![\"Bruno](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/P103YSEU-e1772167002121.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSee how we break Mars’ new album all the way down, down, down… <\/p>\n
\t2\/27\/2026\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tBruno Mars performs onstage at the 68th GRAMMY Awards held at the Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 1, 2026, in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChristopher Polk\/Billboard<\/p>\n
\n\tIt\u2019s been a long wait for Bruno Mars<\/a>\u2018 new album The Romantic: five years since his An Evening With Silk Sonic team-up with Anderson .Paak and 10 years (!!) since his most recent solo album 24k Magic. But this Friday (Feb. 27), Bruno is finally back, with a nine-track effort designed to wrap Valentine\u2019s Month with a lush collection of love songs to make his \u201970s and \u201980s (mostly \u201970s this time around) forebearers proud. (And just in case anyone was skeptical Mars could still do it in 2026 \u2014 yeah, right \u2014 the set arrives already with one minted Billboard Hot 100<\/a> smash in the No. 1-debuting \u201cI Just Might.\u201d)<\/p>\n \n\tWhile past Bruno Mars albums have worked his influences into more obviously modern sonic trappings, or looked back on the lyrical tropes of bygone soul and pop artists back with a bit of a wink, The Romantic might be his most straightforward throwback yet \u2014\u00a0loving, full-throated tributes to Philly soul and quiet storm, with a bit of Latin rock thrown in as well. Some songs lift specific vibes from classics by beloved hitmakers like The O\u2019Jays, Curtis Mayfield and Santana, while others just internalize lessons learned from those artists for Mars\u2019 own submissions to their canon. <\/p>\n \n\tJust nine new songs after five (or 10) years might not feel like a lot \u2014 eight, if you don\u2019t count \u201cI Just Might\u201d \u2014\u00a0but Mars is intent on making them count. See how Billboard ranks the tracks from the flop-proof pop superstar\u2019s sure-to-be hit new album below. <\/p>\n \t\u201cNothing Left\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tA rare breakup song on The Romantic \u2014 or at least a \u201cfire don\u2019t burn the way it used to\u201d song \u2014\u00a0\u201cNothing Left\u201d<\/a> is effective enough, but a little nondescript by Mars\u2019 standards. The lyric is calling out either for a much more stripped-down arrangement or for totally blown-out power ballad bombast, but it gets caught a little in the middle on this penultimate album track.<\/p>\n \t\u201cGod Was Showing Off\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tSome good lines \u2014\u00a0\u201cIs \u2018Heaven\u2019 your name\/ Or is it \u2018Divine\u2019?\/ Don\u2019t matter, girl, it\u2019s gonna look good next to mine\u201d is probably best of the bunch \u2014\u00a0and a two-chord groove reminiscent of a dreamier \u201cSoulful Strut\u201d is never a bad idea. But \u201cGod Was Showing Off\u201d<\/a> could\u2019ve probably used a little more funk to sell its cheesier lyrical absurdities \u2014\u00a0and it also could\u2019ve stood to stretch some of those a little farther in the first place \u00a0\u2014 rather than committing to a completely straight-faced sweet soul arrangement.<\/p>\n \t\u201cWhy You Wanna Fight\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tA bit \u201cLeave the Door Open\u201d<\/a> redux musically \u2014\u00a0right down to the xylophone that traces the string melody, like that Silk Sonic single deployed so expertly. But the guitar work helps give this one a bit more of its own distinctive character, fuzzy and piercing in the intro, and then moaning like Rose Royce\u2019s \u201cI\u2019m Going Down\u201d<\/a> on the verses.<\/p>\n \t\u201cDance With Me\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe Romantic\u2018s closer<\/a> ends things on a pleasant note, eschewing the \u201970s soul signifiers of most of the album and flashing back much further to Mars\u2019 original Doo-Wops influences with its sweet harmonies, lilting strings and straightforwardly urgent lyrics. It\u2019s nothing revelatory, but it\u2019s a successful vocal showcase, and should leave listeners with the right feeling \u2014\u00a0both at the end of the album, and perhaps at the end of live dates on his upcoming stadium tour. <\/p>\n \t\u201cRisk It All\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe opener to The Romantic<\/a> starts off with near-mariachi trumpet and balladic strings, with Bruno Mars almost sounding like Marc Anthony as he croons over lightly brushed drums and gently plucked acoustics: \u201cI would run through a fire\/ Just to be by your side.\u201d It\u2019s Mars\u2019 most tender love song yet \u2014 also his most dramatic opener since Unorthodox Jukebox\u2018s \u201cYoung Girls\u201d<\/a> \u2014\u00a0and you could definitely see it becoming a couples-cam live highlight.<\/p>\n \t\u201cOn My Soul\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tCan Bruno Mars interest you in his spin on<\/a> Curtis Mayfield\u2019s \u201cMove on Up\u201d<\/a>? Of course he can: Few, if any soul-pop songs in history have had superior vibes, and Mars is expert tributist enough that he nails the details \u2014 the racing drums and backing bongos, the tension-building guitars and righteous horns \u2014 without being so heavy-handed with it that you feel like you\u2019re listening to a not-so-thinly-disguised cover. And the breakdown section, where he and his band trade wordless exhortations, take things to the next level just when you hope they would. <\/p>\n \t\u201cSomething Serious\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMixing together a blend of slithering grooves from a pair of \u201970s Latin rock classics \u2014\u00a0War\u2019s \u201cLow Rider\u201d<\/a> and Santana\u2019s cover<\/a> of Tito Puente\u2019s \u201cOye Como Va\u201d \u2014\u00a0Mars hits on a new strain of throwback for him on \u201cSomething Serious,\u201d<\/a> and a particularly smart and fun one. He sounds like he\u2019s having an absolute blast belting \u201cYou should be my boo thing\/ I should be your mans!\u201d over the cowbell and clipped horns. Live, you could definitely see them stretching the breakdown section out to several minutes and multiple solos, whipping the crowd into a frenzy in the process. <\/p>\n \t\u201cI Just Might\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWhile Mars\u2019 return solo single might\u2019ve underwhelmed some hoping for a brand new direction for the pop superstar, a month or so on we can all properly acknowledge that what \u201cI Just Might\u201d<\/a> lacks in surprises, it more than makes up for in satisfaction. Coming as the third track on The Romantic, it sounds like the album really hitting its stride \u2014 and just from the intro, you feel like you\u2019ve been dancing to its guitar chops and sashaying hi-hats at weddings already for your entire life.<\/p>\n \t\u201cCha Cha Cha\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cGot my lemon pepper steppers on, ooh girl, you\u2019re in trouble tonight,\u201d Mars and his Hooligans backing band warn over tapping drums and sweetly uneasy strings on \u201cCha Cha Cha.\u201d<\/a> The musical reference point here is clearly the lushly ominous Philly soul of The O\u2019Jays\u2019 \u201cBack Stabbers\u201d<\/a> \u2014\u00a0right down to the dramatic pause and full-band grunt that leads into the chorus \u2014\u00a0but of course the vibe here isn\u2019t nearly as paranoid as that classic of soul skepticism, instead using a well-plotted Juvenile lift<\/a> to capture sweaty dancefloor rapture, before the groove takes flight into pure disco ecstasy in the final minute. Nobody can thread all of this together quite like Bruno Mars.<\/p>\n \t<\/p>\n \t<\/a><\/p>\n Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tThe Daily\t\t<\/p>\n A daily briefing on what matters in the music industry<\/p>\n \t\tBy providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use<\/a> and our Privacy Policy<\/a>.
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