Singer Bruno Mars was named Billboard’s 2013
Artist of the Year by the industry trade magazine
on Friday.
Hawaiian-born Mars, 28, topped eight of
Billboard’s year-end music chart lists, including
the Hot 100 Artists, Mainstream Top 40 and Hot
Digital Songs, and his 2012 album “Unorthodox
Jukebox” has becoming one of this year’s best-
selling records with more than 1.8 million copies
sold in the United States.
“Bruno did well in touring and I think longevity
does really well for him. His songs stuck around
on multiple formats all year round,” Bill Werde,
editorial director of Billboard magazine, told
Reuters.
“He’s a powerhouse, and really keeps his focus
on the music in a year where conversations have
been dominated by (MTV’s Video Music Award)
performances and PR cycles.”
Grammy-winning Mars, whose music crosses
between R&B and pop, has established a
successful career as a singer and producer with
The Smeezingtons, working on songs both for
himself and other artists.
He also notched four Grammy nominations this
month, including two of the industry’s top prizes –
his single “Locked Out of Heaven” picked up
both record and song of the year nods.
The singer will embark on the North American leg
of his “Moonshine Jungle World Tour” in 2014,
and will also headline the Super Bowl half time
show in February.
Mars’s music crosses over between pop, R&B,
soul and hip hop, and he is known for conjuring up
different musical eras within his albums. He
reimagined 1940s doo-wop music for his 2010
debut album, “Doo-Wops & Hooligans,” and
revived sounds of Motown and 1970s disco in
“Unorthodox Jukebox.”