Stereogum’s Tom Breihan returns to Pop Pantheon to dissect the career of pop history’s greatest mimic, Bruno Mars. Louie and Tom dive into how Bruno spent his childhood impersonating greats like Elvis and Michael Jackson, his failed start on Motown and early work for other artists, including via his production group The Smeezingtons. Then they discuss his tightly-stitched 2010 debut, Doo-Wops and Hooligans, 2012’s pop history grab-bag, Unorthodox Jukebox, and the cultural sensation of his 2014 Mark Ronson-collab, the Morris Day-tributing “Uptown Funk.” Next, they explore Bruno’s  tour through Black pop and soul history on 2016’s 24K Magic and his Philly Soul and Parliament-Funkadelic-homaging super-duo with Anderson .Paak., Silk Sonic, as they parse whether Bruno is central to his music at all or simply a nostalgia curator. Finally, they rank Bruno Mars in the official Pop Pantheon.

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