Bruno Mars Returns After Decade
After nearly a decade since his last solo album, Bruno Mars is back with *The Romantic*, released on Atlantic Records. The new album explores pop and R&B themes of love and vulnerability, earning early critical attention. His last solo effort was *24K Magic* in 2016, making this his most anticipated release in years.
While it has been nearly a decade since his last solo album, Mars has been far from quiet. In 2021, he formed the superduo Silk Sonic with Anderson .Paak, releasing the critically acclaimed album *An Evening with Silk Sonic*. The project was born from a jam session while the two were touring together in 2017. In the last few years, Mars also dominated the charts with several high-profile collaborations. His 2024 duet with Lady Gaga, "Die With a Smile," became the fastest song to reach one billion streams on Spotify, while "APT." with BLACKPINK's Rosé was named the biggest-selling global single of 2025. These releases helped Mars become the first artist to surpass 150 million monthly listeners on Spotify in January 2025. For *The Romantic*, Mars re-teamed with producer D'Mile, who also worked on the Silk Sonic album. The new nine-song project was recorded with a live band and draws on a diverse range of sounds, including mariachi, disco, and cha-cha. The album's lead single, "I Just Might," gave Mars his tenth career No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 and marked his first-ever song to debut at the top spot. To support the new record, Mars has announced an extensive 71-show tour scheduled to run from April to October 2026 across North America and Europe.
