# Talk:Bruno Mars

2 Artistry
vegan

Where are the sources for funk, soul, reggae, and rock? @MarioSoulTruthFan, @BrothaTimothy and anyone else interested. Actually, none of the sources supposedly being used for his genres right now actually describe his music as the genre they're intended to. Here's what those sources actually say about the genres:
Pop and reggae: "Singer-songwriter-producer Bruno Mars shows range and pop flair on debut CD". This does not directly indicate that Mars is a pop artist, it merely states that he shows "pop flair" on one specific album.
"Mars...offers up a little reggae, a little rock, and lots of catchy pop hooks". This also does not indicate that Mars is a pop, reggae, nor a rock artist. All this says is that he has "a little" reggae and rock on one album, and that the album features pop hooks.
R&B "The album doesn't stay locked into a contemporary R&B groove". Again, this is only referencing one album, and it is essentially saying that it isn't exclusively R&B. Strangely enough, this source actually does call him a pop singer yet it is not being used to support pop.
Funk "the Unorthodox Jukebox era remade Billy Joel and the Police as faithfully as any R&B or funk referents". Again, this really isn't explicit in labeling him as a funk artist.
"If 'Uptown Funk' was the theme-park version of one sliver of funk, 24K Magic is the rest of the park". This could be argued to be calling 24K Magic funk, but again calling an album a certain genre does not necessarily mean that genre applies to their entire discography. This source does actually say that Mars "has enough pop and R&B cred to keep the radio listeners around", which I think could be used to support pop and R&B.
Soul "Atmospheric opener 'Grenade' and 'Runaway Baby,' with its '60s-soul snap, are immediate stylistic standouts". So this is maybe calling one song soul, and somehow that is being applied to his music as a whole?
Rock "on Unorthodox Jukebox where he dabbles, to great success, in disco, funk, reggae and rock". Again, all this says is that he "dabbles" in rock among other genres on one of his albums. This by no means is labeling him as a rock artist overall. Again, strangely enough, this source actually does call Mars "the reigning king of updated soul" and says that he "knows how to make instantly appealing pop". These could be used to support pop and soul.
In summary, the only genres supported by these sources (and none of them by the source they were supposed to be supported by) are pop (Post Gazette, Pitchfork, WSJ), R&B (Pitchfork) and soul (WSJ). Additionally, this source explicitly calls him a "pop and R&B singer" so it could be used to support those genres and AllMusic describes his music as "hooky pop". I think pop and R&B should definitely be included in the infobox, with pop being supported by five sources and R&B by two, and maybe soul although that is only supported by one source. Feel free to look for any more sources that support these or any other genres (and let me know if these genres are supported elsewhere) and leave your opinion below. InsiderChiari (talk) 22:34, 6 November 2025 (UTC)

It is actually truth he hopes from genre to genre. I agree Pop, R&B and Soul are covered.
24K Magic is a funk album, An Evening with Silk Sonic has funk songs. How many more funk songs does he need to make? For Funk you have the Pitchfork Review that you quoted and Stereogum, which also covers soul. If he is not funk than any other artists is funk! Only using sources from 24k Magic and An Evening with Silk Sonic, are two albums enough? The man has a song called "Uptown Funk"!
Reggae clearly on the first album are three reggae songs and on the second album there is one. Not taking into consideration 1, [https://www.allmusic.com/album/unorthodox-jukebox-mw0002438815 2, 3, 4, 5 and I'm not taking into consideration "Billionaire". 5 Reggae songs...not enough?
Rock - "Locked out of Heaven", "Gorilla", "Die with a Smile" (soft rock) and "Apt" (pop rock), "777" has a rock influence...5 songs should be enough? I can provide sources for this as well. MarioSoulTruthFan (talk) 00:47, 7 November 2025 (UTC)
I see your point, but per WP:EXPLICITGENRE, "sources must explicitly attribute the genre to the work or artist as a whole", in this case the genre must be attributed to Bruno Mars' work as a whole. An artist having a handful of reggae or rock songs does not automatically mean that genre has been applied to their catalog overall. The infobox should display the genres that encompass all (or most) of the artist's work, not every genre the artist has ever performed. Pop and R&B summarize the main genres he is known for. Yes, 24K Magic is a funk album, but again that does not necessarily mean funk describes the majority of his discography; An Evening with Silk Sonic is a collaborative album by Silk Sonic so this does not necessarily represent his work as a solo artist. Similarly, "Uptown Funk" is a Mark Ronson song he was featured on. Nevertheless, no matter how much individual work by an artist has been described as any genre does not automatically justify that being included in the artist's infobox because as stated before, the genre needs to be explicitly attributed to the artist as a whole. InsiderChiari (talk) 04:11, 7 November 2025 (UTC)
Let's it break down...so far we agree on Pop, R&B and Soul.
I can see were you are coming from, because he is not James Brown. Despite being a collaborative project or being a featured artist and having a funk album it is more than enough. The Playlist: Bruno Mars Gives His Funk a Flashy Makeover, Coverage frames him as a pop/showman with heavy retro-soul/funk influences and genre versatility. Despite being featured on "Uptown Funk" it is the song that brought him the most media attention so far. Also "Runaway Baby" is a another song of his, which is where he started to explore the funk genre (first album), then on the second album with "Treasure". Spin it however you want it but funk is a part of his core and career, sure not in the traditional way but is more than an influence at this point. describing his album 24K Magic as paying tribute to funk/R&B/retro stylings
Again not a rock artist like Lenny Kraviz but he dips a lot in rock, also "Runwaway Baby" and on tour he does a rock version of "Grenade". However, there is only a source saying he is a Rock artist in MusicBrainz, not sure how reliable it is. Moreover, Reggae I guess it is an influence with some works and can be written that way as well. So remove it from infobox but from from his music styles, at least for now, if any major changes come in the future we can refer to this talk page. MarioSoulTruthFan (talk) 12:58, 7 November 2025 (UTC)
Ok, I agree that the New York Times source is explicitly labeling him as a funk artist. So can we agree on Pop, R&B, funk, and soul for the infobox and mention reggae and rock elements/influences in the body? InsiderChiari (talk) 16:04, 7 November 2025 (UTC)
Yes, mention not only as an influence, but that some tracks have elements of rock, because "Blow" is 100% a rock song. Maybe add something in the infobox as a note not to add more genres. Ofc the artist might make a big shift in the music direction that can be labelled rock, reggae or something else...but at least for now. Would you like to do so InsiderChiari? We can wait on @BrothaTimothy weight on this, better three people on board than two users MarioSoulTruthFan (talk) 16:44, 7 November 2025 (UTC)
Yeah we can exclude rock from his list of genres. BrothaTimothy (talk · contribs) 17:05, 7 November 2025 (UTC) BrothaTimothy (talk · contribs) 17:05, 7 November 2025 (UTC)
I have a possible compromise. I see you three have agreed to cut the genres down to pop, R&B, funk, and soul. I agree, and I have another idea that I haven't seen yet in this discussion. Maybe we could include the genres in the lead section of the article. We could briefly describe his main musical style and note the influences of rock and reggae in the lead section. We then could go into more detail in the body of the article. That way, the lead section is briefly summarizing his musical style. Bowling is life (talk) 17:20, 7 November 2025 (UTC)
I already did that on Musical style and themes. Nevertheless, a good idea but it might make the lead to dense. I'm not sure but I'm open to suggestions ofc. MarioSoulTruthFan (talk) 18:03, 7 November 2025 (UTC)
That's totally fair. I was thinking of just stating something like this in the lead: "Mars's music had been described as pop, R&B, funk, and soul with elements of disco, reggae, and rock." Just one brief and to-the-point sentence. I have seen some other articles briefly mention genres in the lead section. Plus, I did see some fair points in favor of keeping genres like rock and reggae in the infobox in this discussion. But, since we are removing them from the infobox, I figured at least mentioning them in the lead would be a decent compromise and provide a brief summary of the musical style section. But I get what you're saying, and I like the changes you have made so far. Plus, I don't mind either way. The lead section does look long enough as it is, so I get it. Let me know if you have any further ideas. Or, if you feel that we should keep the genres out of the lead, that is fine too. Bowling is life (talk) 19:49, 7 November 2025 (UTC)
If you have sources that back up those genres as described per Chiari, which goes in line with the wiki guidelines, please feel free to add them with the source of course. MarioSoulTruthFan (talk) 20:32, 7 November 2025 (UTC)
The genres are already sourced in the body of the article. They don't need to be sourced if we put them in the lead section. Sources don't typically go in the lead section. Should I add what I suggested in my previous message? Bowling is life (talk) 02:05, 8 November 2025 (UTC)
I was taking about rock and reggae as genres, not the others. Nevertheless, you can try it out and we will see if the lead its way to "thick" or not MarioSoulTruthFan (talk) 20:09, 8 November 2025 (UTC)
Rock, reggae, and even disco are sourced in the article as elements so I'll add a brief mention of those in the lead. I'm not going to do this right now because I don't have much time. I'll add it later when I have more time. I'll try to keep it to one sentence since the lead is already pretty long as is. Bowling is life (talk) 20:47, 8 November 2025 (UTC)
I know they are I'm the one who added and moved them around to fit the policy and we are going in circles. Sure, no rush, there is stuff in life more important!  MarioSoulTruthFan (talk) 23:21, 8 November 2025 (UTC)
Alright, I have added it to the lead section. Do you have any suggestions, such as wording or placement in the lead section? Bowling is life (talk) 02:47, 9 November 2025 (UTC)
Maybe move it to the first paragraph? Some FA article such as Taylor Swift, Beyonce or Mariah Carey don't have that in lead . Only infobox and body of the article. So it can be removed not harm done MarioSoulTruthFan (talk) 12:21, 9 November 2025 (UTC)
He has multiple songs in those genres. BrothaTimothy (talk · contribs) 01:21, 7 November 2025 (UTC) BrothaTimothy (talk · contribs) 01:21, 7 November 2025 (UTC)
True, but Chiari has a good point with "sources must explicitly attribute the genre to the work or artist as a whole" a couple songs in some genres does not making a artist of that. He does blend a lot of genres on his second album...but all in all they call it pop. Nevertheless, he is a funk artist at this point MarioSoulTruthFan (talk) 13:02, 7 November 2025 (UTC)
@InsiderChiari: and @BrothaTimothy: I went ahead and done some changes, please let me know if you are "ok" or if you want to adjust you can both do so. I tried to use most of the sources provided by Chiari except the biography one, not sure if it is reliable as a source. Please let me know something. MarioSoulTruthFan (talk) 18:01, 7 November 2025 (UTC)

I approve! BrothaTimothy (talk · contribs) 18:45, 7 November 2025 (UTC) BrothaTimothy (talk · contribs) 18:45, 7 November 2025 (UTC)
Yes, the changes are good. Thank you so much! InsiderChiari (talk) 22:08, 7 November 2025 (UTC)

Hello, I would like to request a minor change in regards to the full name displayed on his page, as official records and consistent reporting from multiple and reliable external sources confirm 'Peter Gene Bayot (that's his mother's maiden surname) Hernandez' as his true birth name. I'm quite confused to the addition of 'Eugene' there.
Sources:
An archive of ABC News article on his Vegas cocaine possession case, stating his full name:
https://6abc.com/archive/8509971/#:~:text=wpvi,eight%20hours%20of%20drug%20counseling.
His full name listed on his songs on the ASCAP database:
https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/writer/477487104/HERNANDEZ%20PETER%20GENE
Thanks in advance! Redformurder (talk) 07:39, 10 November 2025 (UTC)

It has to do with a user posting this source https://www.unart.ro/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/LISTA-TITULARI-DE-DREPTURI-UNART.pdf MarioSoulTruthFan (talk) 11:12, 10 November 2025 (UTC)
Oh, I see. It still feels like a discrepancy as that's seems to be the only one source that lists him with the 'Eugene' for a second name. I also forgot to attach this earlier, but as he also posted his very own learner's permit on his Instagram with his full name (with 'Gene' instead of 'Eugene') and own signature. But either way, thank you for the clarification in regards to the change.
Source for that learner's permit on his old Instagram post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxYGXj0HohZ/ Redformurder (talk) 14:34, 10 November 2025 (UTC)
Since most sources say Gene, I will edit that. Plus learner's permit if an official document. MarioSoulTruthFan (talk) 19:36, 10 November 2025 (UTC)