Born on October 8, 1985, in Honolulu, Hawaii, Bruno Mars (Peter Gene Hernandez)
was raised in a performing family and started working stages as a kid, first as
an Elvis impersonator in Waikīkī before expanding into old-school soul, funk,
and pop influences he later folded into his own sound. After moving to Los
Angeles to launch his own career, he landed a job as house songwriter and
producer at Atlantic Records and went on to work on material for Alexandra
Burke, Flo Rida, Brandy, Adam Levine, Travie McCoy and Sugababes (he co-wrote
the hit "Get Sexy" and sang backing vocals on ...