Bruno Mars was born on October 8, 1995, in Honolulu, Hawaii. By the early 2000s , he began to find success by writing songs for popular artists. After several years as one of pop music’s premier songwriters, Mars broke out as a singer in his own right with the 2010 hit “Nothin’ on you.” Bruno Mars is his stage name. His real name is Peter Gene Hernandez, and most people don’t really know that. He grew up in a very musical family, his father was a Latin percussionist from Brooklyn, and his mother was a singer.

Mars attended Roosevelt High School, where he and several friends formed a band, which performed classic oldie hits alongside his family’s act at the llikai hotel in Honolulu. After he graduated high school, Mars decided to leave Hawaii for Los Angels and his first few years in L.A, he struggled to make a breakthrough in the music industry. But by the early 2000s Mars had begun to find success by writing songs for several popular artists, including Flo Rida’s smash hit “Right” ‘round’,” Brandy’s “Long Distance” and Travie McCoys “billionaire.”

In September 2013, news broke that Mars was selected to be part of the half-time entertainment at the Super Bowl, and Mars returned to the super bowl stage in February 2016, performing the half-time show with Beyoncé and Coldplay.

On February 26, 2014, it was announced that Mars had partnered with the Hawai’i Community Foundation and the GRAMMY Foundation to establish a GRAMMY Camp Scholarship Fund, in order to support the next generation of music makers with funds to provide financial assistance for qualified needs-based applicants from Hawaii. On September 27, 2017, Mars expanded his camp scholarship in order to include applicants from all over the United States. The singer established the partnership in honor of his mother.