Bruno Mars isn't just a performer - he's a musical mastermind behind the scenes! Join us as we uncover the surprising songs you never knew were written by this incredible songwriter, from pop hits to chart-toppers across multiple genres.
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00:00Welcome to MsMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the most notable times
00:09music superstar Bruno Mars lent his masterful lyrical talents to other artists.
00:2320.
00:24Gold – Neon Hitch Featuring Tyga Back in the early 2010s when he was still
00:35carving his niche as a solo artist, Bruno Mars offered songwriting help to rising British
00:41singer Neon Hitch for his single Gold.
00:44Hitch teamed up with Mars' songwriting powerhouse the Smeezingtons, who co-wrote and co-produced
00:49the track.
00:50Gold also featured American rapper Tyga and was slated as the second single from Hitch's
00:55debut album Beg, Borrow, and Steal.
01:05Mars brought his knack for crafting infectious hits to the table, infusing the songs with
01:10catchy lyrics and a high-energy dance-pop vibe.
01:13Although the album was eventually scrapped, the track itself achieved notable success
01:18in the U.S.
01:19Topping the Billboard Hot Dance Club Playchart.
01:2519.
01:29Perfect – Alexandra Burke After winning the fifth series of The X Factor
01:39in a stunning fashion, Alexandra Burke released her debut album Overcome in 2009.
01:45The project debuted at number one in the U.K. and was a commercial success across Europe.
01:51A year later, Burke followed it up with a deluxe edition, which included the song Perfect
01:56co-written and produced by Bruno Mars as part of the Smeezingtons.
02:06A stripped-down pop ballad, Perfect mirrors the emotional depth of other acclaimed ballads
02:11by Mars, like When I Was Your Man.
02:14With Mars' masterful songwriting and Burke's powerhouse vocals, the song delivers an irresistible
02:19mix of heart and soul, proving that its title is no overstatement.
02:2818.
02:32Endlessly – The Cab Although he's largely known for his pure
02:43pop prowess, Bruno Mars has shown he is no one-trick pony.
02:48He proved this through his work with alternative rock band The Cab.
02:51For their self-funded second album Symphony Soldier, the group enlisted a series of high-profile
02:57collaborators, including Maroon 5's Adam Levine, Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, and of course,
03:03Bruno Mars.
03:04Mars co-wrote the song Endlessly, a pop-rock anthem about unwavering love, which became
03:20the album's third single.
03:21While it may not have dominated the chart, the song still stands as proof of Mars' ability
03:27to excel outside his usual musical wheelhouse.
03:3417.
03:38Whenever You Call – Arashi After years of dominating the Japanese music
03:49scene, J-pop boy band Arashi set their sights on a global audience.
03:54In 2020, they released Whenever You Call, their first song recorded entirely in English.
04:00Co-written and co-produced by Bruno Mars, the track came just a few months before the
04:04band was scheduled to go on hiatus.
04:11To honor this moment, Mars reportedly immersed himself in their past work and set out to
04:16craft a song that captured the band's essence, as well as their bittersweet feelings about
04:21the break.
04:22The result is a soaring pop ballad that doubles as a love letter to their old fans and a warm
04:27handshake to any potential new ones.
04:3316.
04:37Number One Girl – Rosé Most people are already familiar with APT,
04:42Bruno Mars' irresistible collaboration with Rosé.
04:45But that wasn't the only track Mars sprinkled his magic on for the K-pop star's debut solo
04:49album.
04:57For her second single, Number One Girl, Rosé once again tapped into Mars' confident songwriting
05:03and production expertise.
05:05A soft pop ballad, the song was inspired by her feelings of insecurity after facing hateful
05:10comments on social media.
05:20Rosé poured her vulnerability into the track, also weaving in themes of heartbreak and unrequited
05:26love.
05:27While it didn't reach the viral heights of APT, it became a moderate hit across Asia,
05:32reaffirming that when Rosé and Bruno Mars join forces, fans are in for musical gold.
05:4115.
05:45Long Distance – Brandy Before becoming the global pop sensation we
05:50know today, Bruno Mars spent years behind the scenes, writing songs for many well-known
05:55singers.
05:56In 2008, one of those singers was Brandy.
06:06Mars had written and recorded a demo of Long Distance, which Brandy immediately fell in
06:10love with after hearing it.
06:12The song was then expanded upon by legendary producer Rodney Darkchild-Jerkins and recorded
06:18by Brandy, who released it as the second single from her album, Human.
06:26Critics praised Long Distance for its heartfelt lyrics and hymn-like production, part of which
06:31was also handled by Mars.
06:33Although he played a largely behind-the-scenes role, Mars made a cameo in the music video
06:38as a pianist in one scene.
06:4614.
06:49Who Dat Girl – Flo Rida ft. Akon Miami-born rapper Flo Rida dominated the
07:03early 2010s with hit after hit, cementing himself as one of the hottest music artists
07:08of that era.
07:09Although Who Dat Girl didn't quite reach the same heights as some of his chart-toppers,
07:14it still achieved moderate success in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.
07:29Featuring vocals from Akon and a blend of electronic and R&B sounds, the track benefited
07:34from songwriting by Bruno Mars and his frequent collaborator Philip Lawrence.
07:39Interestingly, it wasn't released as a single before its parent album premiered.
07:43However, after the album dropped, it began to gain traction, which led to it being put
07:48out as the official third single a few weeks later.
07:5513.
07:58Rocketeer – Far East Movement ft. Ryan Tedder Prior to his impressive solo debut in 2010,
08:05Bruno Mars first gained waves with guest vocals on hits like Nothing On You and Billionaire,
08:10both of which became Billboard Top 10 hits.
08:13He nearly added another feather to his cap with Far East Movement's Rocketeer.
08:24Mars helped write the song and even recorded a demo singing the chorus.
08:29However, another version was made with Ryan Tedder, which was eventually chosen as the
08:33final product.
08:39Nevertheless, Mars retained his songwriting credit, and Rocketeer soared to number seven
08:49on the Billboard Hot 100.
08:51Conveniently, the track dropped in October 2010, just days after Mars unleashed his debut
08:56album, Doo Wops and Hooligans, on the world.
09:0212.
09:06Sweet Sexy – Sugar Babes For the seventh studio album, Sweet Seven,
09:10British girl group Sugar Babes crossed the Atlantic to collaborate with some American
09:15producers.
09:24This partnership included signing a deal with Jay-Z's Rock Nation, which opened the door
09:28to working with talents like Bruno Mars.
09:31Mars, along with his production group, The Smeezingtons, wrote and produced the album's
09:35lead single, Get Sexy.
09:45Built around a sample of Wright said Fred's, I'm Too Sexy, this track is a high-energy
09:50mix of electropop, techno, and R&B sounds that was tailor-made for the dance floor.
09:55Despite a controversial exit of one of the group's members shortly after its release,
10:00this song still rose to number two on the UK Singles Chart.
10:0711.
10:09Lift Off – Jay-Z and Kanye West Featuring Beyonce
10:18This collaboration between the three musical giants could have taken a completely different
10:23turn had the early rumors checked out.
10:26It was initially speculated that Lift Off would be the lead single from Jay-Z and Kanye
10:31West's collaborative album Watch the Throne with Bruno Mars, who co-wrote the song, handling
10:36the chorus.
10:37However, as the album's release approached, plans seemed to change.
10:41Lift Off was replaced by H.A.M. as the lead single, with Beyonce stepping in to deliver
10:46the song's chorus instead.
10:48It was eventually released as the third single from the album, but only managed to chart
11:00within the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Chart.
11:04One can only wonder how a Bruno Mars feature might have changed its fate.
11:1210.
11:16Hot Mess – Cobra Starship When he isn't writing for the biggest names
11:26in the industry, Bruno Mars also lends his pen to lesser-known musical acts like this
11:31one.
11:32In 2009, Mars worked with pop-punk band Cobra Starship on a song from their third studio
11:37album.
11:46The album was titled Hot Mess, as was the track that Mars helped to produce.
11:51Released as the second single from the project, the song debuted at number 64 on the Billboard
11:56Hot 100, and has since appeared on the soundtracks of TV shows such as Gossip Girl.
12:099.
12:10One Day – Matisyahu Near the beginning of his career, Bruno Mars
12:21established a songwriting and producing team with Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine called
12:26the Smeezingtons.
12:27This was a stepping stone to Mars' success and produced his first hit single, Nothing
12:32On You, along with many others.
12:35Several years before that, though, the company worked with reggae artist Matisyahu on the
12:39song One Day from his album Light.
12:47The artist calls the song an anthem of hope, and says he has always wanted to write it
12:52despite it being a last-minute addition to the album.
12:588.
13:01Waving Flag – K'Nan In 2009, Bruno Mars collaborated with K'Nan,
13:09a Somali-Canadian musician, to create this anthemic tune.
13:20The message behind the song was intended to be about the people of Somalia, but it has
13:24since expanded to become a global hit.
13:27While it charted high in Canada from the get-go, it was Coca-Cola's choice to make a remixed
13:32version of the song the anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup that made a trend worldwide.
13:43It became so popular that K'Nan actually penned a children's book called When I Get
13:48Older, the story behind Waving Flag.
13:51Mars also worked on K'Nan's other hit, Bang Bang.
14:007.
14:02Can We Dance – The Vamps In the fall of 2013, the UK charts were being
14:14dominated by OneRepublic's hit, Counting Stars.
14:17Newcomers to the scene, The Vamps, put out their single, Can We Dance, in September.
14:22And while it never managed to overtake Counting Stars, it was still insanely successful in
14:27its own right.
14:35Bruno Mars was both a writer and producer on this chart-topping boy band hit.
14:40He worked alongside Karl Michael, Philip Lawrence, Tim Zaluo, and Espionage to create the catchy
14:46tune.
14:496.
14:52Tears Always Win – Alicia Keys The opening notes of this song have Bruno
15:03Mars' signature sound all over them.
15:06Tears Always Win appears on Alicia Keys' fifth studio album, Girl on Fire, which came
15:11out in 2012.
15:18Keys performed the song on American Idol just days after it was released digitally, amping
15:23up its popularity.
15:24Alicia Keys also co-wrote the song with Mars and others, and went on to make it part of
15:29her regular setlist for her Set the World on Fire tour, which took place in 2013.
15:385.
15:42Never Close Our Eyes – Adam Lambert American Idol alum Adam Lambert made history
15:47with the release of his second album, Trespassing, in 2012.
15:53Though it had been several years since his reality TV success, the album debuted in the
16:00top spot on the Billboard 200.
16:03As an openly gay man, he was the first person to achieve this success.
16:14Never Close Our Eyes was the second single released from the album, and received much
16:18more positive reviews than its predecessor, Better Than I Know Myself.
16:22Bruno Mars was both a writer and producer on the track.
16:304.
16:34Love Me – Justin Bieber Long before Justin Bieber revamped his image
16:45to become the adult artist he is today, he was a teen idol who worked with Bruno Mars
16:50on his single, Love Me.
16:52Before even Baby topped the charts, Bieber had just been signed with RBMG and was putting
16:58together his first album, My World.
17:08This formative record contained many of his original hits as well as tunes like this one.
17:13Love Me was released as an iTunes exclusive before the record actually launched.
17:213.
17:26Adele Even top-selling artists like Adele look
17:35for a little help from their friends when it comes to writing new tracks.
17:38After a significant period of inactivity in the aftermath of her smash hit album, 21,
17:43Adele came back with a vengeance in 2015 with her follow-up, 25.
17:55While All I Ask wasn't one of the biggest hits on the album, it wasn't even released
17:59as a single, it's a quiet yet powerful number that works to bridge other songs on the record.
18:05Bruno Mars and his Smeezingtons collaborators worked on this together, and Mars actually
18:10performed a cover of the song for the BBC.
18:172.
18:21Flo Rida Featuring Kesha
18:31One of the most heavily-downloaded songs of the decade is this mega-hit performed by Flo
18:36Rida featuring Kesha.
18:38It relies on major sampling of Dead or Alive's 80s hit, You Spin Me Round Like a Record,
18:43and was co-written by Bruno Mars and his collaborator, Philip Lawrence.
18:47The song actually broke the existing record for first-week sales for an individual song
18:52with 636,000 downloads.
19:03It remains one of the best-selling digital singles, with over 12 million downloads several
19:08years after its release.
19:10The song has featured notably in pop culture, with an acapella version of the track appearing
19:15in the 2012 film Pitch Perfect.
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19:401.
19:42Forget You – Cee Lo Green
19:44This tune became a monster radio hit under the tamer name Forget You, although it is
19:50actually known by several different titles including F.U. and Thank You.
20:02Because curse words feature so prominently in the song, different techniques were used
20:06to clean it up depending on the demographic.
20:09In the UK, they use blank spaces where the offending word is, while in the US, they use
20:14a sound effect.
20:22The creation of this song was a collaboration between Green himself, Bruno Mars, and the
20:27rest of the Smeezingtons group.
20:29Listening to the tune now, Mars' influence seems clear considering the trajectory his
20:34sound took in the years that followed.
20:44Which of these tunes did you already know was penned by Bruno Mars?
20:48Let us know in the comments below!
20:55Do you agree with our picks?
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