Almost a week after receiving several Grammy nominations, including Best Solo Performance and Record of the Year, Bruno Mars has received another major music honor. He has been named Billboard’s Artist of the Year. This was a big year for music. Justin Timberlake released two albums after a seven year hiatus, Beyonce put out a surprise album, and a couple groups, like Fall Out Boy and Postal Service, reunited. So Bruno Mars’ stellar year in music may have been overshadowed by other musical events. However, this does not negate his worthiness of the title.
In their announcement column, Billboard discusses why Mars deserves to be their artist of the year. Besides his sophomore album, Unorthodox Jukebox, receiving critical praise, it’s been a big chart hit. His song “Locked out of Heaven” stayed number 1 on the Billboard charts for six weeks. His other major singles, “Treasure” and “When I was your Man”, also graced the top ten songs Billboard chart.
Unorthodox Jukebox debuted in the number 2 spot on the Billboard 200 after it’s release last December. It remained in the top twenty albums until September of 2013. Unorthodox Jukebox currently has sold 1.8 million copies.
Besides the numbers game, Mars has sold out arenas all across North America on his current tour. He plans to take his tour global next year. Mars may not have spurred social media buzz like other artists this year, but he has remained a major presence. After every major award show performance, he has created some Twitter trending topics.
What makes Billboard’s announcement sweeter is that it comes a couple days after Unorthodox Jukebox’s one-year release anniversary.
Bruno Mars shows his excitement below in his response to Billboard announcing his win
@billboard Ayyyyyyyyyyyy!!!! Thank you guys
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) December 13, 2013
Bruno Mars will start next year off strong as well by performing at the Super Bowl’s half-time show.
Though Mars winning Billboard’s Artist of Year title is sure to cause some controversy, Mars’ talent and success proves him a worthy recipient.
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