http://i42.tinypic.com/i6xv0h.jpg

 

Tracks:

01. 'Somewhere In Brooklyn'

02. 'The Other Side' [feat. Cee Lo Green & B.o.B]

03. 'Count On Me'

04. 'Talking To The Moon'

 

This guy is a super talent. He's the Ne-Yo to Jason Derulo/Iyaz's Chris Brown (IMO). He's also a part of up and coming production team, The Smezingtons (Sugababes 'Get Sexy'). This EP is amazing. I love it. His voice reminds me of a more conrolled version of Ryan Tedder. It's very pleasing on the ears. I really hope he's huge when he starts to release his proper stuff.

Laura reminded me to get this out there in the 'Nothin' on You' thread. His duet with Alexandra Burke is also amazing...

 

'Before It Explodes':

Cheers for this and I totally agree with you about the Ne-Yo and Ryan Tedder comparisons. Is the EP available now? I've been playing Nothin On You so much I need more Bruno tracks in my life! :D

Oooft. Just found out The Smezingtons also did the other highlights on the 'Sweet 7' album! ('She's A Mess' & 'Wait For You'! - Amazing.) But no it isn't available here in the UK at the moment I'm afraid Laura :( However I'm sure once 'Nothing On You' takes off, it'll become available here in the UK. :D I'll get the video's inside this topic so you can listen to it at your own listening pleasure :D (It's really worth it)...

 

'Somewhere In Brooklyn':

 

'The Other Side':

 

'Count On Me':

 

'Talking to The Moon':

 

'Talking To The Moon' is so far my favourite, but I love all 4 tracks at the moment.

'Talking to the Moon' is so lovely! I also oddly quite like 'The Other Side', despite the overly corny lyrics haha!

Not too keen on the other two but I'll give them a couple more listens. The cover for the EP is amazing!

Oh RunJonjoRun you're my new favourite person! Thanks so much for posting these, loving them all but especially The Other Side and Talking to the Moon. Let's hope Bruno and B.O.B can chart really high on the Big Top 40 and kick on from there. Bruno deserves to be one of the breakout stars of 2010!

 

I totally agree Cremey, the EP artwork is great. This might be silly but is that a picture of Bruno? It sort of looks like him!

 

Laura

'Talking to the Moon' is so lovely! I also oddly quite like 'The Other Side', despite the overly corny lyrics haha!

Not too keen on the other two but I'll give them a couple more listens. The cover for the EP is amazing!

TTTM is amazing :wub: I love it the most. Also, I had a very weird feeling you'd like the cover. It reminds me of something you'd create! :o

 

Oh RunJonjoRun you're my new favourite person! Thanks so much for posting these, loving them all but especially The Other Side and Talking to the Moon. Let's hope Bruno and B.O.B can chart really high on the Big Top 40 and kick on from there. Bruno deserves to be one of the breakout stars of 2010!

 

I totally agree Cremey, the EP artwork is great. This might be silly but is that a picture of Bruno? It sort of looks like him!

 

Laura

I believe it's a younger Bruno on the front cover. It'd make sense tbh haha. I'm sure they'll do extremely well this Sunday and it's going to be a great platform for him to release his own material.

Aww well Bruno was definitely a cutie when he was younger! The more I listen to the tracks, the more I'm getting a James Morrison vibe from him as well as Ryan Tedder, which is great because James Morrison has a lovely, rich voice. Apparently he's releasing a full album later this year, around September time? I hope this is true!

 

Laura

I'm just about to listen to some tracks of Bruno's that have leaked (around 22 - I think 'Billionaire' & 'Nothin' On You' are included) so excited to listen to it. I think i'm becoming a stan for him :mellow:

"Everybody In Love

Go put your hands up..."

 

:kink:

 

 

But why do I get the feeling this was recorded before EIL? And also it's so much better!

Oh I love that! I think I'm becoming a stan for him too, definitely my favourite new artist of 2010. Been playing his music all weekend! Anymore of those leaked tracks any good?

 

Laura

Yeah they're all quite good. I don't like the demo version of 'Billionaire' though. It needs Travis :(

 

He has his own version of 'Before It Explodes' too. (Where it's just him instead of him and Alexandra), 'Bulletproof', 'Long Distance' & 'Turn Around' are all highlights and worth youtubing! However, he has a song named 'Who Is' which is the demo to Alexandra's 'Perfect' which was in her leaked stuff too...

 

'Perfect' (Alexandra demo):

 

(Bruno's isn't on YT yet so unable to link you :()

 

EDIT:

 

 

'Bulletproof'. Tell me that isn't a future smash? :heehee: :wub:

Billionaire has been on repeat constantly and I can't imagine it without Travis! Liking that Alex track, need to hear Bruno's version though because that could be amazing. Bulletproof has number one written all over it, Bruno voice sounds excellent on that tune. Do you know how much of what you've heard will be on the album? Apparently it's going to be called Lady Killer, not sure if thats true or it's a working title!

 

Laura

I think 'Lady Killer' is set to be the title of his debut... Here's an interview with Rap-Up

 

1. You’re 23 years old now. Let’s rewind to 18. What were you doing at that age, during this same moment?

I just got signed to Motown Records as a solo artist. But I was too young. I had been doing shows my whole life. I had never really recorded, and never had too much experience recording. Let alone producing, I had never written a song before. It worked out the way it had to work out because I needed to learn a lot.

 

2. How’d your moniker come about?

Bruno is after Bruno Sammartino, who was this big fat wrestler. I guess I was this chunky little baby, so my dad used to call me that as a nickname. The Mars came up just because I felt like I didn’t have no pizzazz, and a lot of girls say I’m out of this world, so I was like I guess I’m from Mars.

 

3. Why did you decide to leave Hawaii to pursue a music career in L.A.?

I accomplished a lot in Hawaii as an entertainer, but never really dabbled in original music. I was like a circus freak—I used to sing songs, I used to open up for a Las Vegas-style magic show. I’d sing songs for all the tourists. It was always cover songs—everything from Chuck Berry to Usher. Then I got fed up, like I’m singing songs to a bunch of tourists that don’t even speak English. I felt like I could do more. I do miss Hawaii though. People over there are real content and satisfied with just being on an island, having kids at a very young age. It’s not like you’re trying to be an actor or trying to be a musician with millions of other people, and it’s just hustle, hustle, hustle. That’s what I miss the most, just going down there and everyone’s just living life, as opposed to grinding.

 

4. Did you have any weird moments when you first arrived in L.A. that made you think, “This place is crazy”?

I remember pulling up to my parking stall one day and there was this homeless guy just squatting and turding all over. That was my “Welcome home.” At that time, I was driving a Volkswagen Jetta. It had one window that wouldn’t roll down in the summer and no locks on the door. And of course no radio or no AC.

 

5. What’s the significance of some of your tattoos?

The last tattoo I got was my mother’s name on my arm, Bernadette. The first one I ever got, I was 19, it was a sacred heart. I got it upside down. It basically looked like an ass shooting fire. I had it for about two years before I was like, “Let me do something about this.” So I got it covered up. My mom’s reaction to my first tattoo was, “Why are you marking up your body?” Then after I showed her I got her name tattooed on me, she was ecstatic.

 

6. Besides “Nothin’ on You,” which record are you and The Smeezingtons most proud of creating?

For me, there’s a song we did with K’naan featuring Adam Levine called “Bang Bang.” That kinda established our sound as producers because it was one of the first songs we did. That was for K’naan’s album, Troubadour. We had [Maroon 5 frontman] Adam Levine sing the hook, which was pretty big. I think if you listen to “Bang Bang” and “Nothin’ on You,” they could’ve been on the same album because it’s like this different hip-hop with live instrumentation. I think our strong point is live instrumentation.

 

7. How do you, Phil, and Ari decide on a final product during the recording process?

Bruno: Phil throws a fit.

Phil: I’m the strongest, so we arm wrestle.

Bruno: Well, that’s why we’re together because we don’t have those problems. We all trust each other’s judgment. Sometimes I’ll be like, “I really don’t like that.” And both Ari and Phil will be like, “You’re trippin’, dog, you’re trippin’.” Or I’ll play something, then Phil will sing it, and then we’ll find it. We’re not the greatest musicians in the world, but we can make some hot $h!t.

 

8. What is your thought process when going in to make a record?

I think it always happens differently. Sometimes we’ll have a melody first. Sometimes we’ll hear someone say something, “I believe in magic.” Then it’ll be like, “Wow, that really resonated.” So I’ll go write that down on a piece of paper. Then we’ll take that melody that he hummed or I hummed and we’ll try to put that little phrase in there. But it always works differently. Some people like to call it math, we call it science [laughs].

 

9. Are there any songs you felt embarrassed about creating?

Bruno: This is like two years ago. We were getting drunk in the studio one night and this guy was playing a track and we wrote this song called “Bedroom Bandit.” We swore it was a smash. Then we sobered up the next day. Phil, don’t sing it.

Phil: It was really bad. [sings] I said you can’t tie me down, shorty, I’m already with the next girl/ You can’t tie me down, ’cause I’m the bedroom bandit.

 

10. What can we expect from your full-length debut album Lady Killer that’s set for release later this year?

You can expect that we’re gonna put our balls into it. Luckily, I feel like everything that we’ve been working for and everything we’ve learned in the past couple years has really enhanced our production and our writing. I guess we’re at our most creative zone right now. We’re excited that “Nothin’ on You” and “Billionaire” are both getting love and they’re kinda two totally different sounds. That’s always been our struggle ’cause we love so many kinds of music. Like I play the guitar on stage. I love old R&B and all that. I think that’s kinda helping us break as artists because people don’t know what to expect, which is a good thing. I’d love to work with Danger Mouse, I love Mark Ronson. Mark Ronson gets the live instrumentation without it sounding too adult contemporary. There’s a fine line.

 

Bruno Mars’ debut EP, It’s Better If You Don’t Understand, is available now on iTunes and Amazon.

http://www.rap-up.com/2010/05/11/10-questi...for-bruno-mars/

 

EXCITEDDD! :D

I'm excited too! I didn't see a release date anywhere in the interview but I hear it's supposed to be around September time so not too long to wait. I love the idea of him working with Mark Ronson, that could be really special. Keep it coming Jonjo, I'm becoming a bigger stan by the minute!

 

Laura

I'm excited too! I didn't see a release date anywhere in the interview but I hear it's supposed to be around September time so not too long to wait. I love the idea of him working with Mark Ronson, that could be really special. Keep it coming Jonjo, I'm becoming a bigger stan by the minute!

 

Laura

Him working with Mark Ronson would be pretty special indeed! I think it'd be Daniel Merriweather working with Ronson part II. GAH! I'm getting excited just thinking about it now haha. *calms self down*