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Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010)

Where the lyrics of Doo-Wops & Hooligans take you, and where it was really made.

Bruno Mars's debut album was named to split its audience: doo-wops for the girls, hooligans for the guys.

Key places

Mixing at Larrabee Studios (2010)

Recording site Larrabee Sound Studios — Manny Marroquin mixed the album at Larrabee Studios in early September 2010, before its October release. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Doo-Wops & Hooligans: debut studio album by Bruno Mars
• Released 4 October 2010 by Atlantic and Elektra Records
• Available to listen online before the official release, from 24 September 2010
• Title chosen to reflect simplicity and appeal to both men and women
• Lyrics mix carefree optimism with failed relationships, pain and loneliness
• Styles: pop, reggae pop and R&B, with soul and rock influences

Background

• Followed the EP It's Better If You Don't Understand
• The Smeezingtons, a trio of Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine, began the album after the hit singles Nothin' on You and Billionaire
• Original deadline was six months, later cut to one month
• Producers included Needlz, Supa Dups and Jeff Bhasker
• Mars explained the title: doo-wops are for the girls, hooligans for the guys
• Mars grew up listening to his father, who loved doo-wop music

Recording

• Early September 2010: mixing by Manny Marroquin at Larrabee Studios
• Needlz and Khalil Walton helped compose Just the Way You Are by exchanging files
• The Lazy Song was inspired by a lack of song ideas and a disinclination to work
• Marry You was drawn from a spontaneous marriage in Las Vegas, according to Lawrence
• The bonus track Somewhere in Brooklyn was inspired by Mars's father and New York

Cover

• Artwork designed by Nick Bilardello
• Ranked 31st on Complex's 50 Best Pop Album Covers of the Past Five Years list in November 2013

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Artist

Early life

• Born Peter Gene Hernandez on October 8, 1985 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
• Raised in a musical family; performed with the family band the Love Notes from age four.
• Gained recognition in Hawaii as an Elvis Presley impersonator as a child.
• Nicknamed Bruno by his father; stage name also adopted to avoid stereotyping.

Career

• Moved to Los Angeles in 2003; became a songwriter and producer with the Smeezingtons.
• Breakthrough came with featured spots on B.o.B's "Nothin' on You" (2009), a US number-one.
• Debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010) was followed by Unorthodox Jukebox (2012) and 24K Magic (2016), which won Album of the Year.
• Silk Sonic with Anderson .Paak released An Evening with Silk Sonic (2021).
• Known for a three-octave tenor range, retro showmanship, and his band the Hooligans.
• Solo album The Romantic was released in 2026.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Entertainment Weekly: Leah Greenblatt gave a B+ grade, praising instant-access melodies and creamy productions
• Consequence: Alex Young gave a B- grade, calling the vocals gold
• Rolling Stone: Jody Rosen gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and called it the year's finest debut
• The Guardian: Alexis Petridis gave 2 out of 5 stars, citing a saccharine sound and weak lyrics
• AllMusic: Tim Sendra gave 3 out of 5 stars, praising the laid-back grooves but finding quality dropped when the tempo rose
• Slant Magazine: Eric Henderson gave 2.5 out of 5 stars, saying it wore out its welcome halfway through
• Reviews were generally favorable overall; Metacritic averaged 61 from 13 reviews

Reappraisal

• Billboard's Kyle Denis (September 2024) said several deep cuts were not promoted as US radio singles, including Runaway Baby, Count on Me, Marry You and Talking to The Moon
• About.com's Bill Lamb and Rolling Stone's Jody Rosen both named it one of the year's best debut albums

Records

• Peaked at number three on the Billboard 200
• Topped the charts in Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom
• Certified nine-times platinum by the RIAA, nine-times platinum by RMNZ, eight-times platinum by ARIA and BPI, and diamond by Music Canada
• Over 15 million copies sold worldwide as of 2020
• Grammy: Just the Way You Are won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards; the album received five nominations at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album's standard edition was released in the US on 4 October 2010, and a deluxe edition added a remix of Just the Way You Are featuring Lupe Fiasco.
• The music video for The Lazy Song is a single long shot of Mars playing with five monkeys; an alternate video features Leonard Nimoy on his lazy daily routine.
• The bonus track Somewhere in Brooklyn was only released in Germany as a promotional single before appearing on several editions of the album.
• Atlantic Records announced the tenth anniversary celebration on 2 October 2020, with remastered 4K music videos and six new lyric videos.
• Mars's first headlining concert tour, the Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour, promoted the album from November 2010.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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