Top 10 Songs You Didn't Know Were Written By Bruno Mars
Bet you didn't know these songs were written by Bruno Mars! Hot Mess, One Day, Wavin' Flag, Can We Dance, Never Close Our Eyes, Love Me, Right Round and F*CK You are just some of the songs that were written by the talented Bruno Mars!
#10: “Hot Mess” Cobra Starship
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Long before Bruno Mars was a household name and his original songs were climbing the top 40 charts, he worked as a writer and collaborator for other artists. In 2009, he worked with pop punk band Cobra Starship on a song from their third studio album. The record was called “Hot Mess”, as was the single that Mars helped to produce. The song, which was released as the second single from the album, debuted at number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100.
#9: “One Day” Matisyahu
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Near the beginning of his career, Bruno Mars established a songwriting and producing team with Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine called The Smeezingtons. This was a stepping stone to Mars’ success and produced his first hit single “Nothin’ on You” along with many others. Several years before that though, the company worked with reggae artist Matisyahu on the song “One Day” from his album, “Light”. The artist calls the song “an anthem of hope” and says he has always wanted to write it despite it being a last minute addition to the album.
#8: “Wavin’ Flag” K'naan
In 2009, Bruno Mars collaborated with K'naan, a Somali-Canadian musician, to create this anthemic tune. The message behind the song was intended to be about the people of Somalia, but it has since expanded to become a global hit. While it charted high in Canada from the get go, it was Coca Cola’s choice to make a re-mixed version of the song the anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup that made it trend worldwide. It became so popular that K'naan actually penned a children’s book called: “When I Get Older: The Story Behind Wavin' Flag”. Mars also worked on K’naan’s other hit, “Bang Bang”.
#7: “Can We Dance” The Vamps
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In the fall of 2013, the UK charts were being dominated by One Republic’s hit, “Counting Stars”. Newcomers to the scene, The Vamps, put out their single “Can We Dance” in September and while it never managed to overtake “Counting Stars”, it was still insanely successful in its own right. Bruno Mars was both a writer and producer on this chart topping boy band hit. He worked alongside Karl Michael, Phillip Lawrence, Timz Aluo, and Espionage to create this catchy tune.
#6: “Tears Always Win” Alicia Keys
The opening notes of this song have Bruno Mars’ signature sound all over them. “Tears Always Win” appears on Alicia Keys’ fifth studio album, “Girl on Fire” which came out in 2012. Keys performed the song on American Idol just days after it was released digitally, amping up its popularity. Alicia Keys also co-wrote the song with Mars and others, and went on to make it part of her regular setlist for her Set the World on Fire Tour which took place in 2013.
#5: “Never Close Our Eyes” Adam Lambert
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American Idol alum Adam Lambert made history with the release of his second album, “Trespassing” in 2012. Though it had been several years since his reality TV success, the album debuted in the top spot on the Billboard 200. As an openly gay man, he was the first person to achieve this success. "Never Close Our Eyes" was the second single released from the album, and received much more positive reviews than its predecessor, "Better Than I Know Myself". Bruno Mars was both a writer and producer on the track.
#4: “Love Me” Justin Bieber
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Long before Justin Bieber revamped his image to become the adult artist he is today, he was a teen idol who worked with Bruno Mars on his single, “Love Me”. Before even “Baby” topped the charts, Bieber had just been signed with RBMG and was putting together his first album, “My World”. This formative record contained many of his original hits as well as tunes like this one. “Love Me” was released as an iTunes exclusive before the record actually launched.
#3: “All I Ask” Adele
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Even top selling artists like Adele look for a little help from their friends when it comes to writing new tracks. After a significant period of inactivity in the aftermath of her smash hit album “21”, Adele came back with a vengeance in 2015 with her follow up, “25”. While “All I Ask” wasn’t one of the biggest hits on the album (it wasn’t even released as a single), it’s a quiet yet powerful number that works to bridge other songs on the record. Bruno Mars and his Smeezingtons collaborators worked on this together and Mars actually performed a cover of the song for the BBC.
#2: “Right Round” Flo Rida
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One of the most heavily downloaded songs of the decade is this mega hit performed by Flo Rida, featuring Kesha. It relies on major sampling of Dead or Alive’s 80s hit “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)”. It actually broke the existing record for first-week sales for an individual song with 636,000 downloads. It currently has over 12 million downloads several years after its release. The song has featured notably in pop culture, with an acapella version of the track appearing in the 2012 film, “Pitch Perfect.” Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. “Lift Off” Jay Z & Kanye West “Get Sexy” Sugababes “Endlessly” The Cab
#1: “F*CK You” CeeLo Green
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This tune became a monster radio hit under the tamer name “Forget You”. It’s actually known by several different titles including “FU” and “Thank You”. Because curse words feature so prominently in the song, different techniques were used to clean it up depending on the demographic. In the UK, they use blank spaces were the offending word is, while in the US they use a sound effect. The creation of this song was a collab between Green himself, Bruno Mars, and the rest of the Smeezingtons group. Listening to this song now, Mars’ influence seems clear considering the trajectory his sound took in the years that followed.
