‘The Romantic’ is Bruno Mars’, American singer-songwriter, fifth highly-anticipated studio album. Mars had a successful collaborative album with Anderson .Paak, but he hasn’t released his own album is nearly a decade.
I became a fan of Bruno Mars the summer after my fifth-grade year; my mom was listening to “It Will Rain” while getting ready, and I absolutely fell in love. I have said (incredibly consistently) that I would do anything to see him perform. My anticipation has grown each year for the past 10 years, and I sobbed when I found out he was going on tour. I was a hot mess the week between pre-sale and actually buying tickets, and I still don’t believe that I, Nevaeh Miller, get to be blessed with the presence of Bruno freaking Mars.
One thing I’ve learned I appreciate most about Bruno Mar’s music is that he utilizes every instrument, and he utilizes them with intention. His songs all have the same vibe, but they are each unique, making them memorable. I appreciate how unapologetically unique Bruno Mars is, and it has been so fun seeing how his confidence has changed throughout his career. I may be biased, but I truly do not think that Bruno Mars is capable of making a bad song or a bad album. I truly believe that I can, and will, defend each of his songs against everyone.
As many fans, I was anxiously waiting for February 27 to come, so I could get my hands on my playlist for the rest of my life. Bruno Mars’ music means so much to me, and getting new music after waiting so long feels like a dream come true. I’ve only heard each song on The Romantic a few times, but here are my initial thoughts!!
Risk It All: the perfect love song. In his radio show, Romantic Radio, he said he wanted this song to display pure love, and the song delicately does that. The music video was made with so much intention, and it was made absolutely beautifully. It follows a couple getting married and shows the most cherished memories that many couples who grow old together get to share. The romantic visuals alongside Bruno’s voice and the mariachi band is all-around sensory appealing.
Cha Cha Cha: What an exuberating song! I can’t help but move my body and cha cha cha when I hear it! I also, again, love the use of instruments! The role of the instruments in his song is to give the listeners a chance to dance, but I appreciate how it isn’t monotone music. The music rises and falls to complement Mars’ voice, and each section has its own responsibilities in the song. This song would be easy to speak-sing, and I really appreciate the strong vocals throughout the song.
I Just Might: As the leading single on this album, I feel like it encapsulates the vibe that Mars wants to surround the album. It is musically appealing, and an all around up-lifting song. The music video presents this well, in my opinion. I enjoy watching the different characters that Mars plays, and how it isn’t the same frames repeated throughout the video.
God Was Showing Off: This song is a fun spin-off of the internet saying, ‘God took His time making you’, which is a creative way to complement someone. The instruments in this song are particularly interesting, because I feel like Mars works with them to increase the power of the storytelling throughout this song.
Why You Wanna Fight: This song reminds me so much of songs from his 24K Magic album, particularly the song “Calling All My Lovelies”. It has the same main and background vocals, as well as big stops and crescendos in the instruments. The strong main vocals showcase the talent that Mars holds and complementing it with harmonies in the background make it that much more powerful.
On My Soul: This song is funky! All I want to do is dance when I hear this song! Again, the interaction between the main and background vocals is present, but the instruments play a different role than the previous song. In this song, I think the instruments are used to highlight Mars’ singing abilities. Of course, we all know that Bruno can sing, but this song makes his vocals seem more prominent than in other songs.
Something Serious: This song sounds like it belongs as background music for a comic strip. Funnily enough, this song feels incredibly playful and exciting. I feel like the instruments play a really big part in the interpretation of this song, which I am thankful for! There are plenty of songs where Mars’ lyrics are silly, and this is one of them! Other songs include “Perm” (‘Put some perm on your attitude, girl you gotta relax!’) and “Uptown Funk” (Smoother than a fresh jar of Skippy’). It is nice to see that he hasn’t lost his creativity!
Nothing Left: This song hurts. Wow. There hasn’t been a song like this released by Mars since his Unorthodox Jukebox album, one of his most famous songs, “When I Was Your Man” or his second single on Doo-Wops and Hooligans, “Grenade”. However, “Put on a Smile” (An Evening with Silk Sonic). This song reminds me as a mix of “Die with A Smile” and “Blast Off” (An Evening with Silk Sonic). It reminds me of “Die with a Smile” because it is also a romantic, yearning ballad. The instruments of this song reminds me of that of “Blast Off” (BRUNO PLEASE PLAY BLAST OFF ON TOUR PLEASE). “Blast Off” is only of my favorite songs of all time because the instruments make me feel like I am floating, and “Nothing Left” has a very similar effect on me.
Dance With Me: My very first reaction to this song was that the introduction sounds exactly like “Die with a Smile”. We know that dancing is important to Mars, and I appreciate he ends an album centered around love connecting it to his love for dancing. I think that this is such an amazing closer for this album, and I am incredibly excited to see how this will be interpreted on tour.
Overall, Bruno Mars again set the bar to the moon and still remains at the top of my list. This is an incredibly strong album all around, and I am so excited to see how my opinion shifts for each song as I listen more!