Early Life
Peter Gene Hernandez grew up in Honolulu in a musical family and performed as a child Elvis Presley impersonator. He moved to Los Angeles after high school to pursue a music career.
Career
He first found success as a songwriter and producer as part of the team The Smeezingtons, then released his debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010), which included “Just the Way You Are” and “Grenade”. Later albums include Unorthodox Jukebox (2012) and 24K Magic (2016). He topped charts with “Uptown Funk” (2014), a collaboration with Mark Ronson, and with Anderson .Paak formed the duo Silk Sonic, releasing An Evening with Silk Sonic in 2021.
Legacy
Mars performed at the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show in 2014 and has won more than a dozen Grammy Awards.
Sources and further reading
Last updated: 2026-09-24