By Louis Chan
AsAmNews National Correspondent
Bruno Mars dominated the airwaves last night on broadcast television.
First he was featured in an extensive story on 60 Minutes where he talked about his early career at Little Elvis, his life living with his homeless family, the trouble he had establishing his career being half Filipino, one quarter Puerto Rican and one quarter Jewish, and the day his career turned around.
Then if you switched the channel in time, you caught him opening the American Music Awards with his electrifying performance of his new hit, 24K Magic.
The most revealing part of Mar’s 60 Minutes interview came when he took reporter Lara Logan to Paradise Park, a bird zoo in Hawaii where his dad worked and where he and his brother lived with their dad following the divorce from his mom.
They lived there for two years in a building that now has no roof and has plants growing in the middle of it. The three all shared one bed and despite the hardship, Bruno considers this time a happy memory.
“Yeah. We had it all, you know. 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.” saying, “Well, we gonna figure this out.”Maybe that’s why I have this mentality when it comes to the music. ‘Cause I know I’m gonna figure– I’m gonna figure it out, just give me some time.”
He also recalled the time he got fired from Motown and realized he just wasn’t ready.
“It’s simply I wasn’t ready yet. I think everybody don’t know what color I am. It’s like, “He’s not black enough. He’s not white enough. He’s got a Latin last name but he doesn’t have– he doesn’t speak Spanish. Who are we selling this to? Are you making urban music? Are you making pop music? What kind of music are you making?”
You can watch the entire interview on 60 Minutes.
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re: Bruno Mars featured on both 60 Minutes and American Music Awards:We saw the 60 Minutes story and learned about his upbringing, pride in Hawaii, and his enormous musical passion and talent. He will be charming and performing for all for a long time!