Bruno Mars, O2 Arena - music review

Birthday boy Bruno Mars was in the mood to party last night and he had an energetic backing band happy to share the considerable vocal and gyrating duties. His songs ranged from the funk-soul of Treasure to the power-pop of Marry You
17 January 2014

Three sold-out nights at the O2, two number one albums and a Grammy award: Bruno Mars is officially the biggest thing to come out of Hawaii since Barack Obama.

The birthday boy was in the mood to party last night. "Put your damn camera phones down and dance with us," demanded the former Peter Hernandez early on.

If Michael Jackson had The Jackson 5, Mars had The Mars 8 — an energetic backing band happy to share the considerable vocal and gyrating duties.

Dressed in a suede waistcoat, gold chain and white fedora, Mars was part-cowboy, part-rapper, part Man from Del Monte.

The music was similarly eclectic, ranging from the funk-soul of Treasure to the power-pop of Marry You.

At his naffest — touching himself up while covering R Kelly’s Ignition (Remix) — Mars made the O2 feel like a giant cruise ship.

But when he stuck to his own material, he was unstoppable. When I Was Your Man showcased his multi-octave vocal range, while Nothin' on You prompted a mass sing-along (even if its romantic sentiment was somewhat undermined by the spectacle of his backing band dry-humping the floor).

Some tweaking is required but Mars could soon rule planet pop.

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