24K Magic
| Bruno Mars
24K Magic
24K Magic is the third studio album by American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars. It was released worldwide on November 18, 2016, by Atlantic Records. The follow-up to Mars's successful second album, Unorthodox Jukebox (2012), it explores genres similar to those of its predecessor, such as soul and funk, while Mars and his team focused on capturing the R&B sound that was very popular in the 1990's, described by the singer as the reason he fell in love with music in the first place. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Pitchfork
On his latest, “Uptown Funk” vocalist and animatronic sequined suit Bruno Mars compresses all of his various personae into one: The retro song-and-dance man who happens to be really, really horny.
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Rolling Stone
24k Magic may not be the most glittering display for Bruno Mars the pop star, but fans can rest assured it is a shining moment for Bruno Mars the producer, arranger and nostalgia curator. Nothing on his level of success gets to look or sound or feel like this – no diggity, no doubt.
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The New York Times
Bruno Mars skill for manipulating the past has made him something of an outlier: a retro-minded soul singer, songwriter and producer interested not in strict nostalgia, but in illuminating old styles so they shimmer in a way that’s appealing to a listener not much interested in looking backward.
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The Guardian
Obsessed as it is with surfaces, 24K Magic packs considerable musical depth in its slavish attention to detail. The cold nihilism of contemporary R&B is anathema to Mars, an old-school song-and-dance man, and so 24K Magic’s vibe of choice revisits the era of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and new jack swing – early 90s R&B.
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NME
Instead of pogoing from genre to genre in pursuit of hits, Mars has crafted something compact and cohesive that feels like a proper album.
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Consequence of Sound
24K Magic is his first album that works as a statement, and while it’s unclear if it will see the runaway success Mars has enjoyed in the past, the coherence and variety of the record’s sound and lack of any obvious dud point to the strides that Mars is making as a songwriter.
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Billboard
24K Magic pays homage to any number of pop performers from his canon, in winking tributes that still keep one foot (or at least a couple of toes) in the present.
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Idolator
In the end, I believe him when he sings, “Let’s kiss until we’re naked,” on “Versace.” And that’s all that matters.
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Hip Hop DX
With just the stroke of his pen, Bruno shattered his own expectations and handed us bangers on top of bangers with 24K Magic.
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Entertainment Weekly
24K Magic, his third LP, swings from ’70s funk to ’90s R&B to ’80s torch songs with arrangements as opulent and over-the-top as the bling he brags about.
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Slant
Bruno Mars’s third album, 24K Magic, is a tidy, if derivative, antidote to today’s overthought, overwrought pop.
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Vulture
Bruno Mars’s 24K magic is a fun trip back to early ’90s R&B, and you’ll probably hear it at weddings forever.
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Daily Trojan
With 24K Magic, Bruno Mars brought together a collection of songs into what could be his most sonically cohesive album yet. While the lyrical content at times felt shallow and insincere, Mars clearly had a lot of fun in the recording process.
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Journal Sentinel
While "24K Magic" is a golden feel-good album, there isn't any real magic to be found.
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Gig Wise
Embracing change and doing it with a no nonsense nine track project, 24K Magic is simplistically spectacular.
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Sputnik Music
Finally, when the industry offered me 24K Magic with its luxurious singles, my soul was lost entirely, and I became a vessel for pop music.
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USA Today
Mars channels '80s and '90s R&B stars Prince, Boyz II Men and Babyface (who co-wrote album closer Too Good to Say Goodbye) with aplomb, riding a cool wave of synthesizers and drum machines as he bounces between the club and bedroom.
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The Reckoner
If ‘Uptown Funk’ was a sliver of theme-park version of funk, 24K Magic is the rest of the park: rebuilt shinier, glitzier and safer, every element engineered to please, with a hell of a tour guide. It’s not history, not even historical fiction, but harmless fun.
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Plugged In
Sonically speaking, he's increasingly mining a throwback vibe, mimicking the likes of Prince and James Brown in songs that have a deeper, old-school R&B groove than his last effort (2012's Unorthodox Jukebox).
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Others
24K Magic hits at the popular R&B style of the mid 1990s, and succeeds at paying tribute to the smooth sounds of legendary soul artist James Brown. The album is full of catchy riffs, punchy brass, electrifying synth, and an overall memorable groove.
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The AV Club
Bruno Mars takes homage-pop to the next level on the escapist 24K Magic.
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The Gourmet Bachelor
Multi-talented singer, songwriter & producer Bruno Mars takes the template from the biggest hit of his career- his collaboration with Mark Ronson “Uptown Funk,” and runs with it on his third and most enjoyable album yet.
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Refinery 29
24K Magic is a fun, '80s- and '90s-infused throwback. Its carefree vibe feels like exactly what we need during a time when everything in our country feels scary, confusing and, well, serious.
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The Young Folks
Now free of pop expectation, Mars is allowed to be his own charismatic frontman leading the album. So who is the new Bruno Mars? According to 24K Magic, he’s a freewheeling lover boy draped in Versace with a hunkering for the ladies.
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News Beat
The nine track album is classic Mars. He cleverly fuses together the baseline of the funkadelic age, the beat from the 80’s Hip Hop age, and the slang of today’s Social Media memes.
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Sounds Good
24K Magic is a surprisingly good record from Bruno Mars. It’s one that detracts away from all of the soppiness of his last two records and delivers something that universally could be appreciated by all.
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The National
Bruno Mars pays homage to his musical influences with this groovy, R&B-inspired collection that sounds straight out of the 1990s. 24K Magic is a party album that recalls Michael Jackson, James Brown, New Edition and retro boy-band harmonies.
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Spectrum Culture
The album feels like an expansion of “Uptown Funk,” a headfirst dive into ‘80s post-disco and ‘90s R&B, its inspiration taken from roughly the period between Michael Jackson’s Thriller and R. Kelly’s 12 Play.
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Redbrick
Nearly everything in this album will probably bounce around in your head for the rest of your life. Or at least the next week or so.
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The Courier
Despite the slower tunes dominating the track-list a little bit too much, the record inarguably glimmers with the gold suggested by its title.
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The Irish Times
Elsewhere, Mars shows he’s a smart operator when it comes to the sort of pop which has all the accoutrements needed to engineer earworms, yet is sussed enough to know a little dab of special sauce is often required.
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Golden1Center
Bruno’s always been one of the new kings of pop music, but his latest album solidifies his style more than ever. "24K Magic" is the perfect balance of contemporary and nostalgic – and to achieve that amalgam successfully is something special.
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WBAL News
Bruno Mars pays homage to his musical influences with a groovy, R&B-inspired collection that sounds straight outta the '90s. "24K Magic" is a party album that recalls Michael Jackson, James Brown, New Edition and retro boy-band harmonies. It's just a shame it's only 34 minutes long.
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Funkatopia
The opening title track song (and first single) 24K Magic borrows heavily from Cameo keyboard funk right down to the chorus riff and he continues to borrow from his predecessors throughout the entirety of the album.
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The Ranting SBOX
It flows consistently with no jarring transitions, and it never once betrays its musical style, making for a unified experience.
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Soul Tracks
Even with the massive superstardom he’s attained since wooing over pop audiences in 2010 via “Just the Way You Are,” it’s appealing that he’s used his elevated status to give a no-holds-barred appreciation to the 1980s west coast G-funk swagg of luminaries like Zapp, as well as odes to ‘90s new jack swing and James Brown-inspired ‘70s flavor.
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The Times
Looking to consolidate the success of Uptown Funk, his monster hit of 2014 with Mark Ronson, the Hawaiian pop sensation Bruno Mars keeps the funk coming on 24K Magic.
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Vendor Culture
Mars goes all in with his pop/R&B hybrids, opting for brute, bustling maximalism over the gloomy minimalism that’s conquered R&B in recent times.
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The Wall Street Journal
The reigning king of updated soul, Bruno Mars returns with “24K Magic” (Atlantic), a slight, pleasing recording that might best serve as a party soundtrack for those yearning for 1980s and ’90s pop and funk.
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Mic
Start to finish, the album listens like one long "Uptown Funk," recycling the boastful, slick pop soul Mars and Mark Ronson delivered on that song with near record-breaking efficiency, into nine to create different versions.
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Pop Dose
24k Magic feels regressive, like a retreat from maturity, right down to the smarmy Mack Daddy pose on the cover in silk pajamas. Just about everything here offers the voice of someone saying, “I can do what I want,” but just because you can does not mean you should.
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The California Aggie
It’s tricky to play off an old, outdated and established genre and to make it something new and original. While his songs are undeniably catchy, they follow the ‘90s formula far too closely, which has restricted anything new and creative. Mars has sadly fallen into the curse of the genre’s past.
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Spinditty
24K Magic’ gorges on a wide range of old-school influences. While it has a generally contemporary outlook and utilizes modern-day trickery, ‘24K Magic’ pays tribute to the pop, R&B, soul and hip-hop of the late-80s and 90s.
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Beat Route
To be fair, there are a couple of good things about 24K Magic: it’s only nine songs long, Halle Berry makes an appearance, and occasionally Mars seems to be in on the actually funny part of the joke this record is.
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Alter Vista
If in 2011 I knew that I was going to love a Bruno Mars album this much, I’d have probably slapped myself, but now all I can do is clap along. My compliments.
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Cryptic Rock
Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic has all the swag it needs. It brings to mind the yin and yang of the childish haughtiness and the adult sensitivity and sensualness that come with being a guy, and being an adult guy with an insight to look past himself to please his girl.
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Fashion Journal
If you’re looking for an album that is a masterclass in old school funk, yet doesn’t take itself too seriously, then 24K is your new summer jam. It delivers tracks that are sure to put you in a great mood. I mean, one of the lyrics is “hashtag blessed.”
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Press Play OK
Like some sort of insidious vermin he crawls into every household (fair, given he’s about the same size as one), flexing some bygone funk to appeal to both the Uptown set and the ones who think he’s the reincarnation of their Motown faves.
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Soul in Stereo
On 24K Magic, Bruno’s third album, he takes his ’80s infatuation even further, crafting album that branches out from his usual ’80s pop stylings and cabbage patches right into early ’90s New Jack Swing. Time traveling has never been this hype before.
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Vinyl Me Please
Bruno Mars might make music for everyone, but this kind of mass appeal music doesn’t usually swing, or have as much nuance, or isn’t as consistently rewarding as 24K Magic.
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Harrison Pulse
24K Magic may be a record that lives in the past, but the Bruno Mars’ musical future hasn’t looked this bright in a long, long time.
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The Boom Box
With this project, fans are ingratiated with a funkier, even more upbeat Mars. Bruno 2.0 first surfaced in 2014 when he released his Mark Ronson collaboration, "Uptown Funk," and now he's back and swaggier than ever.
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The Music
Whereas Bruno Mars' previous records would bounce from reggae to rock to acoustic tracks, his latest album, 24K Magic adheres to an overall aesthetic a bit more: '80s electro and '90s slow-jams in the style of Boyz II Men and old-school R Kelly.
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Dispatch
What’s most striking about “24K Magic” is how it expands upon Mars’ long-standing interest in American soul music. Rather than linger in one time period, with one production approach, he roams all over the map, from the 1950s to the 1990s, and remains sharp throughout.
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ACRN
With past pop hits like “Uptown Funk,” “Locked Out of Heaven,” “Just the Way You Are” and “Marry You,” 24K Magic came with very high expectations and failed to meet them.
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International Business Times
24K Magic is a fantastically easy-listen at its best and simply too short at its worst. Even after four years, one thing about Bruno Mars remains unchanged – he always delivers gold. 24K of it, to be exact.
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Hollywood Life
Get ready to dance to ’24K Magic’ at the company holiday party, the club, or, you know, alone in your bedroom. No judgements!
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God Is In The TV
The most immediate thing about 24K Magic is the impeccable production and how unapologetic Mars is about recreating his influences. This record reads like a history of smooth soul music with equal parts 70s funk, 80s R&B and 90s new jack swing.
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Tribal Tribune
At the very least, it’s one of the most fun albums of the past year. Especially in such an uneasy time for America, we could all use a little bit of Mars’s endless party in our lives
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Stack
Too Good To Say Goodbye has some Locked Out Of Heaven vibes reverberating off the chorus, and title track 24K Magic is a classic Bruno single, from the ‘pop pop’ balladry to the private jet in the film clip. You’ll wind up a hopeless romantic even if you didn’t think you had it in you. #blessed
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Daily Breeze
Bruno Mars sounds like he’s having the time of his life on his much-awaited third album, “24K Magic.” The 31-year-old pop music sensation fills these nine tracks with whoops, grunts and shrieks inspired by the tightly wound funk laid down by the Hooligans, his backing band.
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Ben's Beat
24k Magic is the perfect exercise in “less is more”: it stands at a very brief 9 tracks, but each of them is packed to the brim with the sound of an artist relishing in the fact that he is at the top of his game — and he fully knows it.
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The Edge
Whatever Mars was trying to achieve, ’24K Magic’ feels like a lacklustre attempt at recreating ‘Uptown Funk’ without any of the brilliance and pizzazz that Mark Ronson clearly brought to the table. Given Mars’ insane vocal range, it’s such a waste of talent that this song is less singing and more of a half-hearted attempt at rapping that ends up being, for the most part, merely randomly-picked words shouted amidst the music.
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Houston Press
24K Magic, Mars’s new album, is effectively his Thriller. Like Thriller, it has nine songs. Like Thriller, Mars sits proudly with one leg bent and one leg straightened out on the cover. Its biggest single may be the title song; it also contains seven other songs that may possibly be singles.
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Saint Audio
Running at a little over a half-hour, 24K Magic is unabashedly radio-ready retro R&B, spanning decades of influence.
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MTSU Sidelines
Accompanied by his band “The Hooligans,” Mars has created yet another funk-pop masterpiece with “24K Magic,” having similar sounds and characteristics from his previous work.
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The Upcoming
Bruno Mars’s third studio album embraces an 80s feel to go with his smooth and youthful voice. The long-awaited 24K Magic maintains the groove the singer is best known for whilst drawing on new elements from synths to vocal modulation.
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HITC
For those who are on board, however, his third album will further the impression that he’s Barry Manilow in 90s R&B clothing: a writer of bothersomely memorable hooks, and a singer of great likability.
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Entertainment Focus
For my money, Mars doesn’t put a foot wrong across 24K Magic and it’s an album that will be played to death over the coming months. If you want feel good and groovy, then Mars is your best option.
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Hot 101.7
Clocking in at just 9 songs, 24K Magic is a solid reminder of what makes Bruno Mars so great. He’s suave, sexy, and just so cool!
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The Ringer
24K Magic is a transportive, sonic fantasyland — it’s a 33-minute vacation. Bruno Mars just wants you to be happy, and lord knows that’s a worthy mission in the garbage year of 2016. So just sit back and let this unicorn fly you through the storm. “If you ever need to smile again, girl,” he offers, “take my card.”
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Polite as Flannels
After listening to "24K Magic" Bruno Mars is shooting 3 for 3 from the field. It's not up for debate. The man just knows how to make a hit no matter what genre he's exploring.
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Voice Mag
Few contemporary pop artists acknowledge the music styles founded in the 70s and 90s. Few can respect the context of the tracks they ‘sample’ from. With Mars, we can get acquainted with some of the most acclaimed R&B presences. It is an album of praiseworthy déjà vu - a musical throwback
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AP News
Bruno Mars pays homage to his musical influences with a groovy, R&B-inspired collection that sounds straight outta the ’90s. “24K Magic” is a party album that recalls Michael Jackson, James Brown, New Edition and retro boy-band harmonies. It’s just a shame it’s only 34 minutes long.
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