With three sentences, Bruno Mars sent a ripple of excitement throughout the music world. “We locked in and made an album. The band’s called Silk Sonic. First song drops next Friday, 3/5,” he wrote on Feb. 25. With album artwork featuring Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, and promising “special guest host Bootsy Collins,” Silk Sonic promised a retro 70s vibe – which they delivered on “Leave The Door Open,” the album’s first single. The retro smooth slow jam received positive reviews, with Consequence praising Bruno for having a “voice like a liquid whip,” while Anderson “raps and sings through a foggy haze,” producing a sound that is like “smoke on the water.” The Guardian called it an “impeccable” song on “the right side of pastiche.” The track eventually reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 after debuting at No. 4.
For Bruno’s fans, “Leave The Door Open” marked the end of a two-year-long drought from the “Uptown Funk” singer. Before the Silk Sonic single, the last time fans heard Bruno’s voice was on “Blow,” featuring Ed Sheeran and Chris Stapleton. Released in July 2019 and from Ed’s No. 6 Collaborations Project, it received mixed reviews and, unbeknownst to fans, ushered in a two-year hiatus from Bruno. Besides “Blow,” Mars’ last single was “Please Me,” a collaboration with Cardi B (that was more successful and more critically acclaimed than the Sheeran collab.) Bruno also contributed music to Trolls World Tour, alongside Justin Timberlake and others.
The forthcoming Silk Sonic album will be Bruno’s fourth full-length. His first album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans (on Elektra/Atlantic Records), arrived on Oct. 4, 2010. The album, which has gone Platinum seven times (per the RIAA), featured such hit songs like “Just The Way You Are,’ “Grenade,” and “The Lazy Song.” His sophomore release, 2012’s Unorthodox Jukebox (on Atlantic), brought the chart-topping “Locked Out Of Heaven” and “When I Was Your Man.” In between Unorthodox Jukebox and Bruno’s third album, he teamed with Mark Ronson for the mammoth hit, “Uptown Funk,” a song that has gone Platinum eleven times since its release.
Bruno’s third album, 24K Magic, also on Atlantic, arrived in November 2016. It spawned the Billboard Hot 100-topping and Diamond-certified single “That’s What I Like,” as well as the Top 10 hit, “24k Magic.” His other collab with Cardi, “Finesse,” also reached No. 3 on the Hot 100.
With so many fans wanting more of Bruno, here’s what we know about his upcoming album.
When Will Bruno Mars’s New Album Be Released?
Bruno and Anderson’s album, An Evening With Silk Sonic, will be available on all DSPS onNovember 12, 2021 [pre-save HERE].
This November release date seems to conform to earlier plans for An Evening. At first, the album was set for a fall release, but the band pushed it to January 2022, according to an August 2021 profile in Rolling Stone. They explained that they’d rather put out more singles, like “Skate,” which dropped at the end of July. “I don’t want to be binge-watched,” said Mars. It seems that plans reverted back.
One should note that for the album to qualify for the 64th Grammy Awards, it had to be released before September 30, 2021. Bruno has 11 Grammys and 27 nominations, so if he wanted Silk Sonic to add to that total — at least, in time for the 2022 Grammy ceremony — An Evening would have had to drop by that date. Instead, it’ll now probably qualify for the 65th Grammys in 2023.
Clearly, Bruno cares about a Grammy. In March 2021, before the 63rd show took place, Bruno issued an open letter asking the ceremony to let Silk Sonic play. “If you can see it in your hearts to allow two out-of-work musicians to perform at your show, we would really appreciate it,” he wrote. “We’ll send in an audition tape and take as many COVID tests as we need to. I promise we won’t be extra. We just really want a gig again.”
What Is Bruno Mars’s New Album Called?
The next album from Bruno Mars will be An Evening With Silk Sonic.
Bruno and Anderson discussed how Silk Sonic came to be during a March interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe (per Billboard.) Anderson opened up for Bruno during the European leg of his 24K Magic World Tour. The two worked together with Nile Rodgers and Guy Lawrence on Chic’s It’s About Time album, per Billboard. “[We] kept coming up with music. It felt like why you fall in love with music in the first place. And jamming with your buddy… There’s no plan, just working out the parts and trying to excite each other…,” said Mars. “That’s why this wouldn’t happen if it didn’t make sense and it didn’t feel natural and organic. This was a series of events that led us to ‘Man, why don’t we just do it?’ ”
What Will Bruno Mars’s New Record Sound Like?
It’s safe to say that An Evening With Silk Sonic, on Atlantic and Aftermath records, will be an R&B record. It will likely echo the sounds of the 1960s and ‘70s, with a little dash of modern hip-hop in. Plus, there will be a healthy amount of funk involved.
What Songs Are Going To Be On Bruno Mars’s New Album?
As of July 2021, the only songs that fans know will be on A Evening With Silk Sonic are“Leave The Door Open” and “Skate.”
During the 2021 BET Awards, the group performed their song and took home the Best Group Award. After their performance was over, Anderson asked, “Do y’all wanna hear a new song? Do y’all wanna hear a new song off the album?” (according to Revolt). The crowd screamed their approval – only for Anderson to laugh. “Nah, we gon’ run it back. Let’s go!” he said, revealing his trolling. Hoaxed!
However, on July 28, both Bruno and Anderson tweeted that Silk Sonic’s “Summertime Jam” would happen that Friday, July 30. It was unclear if that was a concert or the name of a new song — ultimately, it was the setup for their second single, “Skate.”
Silk Sonic also teamed up with SelvaRey Rum to help launch SelvaRey’s new Coconut Rum. The campaign included a series of musical videos, including one that teamed the duo with James Fauntleroy for a cabana-themed extravaganza.
💥#SilkSonic pic.twitter.com/4bYUBeOBtX
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) July 28, 2021
Who Will Feature On Bruno Mars’ New Album?
So far, the only confirmed featured player on An Evening With Silk Sonic is Bootsy Collins, the legendary Parliament/Funkadelic member and funk icon. “There’s so many artists that you could see that grew up on him. And me and Andy being a couple of guys that just grew up loving that,” said Bruno in his interview with Zane Lowe. “And we thought it’d be incredible if we could dream up a dream set list and we, that was our model in the studio, ‘Alright, well, let’s create the set list of doom, who would be the ultimate host that could thread all these songs together?’ And thank God for Bootsy.”
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When Silk Sonic finally drops its new album, expect things to get smooth, sexy, and silky. Don’t be afraid to leave the door open – and to walk through to a new album of sensual R&B hits.