24K Magic: Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars, the 31-year old Hawaii native and ‘Uptown Funk’ sensation, has released his first album in four years: 24K Magic. I really enjoyed each and every song that featured on this upbeat, funky release, and the album is completely different from the rest of the charts in terms of the genre and eras of influence.Mars revealed that his inspiration for writing such an album sprung from his love of R&B acts like New Edition, Jodeci, and a few others. Mars thoroughly enjoyed his childhood and loved growing up in the 90s, saying that it was one of the best times that he has ever had - a feeling that he wanted to capture in this new album. The 90s, for him, can be quickly summarised as having plenty of hip-hop, funk, live shows and amazing parties. From what I know about the decade, it is perfectly described through the lyrics and music of this nostalgic album, which intrigued me. The rhythm that seeps through every one of these songs reveals that 24K Magic is not based on our world today, contrasting perfectly with what regularly gets radio play. It is not only the lyrics and music that illustrate the 90s era theme, but also the dress code that is on display on the album cover, with Mars reportedly styling himself in this way when composing the album.The only guest artist whose voice features in his album is Halle Berry, who can be heard in the oh-so-soothing ‘Calling All My Lovelies’. R&B icon Babyface helps out a bit with the closing track ‘Too Good to Say Goodbye’, and T-Pain co-wrote the catchy ‘Straight Up and Down’. The album highlight has to be the title track itself, with its smashing sounds, and a music video that just adds to its greatness and grooviness.Mars will be performing in the 3Arena on the 29th and 30th of April next year, supported by Anderson Paak. This tour is his first since 2013’s hugely successful Moonshine Jungle World Tour, an international blockbuster that sold 2 million tickets worldwide across 155 sold-out venues.