Bruno Mars hit #1 with “Grenade”

Grenade Bruno Mars

Writer(s): Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Brody Brown, Claude Kelly, Andrew Wyatt (see lyrics here) Released: September 28, 2010 First Charted: October 16, 2010 Peak: 14 US, 13 BA, 15 DG, 11 AC, 3 A40, 12 UK, 13 CN, 13 AU, 12 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 1.2 UK, 12.17 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.2 radio, 1134.4 video, 1043.39 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Grenade” was a pop and R&B ballad from Bruno Mars’ debut studio album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans. Originally released as a promotional single before the album, it later became the album’s official second single. It was only his second single as a solo artist, although he hit the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 twice (#1 on B.o.B.’s “Nothin’ on You,” #4 on Travie McCoy’s “Billionaire”) before his debut single, “Just the Way You Are (Amazing)” hit the summit. Mars was the first solo male to send his first four entires to the top ten since Rick Astley did it in 1988-89. SF Mars was also the first male act since P. Diddy, 13 years earlier, to take his first two songs as a lead artist to the top. SF The song hit #1 in fifteen countries WK and was nominated for Grammys for Song and Record of the Year. In “Grenade,” Bruno Mars assures his “hard-to-please girl” that “he would catch a grenade for her, along with other assorted foolhardy acts.” SF The video echoed that them as it depicted Mars dragging an upright piano through the streets of Los Angeles in an effort to sing to a girl about how he’d do anything for her. Mars said he got the inspiration for the song from Benny Bianco, who co-wrote the #1 songs “I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry and “Tik Tok” by Ke$ha. SF The Smeezingtons (Mars, Phillip Lawrence, and Ari Levine) produced and wrote the song. Brody Brown, Claude Kelly, and Andrew Wyatt also received songwriting credits. The song originally had an “uptempo 1960’s surf-style sound with a jangle pop,” WK but Mars stripped it down and slowed the pace. WK That ended up being the version recorded and praised by the label. WK Entertainment Weekly’s Leah Greenblatt called the song a “captivating masochist’s anthem” WK while Consequence of Sound’s Kevin Barber said it “showcases his Michael Jackson-esque vocal range.” WK Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: Last updated 7/20/2023.

The Top 50 Songs of 2010

Dave’s Music Database: Top 50 Songs of 2010

These are the top 50 songs of the year based on their overall performance in Dave’s Music Database, which is determined by combining chart data, sales figures, streaming, video views, and aggregates from year-end lists. Check out “Top Songs and Albums of the Year” lists here. DMDB Top 1%: Adele “Rolling in the Deep” Bruno Mars “Just the Way You Are (Amazing)” Eminem & Rihanna “Love the Way You Lie” Katy Perry “Firework” Katy Perry & Snoop Dogg “California Gurls” Cee-Lo Green “Fuck You (aka “Forget You”)” Bruno Mars “Grenade” Rihanna “Only Girl in the World” Taio Cruz “Dynamite” DMDB Top 2%: Usher with will.i.am. “OMG” Foster the People “Pumped Up Kicks” Eminem “Not Afraid” Katy Perry with Kanye West “E.T.” Pink “Raise Your Glass” Justin Bieber with Ludacris “Baby” Katy Perry “Teenage Dream” Usher with Pitbull “DJ Got Us Falling in Love” DMDB Top 5%: B.o.B. with Bruno Mars “Nothin’ on You” AWOL Nation “Sail” Katy Perry “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” The Band Perry “If I Die Young” Rihanna with Drake “What’s My Name?” Black Eyed Peas “The Time (Dirty Bit)” B.o.B. with Hayley Williams “Airplanes” Rihanna with Britney Spears “S & M” Kanye West with Pusha T “Runaway” Bruno Mars “The Lazy Song” Ellie Goulding “Lights” Miranda Lambert “The House That Built Me” Christina Perri “Jar of Hearts” Wiz Khalifa “Black and Yellow” Robyn “Dancing on My Own” Michael Franti & Spearhead “The Sound of Sunshine” Flo Rida with David Guetta “Club Can’t Handle Me” Taylor Swift “Mine” Ke$ha “We R Who We R” Bruno Mars “Marry You” Katy Perry “The One That Got Away” Far East Movement with Cataracs & Dev “Like a G6” Pink “Fuckin’ Perfect” California Swag District “Teach Me How to Dougie” Kanye West & Dwele “Power” Enrique Iglesias with Pitbull “I Like It” Travie McCoy with Bruno Mars “Billionaire” DMDB Top 10%: Janelle Monáe with Big Boi “Tightrope” Mike Posner & Big Sean “Cooler Than Me” The Black Keys “Tighten Up” Enrique Iglesias with Ludacris & DJ Frank E “Tonight I’m Lovin’ You” Kings of Leon “Radioactive” Arcade Fire “Ready to Start” Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Top Songs and Albums by Year lists Dave’s Music Database: Songs of the Year lists First posted 12/27/2021; last updated 1/18/2023.

Bruno Mars released Doo-Wops & Hooligans

Doo-Wops & Hooligans Bruno Mars

Released: October 4, 2010 Charted: October 23, 2010 Peak: 3 US, 11 UK, 12 CN, 2 AU Sales (in millions): 5.0 US, 1.8 UK, 15.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: pop/R&B

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Grenade (9/28/10, 14 US, 15 RR, 11 AC, 3 A40, 12 UK, 13 CN, 13 AU, sales: 10.9 million) Just the Way You Are (Amazing) (7/20/10, 14 US, 13 RR, 120 AC, 15 A40, 11 UK, 14 CN, 11 AU, sales: 13.7 million) Our First Time Runaway Baby (10/29/11, 50 US, 19 UK) The Lazy Song (10/23/10, 4 US, 3 RR, 13 AC, 2 A40, 11 UK, 5 CN, 6 AU, sales: 7.28 million) Marry You (12/11/10, 85 US, 11 UK, 10 CN, 8 AU, sales: 3.18 million) Talking to the Moon Liquor Store Blues (w/ Damian Marley) Count on Me (11/7/11, 78 UK, 19 AU, sales: 0.41 million) The Other Side (w/ CeeLo Green & B.o.B.) Total Running Time: 35:24

Rating: 3.814 out of 5.00 (average of 29 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Bruno Mars was already a star when he released Doo-Wops & Hooligans, his first album, in 2010. He’d had hits with Travie McCoy (“Billionaire,” #4) and B.o.B. (“Nothin’ on You,” #1) and was writing and producing songs (such as Cee-Lo Green’s #2 hit “Fuck You”) with Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine as the Smeezingtons. As such, it wasn’t a big surprise when “the lushly romantic” AMG Just the Way You Are and Grenade, “a darker song with a masochistic message,” WK topped the Billboard Hot 100. Mars pulled off “a record that sounds like it was written and recorded on a warm, sleepy summer Sunday afternoon.” AMG “Lyrically, the album visualizes carefree optimism along with failed relationships, pain and loneliness.” WK He plays all the instruments and “his voice is the kind of smooth instrument that slips into your ear like honey.” AMG Most of the tracks on Doo-Wops capture this laid-back groove, especially The Lazy Song and the reggaefied midnight love jam Our First Time. Mars barely raises a sweat on these tracks, cruising in low gear but with a very likeable style. It’s not very deep and it’s not poetry, but sweetly played and sung songs like Count on Me,” AMG which has been compared to Boyz II Men, WK “or ‘Just the Way You Are’ project a cuddly image and will melt hearts from tweens to old folks.” AMG The biggest criticism may be that “the album tried too hard to appeal to all groups” WK as it integrates pop, soul, reggae, R&B, and rock. Mars himself confirmed an effort to reach as wide an audience as possible, explaining “I have records that women are going to relate to and men are going to relate to. So doo-wops are for the girls, and hooligans are for the guys.” WK “When he turns up the volume and boosts the tempo, however, the album suffers a little. Runaway Baby is a pretty cheesy rocker, suffering from clichéd lyrics and production. Faring better thanks to some dynamics and nuanced production is the pleasantly silly Marry You.” AMG The latter was used for a fantastic viral video proposal. In the comments section, Emily said, “Honestly a total stranger could propose to me like this and I would say yes.” “The only glimpse of Mars as something more than an innocuous charmer is…The Other Side.” AMG The song, which features Cee-Lo Green and B.o.B., “has been called the album’s highlight, with its most experimental and complex production.” WK It “has the most complicated melody, and the best production and singing; it sounds like the only song that Mars truly invested with some soul and grit. It was also recorded way before the rest of the album, and featured on the EP that came out earlier in 2010. It points to a direction Mars could have taken with the album but didn’t. As it is, Doo-Wops & Hooligans is an uneven debut that shows why Mars is likeable and popular, but doesn’t tap into his full potential as a writer or producer.” AMG Notes: The European version added the song “Somewhere in Brooklyn” and an acoustic piano version of “Talking to the Moon.” Both of those songs are also featured on the deluxe/tour version as well as a remix of “Just the Way You Are” featuring Lupe Fiasco, and live versions of “Just the Way You Are,” “Grenade,” and “The Other Side.” The Japanese platinum edition included those songs and three remixes of “Grenade.” The iTunes deluxe version of the album also included “Somewhere in Brooklyn” as well as music videos for “Just the Way You Are” and “The Other Side” and the remix of “Just the Way You Are.”

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Bruno Mars AMG All Music Guide review by Tim Sendra WK Wikipedia First posted 12/12/2020; last updated 3/3/2024.