Bruno Mars: 35 things you didn’t know about him! (List)

1. He was born to Peter Hernandez and Bernadette San Pedro Bayot and raised alongside five siblings.

2. His songs “Just the Way You Are” and “Grenade” both became worldwide #1 singles, and he co-wrote the hit song “Wavin’ Flag” with K’naan.

3. His real name is Peter Gene Hernandez.

4. He began dating model/actress Jessica Caban in 2011 and he previously dated fellow singer Rita Ora.

5. His second album, Unorthodox Jukebox, hit #1 on the U.S. Billboard in 2012.

6. He co-wrote Flo Rida’s hit song “Right Round.”

7. His stage name, “Bruno Mars”, was inspired by the wrestler Bruno Samartino, because as a child Bruno was confident, independent and strong-willed, like the wrestler. The ‘Mars’ came along because girls used to say he was “out of this world”, so he used the planet Mars as his last name.

8. He had a failed gig with Motown Records, but ended up signing to Atlantic instead.

9. He moved to Los Angeles after college to be a musician.

10. His Twitter is @BrunoMars and has over 17 million followers!

11. Bruno Mars is of Puerto Rican and Filipino descent.

12. Growing up, Mars said he was heavily influenced by Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley, and even had the nickname of “Little Elvis”.

13. His father, Pete, was a Latin percussionist and his mother, Bernadette (Bernie), was a singer.

14. Bruno Mars was born on 8th October 1986 in Waikiki, Hawaii.

15. Bruno’s fans are known as Hooligans.

16. As well as an extremely talented singer, he also plays his famous piano, the drums, bass and guitar!

17. He attended Roosevelt High School, where he and friends formed a band called “The School Boys”. This helped him become comfortable and confident on stage.

18. At the age of 4, Bruno performed with his family’s band, The Love Notes, as an Elvis impersonator.

19. When Bruno was 15 years old, he had a crush on his teacher (over twice his age) and he gave her a love letter with his mums ring in, which he had stolen from her. The teacher told his mother, and gave her the ring back.

20. His favourite colour is red.

21. His hit single, Grenade was his 3rd single to hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts!

22. Bruno Mars’ favorite food is Chicken Adobo, which is the national dish of the Philippines.

23. He has also admitted that he hates his own hit, The Lazy Song.

24. On 19th September 2010, Bruno was arrested for possession of cocaine in a Las Vegas casino bathroom , he was carrying 2.6 grams.

25. Once graduating Hugh School he moved to Los Angeles, where he then started writing songs. He says the reason for this is because when he was in Hawaii, he never really needed to write.

26. The first song Bruno wrote was called ‘Sugar Mama’, although he admits it was horrible!

27. In the early 2000’s, Bruno started to find success by writing songs for many popular artists, including Flo Rida’s “Right Round”, Travie McCoy’s “Billionaire” and K’Naan’s “Wavin’ Flag”, which was the theme song for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

28. Early 2012, Bruno got his first dog, named Geronimo.

29. Mars broke out as a singer in 2010 with his hit “Nothin’ on You”.

30. One of his favourite television shows is Family Guy.

31. He was selected to play at the Superbowl on 2nd February 2014.

32. “Locked Out of Heaven”, topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks! It also made it in the Top 10 in 20 different countries! “When I Was Your Man,” also reached No. 1.

33. In 2011, his single, “It Will Rain,” was included in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 soundtrack.

34. Bruno has four tattoos, a gypsy on his left forearm, an anchor on his right forearm, his mother’s name on his right shoulder, and “Pete’s boy” on his left bicep.

35. His sisters have their own musical group, The Lylas, and will star in their own reality television show about the recording of their debut album.