Bruno Mars tour to erupt in sound, smoke, song at TU Center

PHOTOGRAPHER: The Associated Press

Bruno Mars performs at the Super Bowl earlier this year in East Rutherford, N.Y.

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Mars attacks on Sunday.

Sonic and visual effects will be part of this pop music invasion — Bruno Mars brings his “Moonshine Jungle Tour” to the Times Union Center in Albany.

The tour, which began in June 2013, supports Mars’ “Unorthodox Jukebox” studio album. By the time he and his backing band the Hooligans wrap up travels in September, they will have visited the United States’ far west, Canada, Curacao and Mexico, among other places.

Giant video screens, blasts of smoke, fire, confetti and a giant disco ball are all part of the Mars experience. And fans can expect to hear Bruno hits such as “Moonshine,” “Grenade” and “Just the Way You Are.”

Curtain for the Albany show, which includes singer-rapper Aloe Blacc, is 8 p.m.

Native of Hawaii

Mars is one of music’s rocketing stars. Born Peter Gene Hernandez in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Oct. 8, 1985, he received his first tastes of music as a small child. His father, a Latin percussionist from Brooklyn, organized a Las Vegas-style revue that featured the entire family, including his mother, a talented vocalist.

Bruno Mars: Moonshine Jungle Tour

WHERE: Times Union Center, 51 S. Pearl St., Albany

WHEN: 8 p.m. Sunday

HOW MUCH: $102.50-$43

MORE INFO: 800- 745-3000, www.timesunioncenter-albany.com

At 4, Bruno watched his family perform Motown hits, doo-wop medleys and impersonations for audiences all over Waikiki Beach. Soon after, Mars joined the act as the world’s youngest Elvis impersonator.

Now, he is known for his retro showmanship and retro look — a fedora and sunglasses are two of his well-known fashion accessories. Versatility is also part of the game plan; Bruno plays electric guitar, piano, keyboards and drums. He’s into reggae, soul and funk music.

And his net worth is reportedly $70 million.

Mars has won two Grammy awards, sold more than 11 million albums and 68 million singles worldwide — he has landed five number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 since he started his career in 2010. He recently made Forbes’ prestigious “20 Top Earners” list, and is often a million-dollar quote.

“As proud as I am of Doo-Wops,” he told Billboard magazine about his first album, “Doo-Wops & Hooligans,” “I feel like, ‘Oh, man. People haven’t seen nothing. They don’t even know what I’m about to do, and that’s what I can’t wait to show the world.”

The Story so Far

Here are some things he’s already shown the world:

– Bruno has been nominated for his first Emmy Award for his Super Bowl XLVIII Halftime Show Performance. The category — “Outstanding short-format live-action entertainment program!”

– Mars singled out 11-year-old Zumyah Thorpe at his June 28 concert in Cleveland. Thorpe was seriously injured — and her mother and two younger sisters killed — in a 2013 traffic accident. Nurses played Mars’ music during the girl’s recovery; Bruno gave her his guitar and fedora.

– “Doo-Wops & Hooligans” sold more than 5 million copies.

– One of Bruno’s earliest projects was Sex Panther, a cover band.

– Bruno’s brother Eric Hernandez is the Hooligans’ drummer.

– Bruno Mars started when young Peter was nicknamed “Bruno” by his father, a nod to wrestler Bruno Sammartino. The young boy had kind of a chubby build. Peter added Mars later, claiming that girls thought he was “out of this world.”

– Mars was first signed by Motown Records, who dropped his contract without ever releasing an album.

– In 2011, Mars was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.

– Bruno hosted “Saturday Night Live” in October 2012, and even performed in drag. “I’ve never done comedy before, I have no acting experience at all,” he said, feigning nerves during the show’s monologue. “I’ve never even done a shampoo commercial . . . which is crazy.”

– Mars created the acclaimed ballad “It Will Rain” for the original motion picture soundtrack for “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1.”

Reach Gazette reporter Jeff Wilkin at 395-3124 or at [email protected]