Bruno Mars is that artist who makes you feel all of the emotions. He has this crazy ability to get you feeling emotionally unstable one minute and ready to take over the world and become filthy rich the next (yes please). It doesn't take a genius to figure out how incredible talented Bruno is. What a lot of people don't know, though, is that he actually has quite an interesting backstory. It might break your heart just a little bit, but he's so inspiring that we promise you're going to fall so in love with him.
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1. Bruno's real name is Peter Gene Hernandez.
He was nicknamed Bruno after his father thought he resembled the professional wrestler, Bruno Sammartino.
2. He gave himself the last name Mars after he decided that he needed some "pizzazz."
Apparently, a lot of girls had told him that he was "out of this world."
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3. He also didn't want people to judge him by his last name, so he changed it.
He found that he was being told to create Latino music, and that's not what he wanted.
4. He was one of six siblings growing up.
He has four sisters, and they have their own musical group called The Lylas. They also have their own reality TV show that follows the creation of their demo.
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5. Growing up in Hawaii, he would do Elvis Presley impersonations (and was actually REALLY good at it).
He was known as "Little Elvis."
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6. Besides singing, he can also play the drums, keyboard, bass, and guitar. Not bad!
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7. Some of his biggest musical influences are Elvis, Michael Jackson, and Amy Winehouse.
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8. Bruno revealed that one of his biggest hits was initially rejected because of his race.
He said that moment made him feel like a "mutant" and was one of his lowest points.
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9. Before he made it big, he took lessons from some of the greats on how to create pop music.
He actually co-wrote CeeLo Green's "Fuck/Forget You."
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10. When he's performing a show, the only things he needs backstage are wet wipes and a bottle of wine.
That's easy compared to what other celebs ask for!
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11. He just revealed that his parents separated when he was child and there was a time when he and his dad and brother were basically homeless.
They would live on the roof of a building, abandoned cars, wherever.
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12. Despite the hard times growing up, he says that he was happy to be with his loved ones, and that's all he ever needed.
"We had each other and it never felt like it was the end of the world. 'It's alright we don't got electric today. It's alright. It's temporary,'" he said.
13. In 2010, Bruno was arrested in Vegas for possession of cocaine.
The charges were cleared after he paid a fine and completed 200 hours of community service.
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14. He keeps a pretty low profile in Hollywood, but he's been dating model Jessica Caban since 2011.
15. When it comes to celebrity drama, he says:
"Drama? I thought when we made it, that means we're drama-free. I don't play that game. I don't want to say something stupid and mess this all up."
How awesome is that attitude?
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