Filipino-American songwriter Bruno Mars had wonderful first half

As the music world begins the second half of 2013, looking back at the most notable chart feats in the first half isn’t bad for many, including the Filipino-American singer-songwriter and record producer Bruno Mars.

March marked Mars’s claim to his first No 1 album on the Billboard 200, as ‘Unorthodox Jukebox’ jumped 2-1 in its 12th week, the online Billboardbiz said on Tuesday.

The set reigns fuelled largely by Amazon MP3 sale-pricing, as on Feb. 26, the digital retailer offered a host of albums, including ‘Jukebox’, for just $1.99 [Dh7.31],” it stressed.

But it was also during the first half of the year that the Grammy-winning Mars, born Peter Gene Hernandez in Honolulu, Hawaii, lost his mom, a Filipino. His dad was a Puerto Rican-Jewish.

Bernadette Hernandez, 55, a signer and professional hula dancer, died of brain aneurysim on June 1. She had accompanied Mars to Manila and the central Philippine city of Cebu, where he did concerts in 2011.

It was on April 20 when Mars’s star status was reinforced with his simple piano ballad, ‘When I was Your Man’, crowning the Hot 100. The song sports Mars’s vocals and his own piano accompaniment.

Only Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’, which ruled for five weeks in 2011, was the other No 1 that features nothing but vocals and piano.

Mars is also responsible for such hits as ‘Just the Way You Are’, ‘Grenade’ and ‘Marry You’.

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