says: “I thought it was really cool— how he went from singing pop songs, to then coming out with a jazzy album.” Continuing, he adds, “His new album is one of my favorites, and I love that he and Anderson .Paak collaborated together on this album! Overall, a solid 10/10 for sure. I definitely recommend it!”

To all excited Bruno Mars fans—and now Anderson .Paak fans—who eagerly waited for Silk Sonic to be released, and couldn’t be happier with how it turned out, this could be the sign that Bruno Mars has come back from a long-awaited return to music, and is here to stay. Silk Sonic promises a new run for Bruno Mars, and his now-musical-partner Anderson .Paak, highlights the magic that still has yet to come.