Wiki
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Release Date
4 October 2010
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Length
10 tracks
Doo-Wops & Hooligans is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars. It was released on October 4, 2010, by Atlantic and Elektra Records and was made available to listen before its official release on September 24, 2010. After the release of the EP "It's Better If You Don't Understand", Mars's writing and production team, the Smeezingtons, began working on the album with Needlz, Supa Dups and Jeff Bhasker as producers.
"Doo-Wops & Hooligans" draws on a variety of influences. Lyrically, the album visualizes carefree optimism along with failed relationships, pain and loneliness. "Doo-Wops & Hooligans" received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who praised the album's similarity to the work of American artists Michael Jackson and Jason Mraz, although others felt that the album tried too hard to appeal to all groups. About.com's Bill Lamb and Rolling Stone's Jody Rosen called "Doo-Wops & Hooligans" one of the year's best debut albums.
"Doo-Wops & Hooligans" topped the charts in Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 albums chart and was certified seven-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), nine-times platinum by the Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ) and six-times by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). As of 2020, the album has sold over 15 million copies globally. The first two singles, "Just the Way You Are" and "Grenade" were successful internationally, topping the charts in the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Subsequent singles "The Lazy Song", which topped the charts in the United Kingdom and Denmark, and "Marry You" reached the top ten in over ten countries. "Talking to the Moon" and "Count On Me" had a limited release.
At the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2011, "Just the Way You Are" received a Grammy Award in the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance category. Doo-Wops & Hooligans received five nominations for the 54th Grammy Awards in 2012, including Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album and Record of the Year and Song of the Year for the single "Grenade". It was promoted primarily through the Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour (2010–2012) and a co-headline tour with Janelle Monáe, called Hooligans in Wondaland Tour (2011), along with a number of television appearances.
The album’s title refers to the doo-wop music style, of which Bruno’s music is influenced. Mars later explained in an interview that the “doo-wop” part represents the girls, while the “hooligans” part points out at the guys, and he elaborated on this concept later on:
"I’m a big fan of doo-wop music, my album has a little bit of that influence, with the simplicity of it… You can listen to a thousand doo-wop songs, and it’s the same four chords. But it’s the message behind the song—its straight to the point and it’s beautiful. That’s what you call your girl, your “doo-wop.” I call my girlfriend my “doo-wop”! On this album, I have records that women are going to relate to and men are going to relate to. So, “doo-wops” are for the girls, and “hooligans” are for the guys."
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