When you think of “romance,” what is the first thing you think of?
For some, it is a tragic heartbreak movie. For others, it is giving the one person you truly love a bouquet of roses. However, for Bruno Mars, it is all of them.
Bruno Mars is a well-known American singer and songwriter, the winner of 16 Grammys, and has recently released his first solo album in over 10 years. This album, “The Romantic,” was released on February 27 with nine songs that surprised many of his fans with his different interpretations of romance.
In his newest album, Mars showed off his vocal capabilities with songs such as “On My Soul” and “Something Serious.” However, according to many, most of the other songs sounded quite similar as he tended to stick with slower and more heartbreaking songs throughout the album.
It was quite a shock to many listeners, myself included, with the amount of slower songs included in “The Romantic” considering his single from the album, “I Just Might,” gave off the opposite impression. “I Just Might” led all fans to think this album would be a second “24K Magic” with some inspiration from the 1970s-sounding “An Evening with Silk Sonic” and have mainly upbeat pop songs, but I would say the tear-jerkers were a pleasant surprise.
“Why You Wanna Fight?” and “Nothing Left” were the most noticeable heartbreakers. “Why You Wanna Fight?” is a slow and tragic song about a man who got into an argument with his lover and is trying to apologize, but the girl has not forgiven him. He even said he would “plead with all [her] friends” to make it all right. Similarly, “Nothing Left” is about a man’s lover leaving him and taking everything good about life along with her. Both of these songs seem to relate to Mars’ break up with Jessica Caban, the woman he was dating for over 10 years. “Nothing Left” seems to directly refer to their break up with the lines “And it kills me to think somewhere I lost my baby/Oh, we been together so long.” Mars really ties his emotions of the breakup to his songs and “feels” every lyric he sings, which is something all of his fans adore.
However, the amount of songs like “Why You Wanna Fight?” and “Nothing Left” shocked casual listeners of Mars’ music. Mars has released songs that are just as slow and tear-worthy in the past, such as on his first album “Doo-Wops and Hooligans” with “Talking to the Moon” and “Grenade.” Mars also released the single “It Will Rain” in 2011, so the slower songs are not a new genre. Since slow songs are not new, the first impression of “I Just Might” compared to the majority of the songs on the album most likely was the cause of the shock.
However, Mars did not stop with sad songs that bring you to tears. He had songs like “Cha Cha Cha,” a fun upbeat song about meeting a girl at the club and “God Was Showing Off,” a touching soulful pop song using religious references to compliment a girl’s beauty. He was descriptive with religious themes in the lyrics, saying things such as “I bet you can walk on water, can’t you, girl?” and “Is heaven your name/Or is it divine?” Mars also showed off his vocals in “On My Soul,” giving off a 1970s feel that seems inspired by his 2020 collaboration album “An Evening with Silk Sonic” that Mars created with Anderson Paak.
There are two songs I would like to especially celebrate off this album, one of which is “Risk It All.” “Risk It All” has become rather popular, and for good reason. It starts with trumpets and traditional instruments such as the vihuela, and continues with even stronger vocals. Mars’ voice leads you into a story of someone who would do anything for their lover, even “run through a fire” just so his lover could be at his side. Listening to the song paints the picture of a couple at the altar saying their vows, ready to begin a new life together. This mental image is brought to life by the music video Mars released with DJ Rashida, whom he has worked with before in his “Finesse” music video.
The song also seems to have been somewhat inspired by Mars’ Puerto Rican heritage, showing off traditional instruments and customs in the music video, such as throwing rice at the newlyweds. Many of Mars’ fans are happy to see him embrace his culture and express it through music, myself included.
The last song I would like to mention is “Dance With Me,” a romantic, slow dance ballad about wanting to dance with his lover one last time in order to fall in love again when the music ends. This song, similar to “Nothing Left” and “Why You Wanna Fight?” seems to have inspiration from Jessica Caban, but is much more hopeful in it’s interpretation. As soon as I heard the song, I pictured every newly married couple swaying to the rhythm during the bridal waltz of their wedding. “Dance With Me” is, like the title suggests, very easy to dance to and has a good message for all couples listening. Sometimes, despite your differences, you just need to put your pride aside and forget the fighting for a little while.
All in all, “The Romantic” is an album that may not be for everyone considering the somewhat repetitive songs. However, as the first solo album Bruno Mars has released in ten years, I could not be happier this was the final product.
