‘THE BEST THAT I GOT’
Bruno Mars was on a roll when he recorded his first TV special
Bruno Mars:
24K Magic Live at the Apollo Wednesday, CBS
For his first television special, Bruno Mars was determined to find a suitable venue.
So to showcase his third album, 24K Magic, he recorded the live performance at the Apollo Theater in New York’s Harlem — which he calls “a magical place” — because of its rich history in music and pop culture.
“I remember growing up watching Showtime at the Apollo before X Factor and American Idol — that was the singing competition show. It was pretty cutthroat.
“Either you got it and they would cheer you on, or you don’t and they’ll boo you off the stage,” he said.
“And that’s just Entertainment 101, and you feel that when you get into that theatre. This is where it all begins, it feels like.”
But it takes plenty of time and effort. “It’s never going to be right the first time to do it,” Mars said in an interview from South America, where he’s touring. “By the time we got to film at the Apollo, we were already a well-oiled machine. People are going to get the best that I got.”
Mars performed the title track from his album on top of the Apollo marquee. He also filmed various scenes throughout New York City, from eating at hot spots to meeting his fans.
“The coolest part about that was the locals in Harlem, holding their arms out for you, (saying), ‘Yo, Bruno, welcome to Harlem.’ ”
The last year for the 32-year-old has continued to push him to superstardom: 24K Magic reached double platinum status, topping two million in sales, while the song That’s What I Like hit the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It’s the year’s top R&B song.
This month he won five Soul Train Awards and seven American Music Awards, including artist of the year. Mars picked up video of the year at the BET Awards, shared with Beyoncé, and won his fifth Grammy Award earlier this year.
He also picked up six Grammy nominations on Tuesday.
“Awards show — I don’t know where it’s going to swing,” he said. “It’s awesome ... I feel like people understand what I’m doing and what I’m trying to do and what I stand for when it comes to everything — the music, the videos, I work hard for this (expletive).”
Mars said he feels good about the work he put in to create the ’90s R&B-inspired album.
“You can go crazy in the studio (and) start second-guessing,” he said. “That’s What I Like — I’m listening to it for over a year to make sure it’s all right and then we put it out and luckily it did what it did.
“It just confirms that I’m not crazy, maybe. It’s just nice that the work I put in the studio, it translated and I just got to remember that going into the next project.”