{"id":568256,"date":"2026-03-29T08:21:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T08:21:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/568256\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T08:21:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T08:21:50","slug":"will-mediocre-reviews-impact-bruno-mars-the-romantic-at-the-grammys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/568256\/","title":{"rendered":"Will mediocre reviews impact Bruno Mars’ The Romantic at the Grammys?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bruno Mars<\/a> is a Grammy golden child, a hands-down favorite of the Recording Academy, with 16 trophies off 36 nominations, including multiple in Song, Record and Album of the Year. All four of his eligible studio albums, whether solo or with Silk Sonic, have won at least one Grammy, and he has also had winning collaborations with artists like Mark Ronson, Adele, and Lady Gaga. This year, Mars is hoping for another successful run with his fourth solo studio album, The Romantic, his follow-up to 2016\u2019s 24K Magic. But could the mixed reception to The Romantic be its downfall come Grammy time?<\/p>\n

At first blush, The Romantic appears to be an unqualified success, shooting to No. 1 on the Billboard 200<\/a> and spawning two No. 1 singles so far, “I Just Might” and “Risk It All.” But digging deeper, there are signs that this Mars era might not be as inevitable as its predecessors.<\/p>\n

\"LOS<\/a> \"LOS<\/a> <\/p>\n

Take the lead single, “I Just Might.”<\/a> The song is currently in the Top 10 of the Hot 100, thanks to strong radio play, but it has already fallen out <\/a>of the Streaming Songs Top 10 after just 10 weeks \u2014 a signal that fans no longer have the track in heavy rotation. The follow-up, \u201cRisk It All,\u201d has the opposite issue \u2014 strong on streaming, but slow on radio \u2014 and fell out of the top slot on the global charts<\/a> after just one week. Compare that to his recent string of hits. \u201cLeave the Door Open,\u201d \u201cApt.,\u201d and especially \u201cDie With a Smile\u201d all had longer runs in the Top 5 and remained consistent on domestic and global charts. Likewise, The Romantic managed just a single week at No. 1 before sliding out; whereas 24K Magic moved more than 200,000 first-week units in 2016. The Romantic managed just 186,000.<\/p>\n

Critics haven’t been overly enthused by the package, which has received some of the roughest reviews of his career. Mars felt the need to respond<\/a> after a viral social media critique suggested he hadn’t evolved as an artist, but many critics had a similar assessment. Pitchfork’s Brittany Spanos called the album<\/a> “sleek and professional” but also “risk-averse.” It has a 66 rating on Metacritic<\/a>, ranking as the 54th best album of the year.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Given that the Grammys<\/a> are all about perception and momentum, this could be a detriment to Mars’ awards hopes. It’s rare that an album with a Metacritic score in that range has been competitive. Even when albums with similar ratings have made it in to the Pop Vocal Album field \u2014 like Ed Sheeran\u2019s -, Justin Bieber\u2019s Swag, and Coldplay\u2019s Music of the Spheres \u2014 they were all ranked low in the odds and not seriously considered a threat to the favorites and eventual winners.<\/p>\n

The question is whether the Recording Academy can quit Mars. There is a considerable number of voters who like his throwback sound, rich old-school arrangements, and crisp production anchored on live instrumentation. And the Grammys are peer-voted awards, not critic-voted. That should be enough for him to get key nominations. Per the latest Gold Derby prediction data, Mars is favored to pick up nominations for Album of the Year, and both Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “I Just Might.”<\/p>\n

Album of the Year Record of the Year Song of the Year New Artist <\/p>\n

1.<\/p>\n

\"Olivia <\/p>\n

2.<\/p>\n

\"Bruno <\/p>\n

3.<\/p>\n

\"taylor <\/p>\n

4.<\/p>\n

\"Harry <\/p>\n

5.<\/p>\n

\"Rosalia-sq\" <\/p>\n

6.<\/p>\n

\"Olivia <\/p>\n

7.<\/p>\n

\"raye <\/p>\n

8.<\/p>\n

\"brandi <\/p>\n

9.<\/p>\n

\"Kacey <\/p>\n

10.<\/p>\n

\"Kehlani-sq\" <\/p>\n

11.<\/p>\n

\"Lana <\/p>\n

12.<\/p>\n

\"noah <\/p>\n

13.<\/p>\n

\"Lily <\/p>\n

14.<\/p>\n

\"Tame <\/p>\n

15.<\/p>\n

\"BTS\" <\/p>\n

16.<\/p>\n

\"Geese\" <\/p>\n

17.<\/p>\n

\"Cardi <\/p>\n

18.<\/p>\n

\"Zara <\/p>\n

19.<\/p>\n

\"jacob <\/p>\n

20.<\/p>\n

\"pinkpantheress <\/p>\n

21.<\/p>\n

\"justin <\/p>\n

22.<\/p>\n

\"ella <\/p>\n

23.<\/p>\n

\"Paul <\/p>\n

24.<\/p>\n

\"Nas\" <\/p>\n

25.<\/p>\n

\"doja <\/p>\n

26.<\/p>\n

\"florence <\/p>\n

27.<\/p>\n

\"Mumford <\/p>\n

28.<\/p>\n

\"Robyn\" <\/p>\n

29.<\/p>\n

\"Mavis <\/p>\n

30.<\/p>\n

\"Mariah <\/p>\n

31.<\/p>\n

\"Gorillaz\" <\/p>\n

32.<\/p>\n

\"Luke <\/p>\n

33.<\/p>\n

\"mitski\" <\/p>\n

34.<\/p>\n

\"charli <\/p>\n

35.<\/p>\n

\"Twenty <\/p>\n

36.<\/p>\n

\"tyla <\/p>\n

37.<\/p>\n

\"Jill <\/p>\n

38.<\/p>\n

\"kelsea <\/p>\n

39.<\/p>\n

\"Portugal. <\/p>\n

40.<\/p>\n

\"ASAP <\/p>\n

41.<\/p>\n

\"Ringo <\/p>\n

42.<\/p>\n

\"nathy <\/p>\n

43.<\/p>\n

\"Mon-Laferte-sq\" <\/p>\n

44.<\/p>\n

\"J-Cole-sq\" <\/p>\n

45.<\/p>\n

\"Megan <\/p>\n

46.<\/p>\n

\"Jade\" <\/p>\n

47.<\/p>\n

\"james <\/p>\n

48.<\/p>\n

\"Willie <\/p>\n

49.<\/p>\n

\"Madison <\/p>\n

50.<\/p>\n

\"zach <\/p>\n

51.<\/p>\n

\"niall<\/p>\n

Niall Horan<\/p>\n

ABC<\/p>\n

52.<\/p>\n

\"David<\/p>\n

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 09: David Byrne attends the “The Testament of Ann Lee” New York special screening at Crosby Hotel on December 09, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Valerie Terranova\/Getty Images for Searchlight Pictures)<\/p>\n

Valerie Terranova\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

53.<\/p>\n

\"demi<\/p>\n

demi lovato sq abc<\/p>\n

ABC\/Randy Holmes<\/p>\n

54.<\/p>\n

\"Blackpink-sq\"<\/p>\n

Blackpink sq<\/p>\n

YG Entertainment<\/p>\n

55.<\/p>\n

\"Silvana<\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 1: Silvana Estrada attends Variety’s 2024 GRAMMY Celebration at Mes Amis on February 1, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Elyse Jankowski\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Elyse Jankowski\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

56.<\/p>\n

\"death<\/p>\n

death cab for cutie sq pmc<\/p>\n

Fairchild Archive\/Penske Media<\/p>\n

57.<\/p>\n

\"Dave<\/p>\n

Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters<\/p>\n

Andy Keilen for Rolling Stone<\/p>\n

58.<\/p>\n

\"Summer<\/p>\n

Summer Walker<\/p>\n

NBC<\/p>\n

59.<\/p>\n

\"illenium\"<\/p>\n

illenium<\/p>\n

imageSPACE \/ MEGA<\/p>\n

60.<\/p>\n

\"Zayn\"<\/p>\n

Zayn<\/p>\n

Stephen Lovekin\/Variety<\/p>\n

61.<\/p>\n

\"Leon<\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 30: (L-R) Leon Thomas III and Ty Dolla Sign attend the 2024 BET Awards at Peacock Theater on June 30, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Bennett Raglin\/Getty Images for BET)<\/p>\n

Bennett Raglin\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

62.<\/p>\n

\"Ed<\/p>\n

Ed Sheeran sq<\/p>\n

Mark Surridge\/Ed Sheeran<\/p>\n

63.<\/p>\n

\"Ari<\/p>\n

Ari Lennox<\/p>\n

Michael Buckner\/Variety<\/p>\n

64.<\/p>\n

\"arlo<\/p>\n

arlo parks<\/p>\n

NBC<\/p>\n

65.<\/p>\n

\"big<\/p>\n

big thief sq getty<\/p>\n

Emma McIntyre\/Getty Images for FYF<\/p>\n

66.<\/p>\n

\"celeste\"<\/p>\n

celeste<\/p>\n

ABC<\/p>\n

67.<\/p>\n

\"charlie<\/p>\n

charlie puth sq pmc<\/p>\n

Gilbert Flores for Variety<\/p>\n

68.<\/p>\n

\"daniel<\/p>\n

daniel caesar sq pmc<\/p>\n

Brian Friedman for Variety<\/p>\n

69.<\/p>\n

\"danny<\/p>\n

danny brown sq pmc<\/p>\n

Coen Rees for Rolling Stone<\/p>\n

70.<\/p>\n

\"de<\/p>\n

Madison McGaw\/BFA\/REX\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

71.<\/p>\n

\"don<\/p>\n

don toliver sq pmc<\/p>\n

Gilbert Flores for Billboard<\/p>\n

72.<\/p>\n

\"offset<\/p>\n

offset sq pmc<\/p>\n

Christopher Polk for Variety<\/p>\n

73.<\/p>\n

\"fka<\/p>\n

FKA Twigs at the premiere of \u201cThe Crow\u201d held at The Village East by Angelika on August 20, 2024 in New York City.<\/p>\n

John Nacion\/Variety<\/p>\n

74.<\/p>\n

\"khalid\"<\/p>\n

khalid<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Grace Pickering\/Khalid<\/p>\n

75.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

NBC<\/p>\n

76.<\/p>\n

\"King<\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 30: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) King Princess attends the 2026 MusiCares Person of the Year Honoring Mariah Carey at Los Angeles Convention Center on January 30, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Frazer Harrison\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

77.<\/p>\n

\"the<\/p>\n

the last dinner party<\/p>\n

Leonn Ward<\/p>\n

78.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 08: The Alchemist attends BET Hip Hop Awards 2024 at Drai\u2019s Beach Club \u2013 Nightclub at The Cromwell Las Vegas on October 08, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mindy Small\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Mindy Small\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

79.<\/p>\n

\"Madison<\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 02: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Madison Cunningham attends the 67th GRAMMY Awards on February 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Frazer Harrison\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

80.<\/p>\n

\"megan<\/p>\n

megan moroney sq pmc<\/p>\n

Christopher Polk for Variety<\/p>\n

Album of the Year Record of the Year Song of the Year New Artist <\/p>\n

1.<\/p>\n

\"Olivia <\/p>\n

2.<\/p>\n

\"taylor <\/p>\n

3.<\/p>\n

\"raye <\/p>\n

4.<\/p>\n

\"Bruno <\/p>\n

5.<\/p>\n

\"Harry <\/p>\n

6.<\/p>\n

\"pinkpantheress<\/p>\n

PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson <\/p>\n

7.<\/p>\n

\"ella <\/p>\n

8.<\/p>\n

\"Rosalia-sq\"<\/p>\n

Rosalia, Bjork, Yves Tumor <\/p>\n

9.<\/p>\n

\"sabrinaa <\/p>\n

10.<\/p>\n

\"Tame <\/p>\n

11.<\/p>\n

\"brandi <\/p>\n

12.<\/p>\n

\"Bruce <\/p>\n

13.<\/p>\n

\"noah <\/p>\n

14.<\/p>\n

\"BTS\" <\/p>\n

15.<\/p>\n

\"Lady <\/p>\n

16.<\/p>\n

\"Bruno <\/p>\n

17.<\/p>\n

\"u2 <\/p>\n

18.<\/p>\n

\"Sienna <\/p>\n

19.<\/p>\n

\"doechii <\/p>\n

20.<\/p>\n

\"Kacey <\/p>\n

21.<\/p>\n

\"Rosalia-sq\"<\/p>\n

Rosalia, Yahritza y Su Esencia <\/p>\n

22.<\/p>\n

\"Olivia <\/p>\n

23.<\/p>\n

\"doja <\/p>\n

24.<\/p>\n

\"sabrinaa <\/p>\n

25.<\/p>\n

\"Cardi <\/p>\n

26.<\/p>\n

\"Robyn\" <\/p>\n

27.<\/p>\n

\"Paul <\/p>\n

28.<\/p>\n

\"Huntr\/X\" <\/p>\n

29.<\/p>\n

\"niall <\/p>\n

30.<\/p>\n

\"florence <\/p>\n

31.<\/p>\n

\"Zayn\" <\/p>\n

32.<\/p>\n

\"Mariah <\/p>\n

33.<\/p>\n

\"tyla <\/p>\n

34.<\/p>\n

\"KATSEYE\" <\/p>\n

35.<\/p>\n

\"Dave <\/p>\n

36.<\/p>\n

\"tate <\/p>\n

37.<\/p>\n

\"Lil <\/p>\n

38.<\/p>\n

\"Megan <\/p>\n

39.<\/p>\n

\"Blackpink-sq\" <\/p>\n

40.<\/p>\n

\"death <\/p>\n

41.<\/p>\n

\"Sienna <\/p>\n

42.<\/p>\n

\"Tems\" <\/p>\n

43.<\/p>\n

\"illenium\" <\/p>\n

44.<\/p>\n

\"lainey <\/p>\n

45.<\/p>\n

\"EsDeeKid\" <\/p>\n

46.<\/p>\n

\"david<\/p>\n

David Guetta, Teddy Swims, Tones and I <\/p>\n

Album of the Year Record of the Year Song of the Year New Artist <\/p>\n

1.<\/p>\n

\"Olivia <\/p>\n

2.<\/p>\n

\"taylor <\/p>\n

3.<\/p>\n

\"raye <\/p>\n

4.<\/p>\n

\"Bruno <\/p>\n

5.<\/p>\n

\"ella <\/p>\n

6.<\/p>\n

\"Harry <\/p>\n

7.<\/p>\n

\"pinkpantheress<\/p>\n

PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson <\/p>\n

8.<\/p>\n

\"Kacey <\/p>\n

9.<\/p>\n

\"Bruce <\/p>\n

10.<\/p>\n

\"Rosalia-sq\"<\/p>\n

Rosalia, Bjork, Yves Tumor <\/p>\n

11.<\/p>\n

\"Sienna <\/p>\n

12.<\/p>\n

\"brandi <\/p>\n

13.<\/p>\n

\"sabrinaa <\/p>\n

14.<\/p>\n

\"u2 <\/p>\n

15.<\/p>\n

\"Bruno <\/p>\n

16.<\/p>\n

\"noah <\/p>\n

17.<\/p>\n

\"Tame <\/p>\n

18.<\/p>\n

\"Lady <\/p>\n

19.<\/p>\n

\"BTS\" <\/p>\n

20.<\/p>\n

\"doechii <\/p>\n

21.<\/p>\n

\"Rosalia-sq\"<\/p>\n

Rosalia, Yahritza y Su Esencia <\/p>\n

22.<\/p>\n

\"Olivia <\/p>\n

23.<\/p>\n

\"Robyn\" <\/p>\n

24.<\/p>\n

\"Paul <\/p>\n

25.<\/p>\n

\"sabrinaa <\/p>\n

26.<\/p>\n

\"david<\/p>\n

David Guetta, Teddy Swims, Tones and I <\/p>\n

27.<\/p>\n

\"doja <\/p>\n

28.<\/p>\n

\"Cardi <\/p>\n

29.<\/p>\n

\"lainey <\/p>\n

30.<\/p>\n

\"niall <\/p>\n

31.<\/p>\n

\"Megan <\/p>\n

32.<\/p>\n

\"Dave <\/p>\n

33.<\/p>\n

\"florence <\/p>\n

34.<\/p>\n

\"death <\/p>\n

35.<\/p>\n

\"tate <\/p>\n

36.<\/p>\n

\"Huntr\/X\" <\/p>\n

37.<\/p>\n

\"tyla <\/p>\n

38.<\/p>\n

\"Zayn\" <\/p>\n

39.<\/p>\n

\"EsDeeKid\" <\/p>\n

40.<\/p>\n

\"Tems\" <\/p>\n

41.<\/p>\n

\"Sienna <\/p>\n

42.<\/p>\n

\"KATSEYE\" <\/p>\n

43.<\/p>\n

\"Lil <\/p>\n

44.<\/p>\n

\"Mariah <\/p>\n

45.<\/p>\n

\"Blackpink-sq\" <\/p>\n

46.<\/p>\n

\"illenium\" <\/p>\n

But given the expanded demographics of the Recording Academy, with an influx of hipper, younger, more diverse members in recent years, there’s a chance Mars could see a rerun of the past few ceremonies. The monster hit \u201cDie With a Smile\u201d seemed like a shoo-in for Song of the Year in 2025, yet lost to Kendrick Lamar\u2019s \u201cNot Like Us.\u201d This year, Mars’ big collab with Ros\u00e9 on \u201cApt.\u201d failed to win anything, losing even its genre category to Wicked’s \u201cDefying Gravity,\u201d which was considered a longshot<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Based on the current landscape, expect Mars to get a handful of nods, but don’t be surprised if he joins the recent batch of A-list artists who have left empty-handed despite big nomination hauls, like Sabrina Carpenter in 2026, Taylor Swift in 2025, Olivia Rodrigo in 2024, and Justin Bieber in 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bruno Mars is a Grammy golden child, a hands-down favorite of the Recording Academy, with 16 trophies off…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":568257,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[218720,22513,49,48,75,51892,341],"class_list":{"0":"post-568256","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-2027-grammys","9":"tag-bruno-mars","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-grammys","14":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/568257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}