WHERE THE STAGE NAME “BRUNO MARS” COMES FROM
Born Peter Gene Hernandez, the singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and dancer has the nickname Bruno for almost his entire life. This is because as a toddler, he looked like the famous wrestler Bruno Sammartino. Later on, he adopted the Mars surname because Bruno Hernandez wasn’t cutting it in the music world. Record labels wanted to make him the next Enrique Iglesias and perform Latin music. He figured out that the way to avoid being stereotyped was to sound as coming from a different planet.
BRUNO MARS IN A NUTSHELL
Born: October 8, 1985, in Honolulu, Hawaii, 
Active: since 2004
Instruments: vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, drums
Genres: R&B, Funk, Pop, Soul, Reggae, Rock, Hip hop
Greatest hit: Uptown Funk! (2015) – Charted: 1 during 14 consecutive weeks.
