Bruno Mars to Open Sydney’s Newly Renovated Allianz Stadium

Posted on August 3, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Bruno Mars is heading Down Under for a historic moment…

The 36-year-old part-Puerto Rican Grammy-winning singer/songwriter will officially open the new Allianz Stadium in Sydney, Australia.

Mars is booked to perform on Friday, October 14 and the following evening to raise the curtain at the rebuilt venue.

Veteran concert promoter Paul Dainty, CEO of TEG Dainty, part of the TEG group, is producing the shows.

“It’s incredibly exciting to welcome audiences back to Allianz Stadium in the heart of Sydney and who better to lead the opening celebrations than the legendary, record-breaking artist Bruno Mars,” he says in a statement. “These opening shows will go down in history as not to be missed.”

Mars’ most recent studio album, 24K Magic, debuted at No. 3 on the ARIA Albums Chart following its release in November 2016, for his third Top 3 in Australia after Doo-Wops & Hooligans (No. 2 in January 2011) and Unorthodox Jukebox (No. 1 in January 2013). His single releases in Australia have collected 56-times platinum status, streams are north of 773 million, and he has completed three sold out tours.

Mars heads Down Under in Grammy-winning form. Mars’ collaborative smash with Anderson .Paak, “Leave the Door Open,” won in four categories at the 64th Grammy Awards in April, including record of the year and song of the year.

The duo’s debut album, An Evening with Silk Sonic, is expected to be a contender in multiple categories when the nominations for the 65th Grammy Awards are announced on November 15.

Situated next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, Allianz is expected to open its doors next month, after a renovation which reportedly carried a price tag upwards of A$800 million ($555 million). The result should be a “state-of-the-art multi-purpose venue, built for the future of sport and entertainment in Australia,” say the SCG trust.

The 42,500 capacity venue, traditionally known as Sydney Football Stadium (and previously Aussie Stadium) will host a free community open day and night on Aug. 28, headlined by Australian artists Guy Sebastian and Baker Boy. The grand opening is set for Sept. 2.

General public tickets for Mars’ shows go on sale from Thursday Aug. 11 via tegdainty.com, while Telstra Plus pre-sales start on Monday, August 8 at Telstra.com/tickets.

Bruno Mars Live and Exclusive is supported by the NSW government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.

Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic” Album Surpasses the One-Million Sales Mark

Posted on July 30, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Bruno Mars is one in three million…

The 31-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer has scored his third million-selling album, as 24K Magic motored past the million sales mark on the Billboard 200 chart for the week ending July 20, according to Nielsen Music.

The set, which was released last November, sold another 11,000 copies in the latest tracking frame, bringing its to-date sales sum to 1.008 million.

24K Magic follows Mars’ two earlier full-length studio efforts: his 2013 sophomore set, Unorthodox Jukebox (2.57 million sold), and his 2010 debut, Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2.63 million).

Earlier in 2010, Mars issued the introductory digital EP It’s Better If You Don’t Understand, which has sold 27,000.

24K Magic reached 1 million sold after 34 weeks, while Unorthodox took 13 and Doo-Wops did it in 32 frames.

The new album continues to find success with its singles, as “Versace on the Floor” climbs 57-47 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated Aug. 5. It if hits the top 40, it will give Mars his third top 40 hit from 24K Magic and his 18th overall.

He previously claimed a pair of top 40 hits from the album with its eponymous lead single (peaking at No. 4) and “That’s What I Like” (No. 1).

Maldonado & Her Pentatonix Bandmates’ Christmas Album Reaches No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstie Maldonado is a woman on top… of the charts…

The 24-year-old half-Mexican, part Spanish-American singer and her fellow Pentatonix members have scored their second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart.

The vocal group’s Pentatonix Christmas rises 2-1 on the latest list, earning 206,000 equivalent album units in the week ending December 22 (up 32 percent), according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 185,000 were in traditional album sales (up 33 percent).

It’s the first holiday album at No. 1 in five years, since Michael Buble’s Christmas ruled the tally for five consecutive weeks on the charts dated December 10, 2011, through January 7, 2012.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

Pentatonix previously led the list with its self-titled album, which debuted atop the list in 2015.

A Pentatonix Christmas was released through RCA Records on October 21. It debuted at No. 3 on the November 12-dated chart, and has never ranked lower than No. 6 on the list in its nine weeks on the chart.

The album benefits from not only holiday-fueled purchases, as well as a sale price in the iTunes Store (for just $7.99), but also a number of television appearances from the group during the tracking week. The act’s December 7 performance on ABC‘s Jimmy Kimmel Live! repeated on Dec. 16; NBC‘s A Pentatonix Christmas Special (which premiered on December 14) received an encore airing on December 17; they sang on NBC’s America’s Got Talent Holiday Spectacular on December 19; and they performed on Fox News’ Fox & Friends on December 21 and the syndicated Rachael Ray Show on December 22.

A Pentatonix Christmas is the group’s sixth top 10 album overall, and third holiday effort to reach the region, following 2014’s No. 2-peaking That’s Christmas to Me, and the 2013 PTXmas EP, which climbed to No. 7.

Pentatonix’s latest No. 1 also earns the largest sales week for a holiday album in two years, since Pentatonix’s previous holiday set, That’s Christmas to Me, sold 203,000 copies in the week ending December 21, 2014. In fact, the last acts that weren’t Pentatonix to sell more in a single week with a holiday album were Michael Buble and Justin Bieber during the week ending December 25, 2011. That week, Buble sold 467,000 copies of Christmas, while Bieber moved 225,000 copies of his Under the Mistletoe.

Further, A Pentatonix Christmas is the first album to earn its first week at No. 1 by climbing there — as opposed to debuting or re-entering at No. 1–since Rihanna’s Anti vaulted from No. 27 to No. 1 in its second chart week, on the February 20-dated list.

Also notable, since A Pentatonix Christmas reaches No. 1 in its ninth week on the list, it logs the slowest continuous climb to No. 1 (thus excepting re-entries at No. 1 from Prince’s The Very Best of Prince and Chris Stapleton’s Traveller) since the March 16, 2013-dated list, when Bruno Mars’ Unorthodox Jukebox reached No. 1 in its 12^th week.

Mars’ “24K Magic” Debuts at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Bruno Mars is bringing Magic to the charts…

The 31-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer-songwriter’s new single “24K Magic” debuts at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Oct. 29), his highest debut ever on the chart.

Of his 19 entries so far (dating to his 2010 arrival), he had previously bowed as high as No. 10, as a featured act on Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa‘s “Young, Wild & Free” (October 29, 2011). As a lead artist, he had debuted at a No. 28 high with “It Will Rain” (October 15, 2011).

It’s Mars’ 13th Hot 100 Top 10 on the Hot 100, which blends sales, airplay and streaming data.

Additionaly, “24K Magic” begins at No. 2 on the Digital Song Sales chart with 101,000 first-week downloads sold, No. 9 on Streaming Songs (12.8 million), and vaults 36-15 on Radio Songs (65 million) following its first full week of airplay tracking.

It should benefit on next week’s charts following Mars’ performance of the song on NBC‘s Saturday Night Live on October 15.

“24K Magic” was released on October 7 on digital and streaming services, and is the title track from the pop star’s third full-length, due November 18.

Notably, the lead singles from Mars’ first two studio sets both hit No. 1 on the Hot 100: “Just the Way You Are,” from Doo-Wops & Hooligans, for four weeks in 2010, and “Locked Out of Heaven,” from Unorthodox Jukebox, for six weeks in 2012-13. The songs debuted at Nos. 43 and 34, respectively.

Mars to Release New Single “24K Magic” This Friday

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Bruno Mars is ready to share a little music Magic…

The 30-year-old part-Puerto Rican actor has announced plans to release the new single “24K Magic” on October 7.

“Excited to announce 24K Magic, out this Friday!!” he said on Instagram. “You can call it my first single, but I call it the invitation to the party.”

“24K Magic” will be the first track from his forthcoming third studio album, the follow-up to 2012’s Unorthodox Jukebox, which yielded the hits “Locked Out of Heaven,” “When I Was Your Man” and “Treasure.”

Since that album’s release, Mars has collaborated on Mark Ronson‘s 2014 hit “Uptown Funk,” written “All I Ask” with Adele, performed at two Super Bowls and debuted the ballad “Rest of My Life” on the season-two finale of The CW‘s Jane the Virgin.

Skrillex has mentioned that he’s an upcoming collaborator on new material.

No album release date or title has been revealed.

But Mars reassured his fans on Twitter, “You think I’ve been playin this whole time? You don’t think I’m masterminding the return?”

Mars Named to Billboard’s Highest-Paid Musicians in 2013 List

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Bruno Mars is making bank…

The 28-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer-songwriter is one of Billboard’s highest-paid musicians of the past year.

Mars, who attracted a record audience during his Super Bowl Halftime Show, ranks No. 12 on Billboard’s Music’s Top 40 Money Makers 2014: The Rich List with $18.8 million in reported earnings. He’s actually the only Latino to make this year’s list.

Before his unforgettable Super Bowl performance, Mars entertained fans during his sold-out Moonshine Jungle Tour, which finished at No. 23 on Billboard’s list of the top 25 tours of 2013, grossing $46.4 million.

In addition to Mars’ share of that revenue ($12.2 million), the previous year marked his chart-topping ascent with his Grammy-winning sophomore album Unorthodox Jukebox.”

Selling 1.4 million in 2013 and charting four Hot 100 hits, including No. 1s “Locked Out of Heaven” and “When I Was Your Man,” these feats helped Mars earn the title of Billboard’s 2013 Artist of the Year.

The top five artists on the list include Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, Justin Timberlake, Bon Jovi and The Rolling Stones.

Click here to see the complete list.

Mars’ “Unorthodox Jukebox” Expected to Return to the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 Chart

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Expect to see Bruno Mars shooting up the charts this week…

The 28-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer-songwriter is expected to return to the top 10 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, following his highly lauded Super Bowl halftime performance on Sunday, February 2.

Mars’ Grammy-winning sophomore album, Unorthodox Jukebox, sold approximately 40,000 copies in the week ending Feb. 2, according to estimates from industry sources.

That would represent a 164% gain compared to the previous week, when it sold 15,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The album’s official sales figures, as tabulated by SoundScan, will be released later today (Wednesday, February 5 ), the same day that the new Billboard 200 chart’s top 10 will be revealed.

If the album returns to the top 10 with 40,000, it will mark the album’s first visit to the top 10 since the Billboard 200 chart dated Sept. 14, 2013, and its best sales week since last March.

Unorthodox Jukebox was already aiming to sell around 19,000 in the week ending Feb. 2, thanks in part to Mars’ exposure at last week’s Grammy Awards (January 26). Mars won the award for best pop vocal album, but did not perform on the show.

According to Fox, who cite Nielsen data, Mars’ halftime show attracted the largest audience in the history of the Super Bowl, with 115.3 million viewers. That figure surpasses the prior record of 114 million set by Madonna two years ago.

Last year, Beyonce headlined the Super Bowl halftime show (110.8 million), where she was briefly joined by her Destiny’s Child group members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Unlike Mars, Beyonce didn’t have a current album riding high on the charts at the time.

In the week ending February 3, 2013, Beyonce saw her most recent album, 2011’s 4, re-enter the Billboard 200 at No. 100 with 4,000 sold (up 123%). The following week — after a full week of sales impact was felt from the game — the album climbed to No. 79 with 6,000 (up 59%).

The impact of the Super Bowl on Mars’ music sales — and on the Billboard charts — will be unique compared to all other halftime headliners in the modern era of Super Bowl halftime entertainment.

Since 1993, when Michael Jackson headlined the halftime festivities, the main performer on the show has generally been an act with a fairly deep catalog of albums and songs. Mars, however, has only released two albums — Unorthodox Jukebox (released in 2012) and Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010).

Thus, all of the sales and chart impact felt by Mars will be concentrated on just those two albums (and their respective singles). Unlike previous years, where everyone from Beyonce and Madonna to Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen saw their post-Super Bowl chart impact spread across multiple albums and songs.

Hernandez’s La Santa Cecilia Wins First-Ever Grammy

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s one memorable Grammy night for Marisol Hernandez and her La Santa Cecilia band mates…

The Mexican-American singer, known as La Marisoul, and her Los Angeles-based band members earned the first Grammy of their career on Sunday during the pre-Grammy telecast ceremony.

La Santa Cecilia, named after the patron saint of musicians, Saint Cecilia, won the award for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album for the bilingual band’s album Treinta Dias.

“Thank you to our beautiful City of Angels,” said Marisoul. “We are proud to be from immigrant parents and dedicate the Grammy to the 11 million undocumented workers in America.”

Along with lead singer Hernandez, band members include guitarist Gloria Estrada, accordinist and requinto player Jose Carlos, bassist Alex Bendana, percussionist Miguel Ramirez and drummer Hugo Varagas.

La Santa Cecilia wasn’t the only act to earn its first Grammy…

Draco Rosa, a three-time Latin Grammy winner, picked up his first gramophone from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

The 44-year-old Puerto Rican singer-songwriter and former Menudo band member, a previous nominee in 2011 for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album, won the award for Best Latin Pop Album for his latest studio effort Vida.

The sixth time’s the charm for the Gipsy Kings…

The group, made up mostly of the children of Spanish gitanos, won their first Grammy for Best World Music Album for Savor Flamenco, tying Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s Live: Singing For Peace Around The World for the prize.

Christian Tumalan’s 19 piece traditional Latin big band Pacific Mambo Orchestra won its first Grammy for Best Tropical Latin Album for its self-titled album, which was produced independently through a Kickstarter campaign.

Meanwhile, Bruno Mars earned the second Grammy of his career at the 56th annual Grammy Awards. The 28-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, nominated for four awards this year, earned the Best Pop Vocal Album award for his chart-topping sophomore album Unorthodox Jukebox.

Paquito D’Rivera earned the fourth Grammy of his noted career. The 65-year-old Cuban saxophonist and clarinetist’s Song for Maura took the prize for Best Latin Jazz Album.

Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea won its second career-Grammy. The group earned the award for Best Regional Mexican Music Album (including Tejano) for its album A Mi Manera.

Click here to see the complete list of winners and nominees.

Mars Announces Dates for the Second Leg of His “Moonshine Jungle” Tour

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Bruno Mars is ready for a little more Moonshine…

The 28-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer, who will be performing at this year’s Super Bowl with the Red Hot Chili Peppers as his special guest, has announced plans to launch the next leg of his popular Moonshine Jungle tour — and on select dates, he’ll be joined by fellow hitmaker Pharrell Williams.

Mars will kick off the newest set of concerts this May, following two April shows in Mars’ hometown of Honolulu, Hawaii. Pharrell, a music producer and featured artist on two of 2013’s biggest songs, Robin Thicke‘s “Blurred Lines” and Daft Punk‘s “Get Lucky,” will join Mars in five cities — Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal — while appearing behind his upcoming solo release with Columbia Records.

Panamanian American soul singer Aloe Blacc, best known in U.S. as the vocalist on Avicii‘s “Wake Me Up,” will open for Mars for majority of dates where Pharrell will not perform.

The Moonshine Jungle tour’s next leg will begin May 27 at Fresno, California’s Save Mart Center, running over 40 total dates before concluding Aug. 17 in Englewood, Colorado at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre.

Mars, Billboard’s Artist of the Year in 2013, is touring in support of his sophomore album, Unorthodox Jukebox, which was released in December 2012. The album has spawned two No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 — “Locked Out of Heaven” and “If I Was Your Man,” as well as the No. 5-peaking “Treasure” and “Gorilla,” which hit No. 22.

He’s also received multiple nominations at the Grammys later this month, including nods for Song of the Year and Record of the Year for “Locked Out of Heaven.”

See the full list of tour dates at Mars’ official site.

Red Hot Chili Peppers to Join Mars at Super Bowl Halftime Show

Posted on January 11, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Bruno Mars is preparing for a red hot Super Bowl…

The 28-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer and his backing band will be joined by the Red Hot Chili Peppers during the Super Bowl halftime show next month.

It’s all part the funk tendencies that Mars sometimes employs in his music.

The iconic rock band will join the pop singer by his invitation for the show, held at the halfway point of the NFL‘s biggest spectacle on February 2 in New Jersey, according to Los Angeles Times sources.

The Chili Peppers were already scheduled to be in the area, booked to perform at a pre-Super Bowl show in Brooklyn for WFAN‘s “Say Hello to Brooklyn” showcase at the Barclays Center on February 1.

What remains to be seen is whether the band will replace Mars’ usual backing band for the entire set or if it will simply make a brief appearance, perhaps performing one of its own songs.

The move should expand the halftime show’s allure to a broader range of fans outside of Mars’ usual demographic.

Mars has placed four singles from his Billboard 200 No. 1 album Unorthodox Jukebox in the Hot 100’s top 40, with four total No. 1 songs.

Meanwhile, Red Hot Chili Peppers last released an album in 2011, with I’m With You peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

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