In our world of constant recycling and of new iterations of everything, I think Bruno Mars is the new Jason Mraz. Consider the evidence. There's the vibe and the hat of Mraz's most famous single, "I'm Yours." Mars totally stole the hat. And he's got the same lovey vibe both as a guest on "Nothing On You," and even more so on "Just the Way Your Are,"
The chill benevolence is even more in evidence on the fascinatingly capitalist "Billionaire." They've both got their surprisingly edges, too. Mraz's on "Dreamlife of Rand McNally," which I've always adored, and wondered why it didn't get turned into some kind of sarcastic hipster mini-hit:
And Mars, of course, turns out to have written Cee-Lo's "Fuck You," which threw the whole musical world for a loop (and the video for that, by the way, bodes extraordinarily well for what will come out of The Ladykiller):
It doesn't particularly matter, of course, but it is fascinating how we've got room for one chill dude at a time at the top of pop. It looks like it's Mars' time, at least if he can avoid subsequent drug busts.