Bruno Mars

His real name is Peter Gene Hernandez. He was nicknamed "Bruno" by his father at the age of two, because he was a chubby kid and there was a famous chubby wrestler at the time named Bruno Sammartino. At the start of his career he added "Mars" to his stage name because "a lot of girls say I'm out of this world, so I was like I guess I'm from Mars."

His first brush with show business was at the age of 4. He gives more details in an interview with National Public Radio: "Dad started bringing me up onstage every night till finally they worked a little segment out for me. My mom made me an Elvis outfit, and I'd go up there and do my thing." His impersonation of Elvis also won him the role of Little Elvis in the movie Honeymoon In Vegas (1992). As a young boy, he continued to make performances impersonating Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.

Growing up in Hawaii in a family of musicians marked his music with traces of traditional Hawaii music, reggae, pop, rock, R&B, soul, doo-wop and hip-hop.