Bruno Mars is basically a tiny hat-wearing music machine who makes your mom dance at weddings. While everyone’s busy watching him slide across stages in loafers, they’re missing the real story: this pint-sized powerhouse has been secretly writing hits for half the music industry. Before he was collecting Grammys like Pokemon cards, Mars was manipulating our playlists like a musical puppet master.
18. Gold – Neon Hitch featuring Tyga
Remember when clubbing required actual pants instead of Zoom pajamas? Back in the early 2010s, “Gold” by Neon Hitch and Tyga had people dripping sweat on dance floors everywhere. The song hit number one on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart—which is like winning an Olympic medal for making drunk people jump up and down. Turns out, Bruno Mars was behind those lyrics you screamed while spilling vodka cranberry on strangers.
17. Perfect – Alexandra Burke
After Alexandra Burke won X-Factor (you know, back when reality shows actually launched careers instead of TikTok accounts), her debut album “Overcome” dropped with all the subtlety of a brick through a window. Hidden on the deluxe edition was “Perfect,” a track that should come with a warning label for potential ugly crying. Mars and his Smeezingtons crew snuck in and sprinkled their emotional fairy dust all over this ballad.
16. Endlessly – The Cab
Just when you thought Mars was strictly a pop hitmaker, he surprised everyone by venturing into rock territory. “Endlessly” from The Cab’s 2011 album “Symphony Soldier” proves Mars can head-bang with the best of them. This track had Bruno collaborating with Adam Levine and Pete Wentz—a supergroup so powerful it’s amazing skinny jeans sales didn’t triple that year.
15. Whenever You Call – Arashi
In 2020, while the rest of us were discovering the joy of baking banana bread and forgetting how to use pants with buttons, Japanese boy band Arashi was making global moves. “Whenever You Call” marked their first all-English single before they announced a hiatus that devastated fans across Asia. Mars and D’Mile swooped in like emotional support songwriters, crafting a track so perfectly bittersweet it’s practically musical tiramisu.
14. Long Distance – Brandy
Flashback to 2008: gas was expensive, the economy was tanking, and Bruno Mars hadn’t yet convinced the world that wearing fedoras indoors was acceptable behavior. While most future stars were still figuring out MySpace, Mars was already crafting emotional R&B for Brandy’s album “Human.” The story goes that Brandy heard Mars’ demo and immediately grabbed it faster than toilet paper in March 2020.
13. Rocketeer – Far East Movement featuring Ryan Tedder
Just as Mars was graduating from music’s intern program to actual pop star, he co-wrote “Rocketeer” for Far East Movement. The track featured OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, who’s basically the human equivalent of vocal vanilla extract—he makes everything taste better but nobody can quite identify him in a lineup. The song hit #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, which is the chart equivalent of getting a silver medal and everyone forgetting your name a week later.
12. Get Sexy – Sugababes
In 2009, the Sugababes—a British girl group with more lineup changes than a hospital during flu season—decided to reinvent themselves yet again. Mars and his writing buddy Philip Lawrence slipped into the studio like musical ninjas to craft “Get Sexy.” The track sampled Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy,” proving that even terrible ’90s novelty songs can be recycled like plastic bottles.
11. Lift Off – Jay-Z and Kanye West featuring Beyonce
Here’s some “Alternate Universe Music History”: Bruno Mars co-wrote “Lift Off” for Jay-Z and Kanye’s 2011 ego-fest “Watch the Throne” and was supposed to sing the hook. But then someone apparently said, “Hey, you know who might sound good on this? BEYONCÉ.” And just like that, Bruno got Beyoncé’d. It’s like preparing a gourmet meal only to have Gordon Ramsay walk in and take over your kitchen.
10. Hot Mess – Cobra Starship
Remember Cobra Starship? No? That’s fine. They were basically what would happen if you turned a Forever 21 store into a band. Their 2009 album “Hot Mess” featured a title track co-written by Mars, proving he was willing to work with literally anyone with access to skinny jeans and hair product. The song peaked at #64 on Billboard, which is like finishing middle of the pack in a high school talent show.
9. One Day – Matisyahu
In what might be the most unexpected musical crossover since the country-rap apocalypse of “Old Town Road,” Bruno Mars helped write a song for Hasidic Jewish reggae rapper Matisyahu. Let that sentence marinate for a second. “One Day” from Matisyahu’s 2009 album “Light” was apparently a last-minute addition, kind of like when you remember to add milk to your grocery list while already in the checkout line.
8. Wavin’ Flag – K’naan
Sometimes a song escapes the playlist ghetto and becomes a global anthem. K’naan’s “Wavin’ Flag,” co-written with Mars, evolved from regular song to worldwide phenomenon faster than you can say “corporate sponsorship.” When Coca-Cola got its marketing hands on it for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the track essentially became the unofficial national anthem of Planet Earth for about three months.
7. Can We Dance – The Vamps
In September 2013, British boy band The Vamps asked the world’s most unnecessary question with their single “Can We Dance.” Of course we can dance—the real question is whether we want to. Despite Mars lending his hit-making powers to the track, it couldn’t dethrone OneRepublic’s “Counting Stars” on the charts. It’s like bringing a water pistol to a Super Soaker fight.
6. Tears Always Win – Alicia Keys
When Alicia Keys and Bruno Mars combine forces, it’s like watching Gordon Ramsay and Julia Child make a sandwich together—unnecessarily talented people creating something simple yet perfect. “Tears Always Win” from Keys’ “Girl on Fire” album is basically emotional terrorism set to piano. Keys performed this Mars-penned heartbreaker on American Idol, causing millions of viewers to suddenly “have something in their eye.”
5. Never Close Our Eyes – Adam Lambert
While everyone was distracted by his leather pants and eyeliner application skills that would make a YouTube beauty guru jealous, Adam Lambert casually made history as the first openly gay artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200. Mars helped craft “Never Close Our Eyes,” the second single from Lambert’s groundbreaking album—because apparently being on American Idol and performing with Queen wasn’t enough gay anthem material.
4. Love Me – Justin Bieber
Back when Justin Bieber was just a Canadian child with questionable hair rather than a fully-formed controversy machine, “Love Me” helped cement his status as the boy who launched a thousand preteen screams. This iTunes exclusive track from his “My World” debut was one of those songs that made adults wonder if they were getting old or if music was getting worse (spoiler: both).
3. All I Ask – Adele
When Adele and Bruno Mars collaborate, it’s like watching two heavyweight champions of emotional manipulation tag-team your feelings. “All I Ask” from Adele’s “25” album (which sold more copies than there are people in some countries) wasn’t even released as a single, yet still managed to make people weep uncontrollably in their cars. It’s what happens when you combine Adele’s voice—which could make a shopping list sound like a Greek tragedy—with Mars’ songwriting skills.
2. Right Round – Flo Rida
In 2009, Flo Rida essentially kidnapped an ’80s one-hit-wonder, gave it a modern makeover, and forced it to make money for him. “Right Round” featured pre-dollar-sign Kesha before she became the glitter-soaked party philosopher we all know today. Mars and Philip Lawrence contributed to this cultural hijacking, which sampled Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round”—because why create something entirely new when you can just recycle the ’80s?
1. Forget You – Cee Lo Green
Let’s address the elephant in the room: “Forget You” is the sanitized title of a song that originally used a word you can’t say on network television or around your grandmother. This Cee Lo Green hit is basically what happens when someone breaks your heart and instead of crying, you decide to create a peppy, profanity-laden revenge anthem. Mars helped craft this masterclass in passive-aggressive pop, proving that the best revenge isn’t living well—it’s writing a catchy song that makes millions while your ex gets nothing.
