Bruno Mars.

I have despised Bruno Mars for the past few years now. I just thought that he sounded like a groaning and moaning boy who wasn't fully matured. I never bothered to listen closely to the songs and maybe possibly consider that he had some talent. That is something I noticed that I do quite a bit. If I don't like the sound of an artist or a song, I immediately skip it and move on, I don't bother to listen and see if the artist has talent. What really made me realize that I did this was an English project. We had to read a challenged or banned book and then write a report stating whether we believed the book should be banned or left alone. I read A Separate Peace and I thought that the book should be left alone. I then brought up the point that people ban and censor books because they look at the content as inappropriate. They don't bother to consider that even though the content is inappropriate, it may have some crucial merit to the book. It's the same thing with music. Just because you don't like the song or sound, it doesn't mean you should disregard the artist as an untalented person. And sadly this is something I do quite a bit, especially to Bruno Mars.

Today, I heard a new song by Bruno Mars that was released on his most recent album Unorthodox Jukebox. And as I was listening, I realized that the vocal capacity and ability of his voice was mind-blowing - he could hit these harsh low notes, then go right back up to a soft high sound. I also really began to appreciate the uniqueness of his sound. Some songs you really have to question who the artist is, but when you hear a song with that raspy sound, you immediately know who it is. I honestly can't even describe his sound. All I can say is it's different. Because of his vocal abilities, I feel that he can convey many emotions through his songs. Most artists are very one sided - they are strong in conveying songs with a happy sound or a sad sound, but once they make a song with the opposite emotion, it just doesn't sound very good. But with Bruno Mars, all of his songs are very genuine and real, which allows all of his songs to succeed, regardless of the emotion. Some have said he is the new Michael Jackson of this generation. And I think that could be argued. He isn't my favorite singer and his sound isn't my favorite, but by no means am I no longer denying his talent. He IS one of the best vocalists in today's society.