Bruno Mars

“When I Was Your Man” sounded so similar to the songs on his debut studio album. One would think it was a track from Doo-Wops and Hooligans that didn't make it to the album, hence, it spilled over to the album The Unorthodox Jukebox. The song talks about a guy who didn't treat his lover well when he had the chance to and how much regrets he feels. The lyrics "I should have brought you flowers, when I was your man" signified that the relationship was indeed over and he was only speaking about the things he could have done differently to keep her; treated her better.

Bruno Mars went on a whole different approach on “Locked Out Of Heaven”. In this reggae rock and pop rock song, he sang about how awesome his relationship was, how much sweetness he got from his girlfriend, how good the sex she gave him was and even went to further compare it with paradise. He also talked about all the positive feelings and energy that comes along with the relationship. The song was released to be the lead single of this album and it really did the job that was expected of it. When Bruno Mars was being interviewed, he talked about how this track was mostly inspired by The Police, a British rock band from London in the 70s. This information explains why this song sounded more like a retro. It's definitely my favourite song off the album The Unorthodox Jukebox.

Another track off the album that had retro touches of the 80’s, "Treasure" is a disco beat song that is laced with a little bit of funk, soul and post-disco with the elements of R&B too. Bruno Mars sounded so much like the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson on this track. Even the song sounded so much like some of Michael's song, like "Off The Wall" and "Rock With You". The lyrics is about complimenting a lady, more like serenading her with sweet words that would surely have any one smiling. A good song to play for a your girlfriend whenever you want to make her happy and feel loved.

The first song on the album goes by the name of “Young Girls.” The song is the first because it shows you what to expect from the album. It is a song that shows us just where Bruno Mars was mentally when writing this album. He was going out every night and spending a lot of time with females and he just lost himself, and this song tells us about it. The song features a fun drum beat and a bit of some synths, but is a beautiful ballad that will surely stick in your head if not make you sing along. The next song we have is “Locked out of Heaven.” The song features a really fun new funk-y sound with reggae influence and is about a relationship that is going well. It tells the story of a relationship that is full of positive emotion as well as good intimacy. Most critics responded positively with the song, which is no surprise, and call his vocals smooth and sweet while calling the track in itself a musical revolution. In my opinion, they are right, but I am not a critic, I just have a lot of opinions. “Gorilla” is the next song to talk about. It is a slow melody song that is quite frankly about animalistic sex…. or sex like a gorilla to be exact. It is definitely not a song I would willingly sing with my grandmother around, however, the beat and lyrics are just so catchy that you may not even realize you are. The melody, the beat, the lyrics, all of it is arranged so beautifully. But it is followed by what might just be my all time favorite Bruno Mars song, which is a really hard thing to decide so don’t hold me to it. “Treasure” is a super fun and super cute song in which Bruno Mars declares his love for his girl. He talks about how much she means to him on the track as well as making sure that she is aware that there is no one or nothing above her in the world. This track is literally the best and amazing and any other synonyms for those words… and fun. The song features a fun little band behind him that is used in the music video and some live performances, and if you listen to this song without moving then you win. In order to talk about the last song that is one of my favorites on this album, we have to skip one and go to “When I Was Your Man.” This piano and soul fueled ballad is a song about a heartbreak that Bruno Mars went through before his fame. He regrets how the relationship went and expresses an honest hope that she is doing great in her current relationship. He uses the song to acknowledge how he neglected her in the relationship and hopes her current man is willing to treat her the way that she deserves and the ways he wouldn’t

Now we get to the songs that I liked but didn't love. These are the songs that I have heard once or twice and listened to again after years so my opinion could have changed… In order to get started, we have to back up a slight bit to “Moonshine.” This song is about Bruno Mars’ drinking along with double meanings to his experiences with a woman. The song is a bit of a retro reminiscent song and is actually really fun. I love modern songs that use a retro vibe. Now we skip back up to song called “Natalie.” “Natalie” is a song in which Bruno tells a story of getting revenge on a gold digger who takes everything a man has and he wants her to pay for it in jail time. It offers an infectious clap/ stomp beat and a bit of a swanky vibe. Wait, I don’t know why I didn’t like this song… This song is a really fun narrative song that breaks up the personal experiences and stories from Bruno’s life. Whatever, moving on to the next song titled “Show me.” This song is a tropical infusion song that is about a night with a woman. Where the song offers a diverse sound to the album because it is pretty unexpected, I don’t think it belongs… oops. I am still not a fan of this song, It just strikes me as out of place and not fitting.

“Money Make Her Smile” is the second to last song on the standard album and begins with a small instrumental break. It is heavy with the electronic nodes and percussion. It was written to be a strip- club anthem and with all of the electronic bits, I think he was successful, especially with the instrumental breakdown towards the end of the song, well done Bruno. However, we reach the last song on the album, the closer, “If I Knew.” This song is a song in which Bruno tells us about another one of his past lovers. He talks to us about being willing to go back to her if he had known before he messed up that she intended to get back with him. This slow jazz song is in a gray area on my spectrum of songs I like on the album. It is good and fun but for some reason, it cannot manage to make its way to my favorites on the album. I don’t know why. It is a beautiful song though and is full of emotion. A great way to end the album. In the end I only have one word to describe the album: fun.