This year, Bruno Mars returned to the music scene with his first solo album in nearly a decade, “The Romantic”
With this new music, Mars has shifted significantly from the vibe of “24K Magic,” his 2016 album. While 24K Magic was a high-energy funk project, “The Romantic” is more relaxed and intimate. Here, Mars largely avoids high-gloss digital beats and, instead, uses live instruments, giving the album more of a warm, personal feeling rather than a party-centered theme.
This is especially evident in the song “Why You Wanna Fight,” where his voice takes center stage, sounding more natural and less processed.
This album is also influenced by Mars’ Puerto Rican roots, which are highlighted in the opening of “Risk it All” with mariachi style horns and in “Cha Cha Cha’s” Cuban-inspired rhythms.
Despite this being Mars’s first solo album in ten years, he had not been entirely absent from the music industry. For the past ten years, Mars has collaborated with many different artists. For example, in 2021, he collaborated with Anderson .Paak to create the album “An Evening with Silk Sonic.” Then, in 2024, Mars partnered with Lady Gaga on the song “Die with a Smile.” Following this, Mars released “APT” with Korean singer Rosé. These collaborations helped keep Mars in the music scene and relevant despite his absence from solo work.
The success of Mars’s return is evident–“The Romantic” debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and, prior to that, his single “I Just Might” made it to number one on the Hot 100. He also sold over 2 million tickets in a single day for his tour. The album not only marks his return, but also shows a more mature and personal artistic direction that could define the next phase of his career
Cali Gorordo • May 7, 2026 at 11:05 am
super interesting!