Just when we were all wondering where in the world Bruno Mars went off to, the pop singer has reemerged! This time, he has a collaborator: Mars announced last week that a new album he made with Anderson .Paak is on its way. The duo has called themselves Silk Sonic and released their first single, "Leave the Door Open," last week.
It's all very abrupt, but after Mars' last record, the full-of-bops "24K Magic," we're just glad to have him back (though nothing beats his 2010 debut "Doo-Wops & Hooligans").
And he's glad to be back, too. So much so that he's campaigning for himself to perform at the Grammy Awards, which air March 14. Mars, who has 10 Grammys himself, took to Twitter to plead his case to the Recording Academy, and while I'd like to think it was done as kind of a joke, I...think he's totally serious in his blatant desperation.
I mean, damn, Bruno. Have you no pride?
It's a little last minute, too. The awards show announced its performance line-up yesterday, but we assume that this list has been finalized for some time, at least, so the show and artists could prepare appropriately. Not to mention all the social distancing measures the show is likely implementing; that all takes some time, too. Does Mars even have a case here? I'm not sure how much weight promising not to be "extra" is given.
Nevertheless, fans around the world came to support Silk Sonic, making the band trend on Twitter. Still no word from the Recording Academy, though, no matter how many times they've been tagged. Mars and .Paak also did what I hope is a bit on Twitter where they sent each other the list of performers and acted flabbergasted that they weren't on there.
It's all very...strange. And cringey.
Meanwhile, the actual performance line-up is looking spicy. Top talent to look out for? Cardi B, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Harry Styles, Megan Thee Stallion and Taylor Swift, with a fresh mix of genres with the inclusion of Brandi Carlisle, Maren Morris, Post Malone and Bad Bunny.
Catch you at the next Grammys, Bruno.