Archives For bruno mars

VIDEO: Logic On ‘1-800-273-8255’ Success: ‘It’s Been Insane’

Ralphie Aversa  —  02/02/2018 — Leave a comment

At The 60th GRAMMYs on Sunday, one of the night’s more poignant moments was delivered from a likely source: the live performance of “1-800-273-8255” by Logic, Alessia Cara and Khalid. If you caught the trio’s rendition of the single at the MTV Video Music Awards then you knew it would be a can’t-miss part of the show. Just as memorable was Logic’s sermon that he delivered following the piece; he later revealed the Recording Academy asked him to speak there.

Still the song and its success are rather unlikely. It began when Logic, born Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, noticed fans on tour and online reacting to his music and story in a way he didn’t expect: by saying it changed or saved their life. The reactions inspired Logic to head in to the studio and channel that energy in to a track that he would eventually entitle with the Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

“I never thought in a million years thought that that song would take me (to The GRAMMYs),” Logic said at The Garden following the ceremony’s conclusion Sunday night. “I love to make fun music, all types of hip-hop and even over trap beats.

“And I always thought it was something more like that, like a more fun or clubby or happy kind of vibe that would get me on that stage. So I can’t believe that I made a song that I never thought would ever do any of that, just from a place in my heart, strictly for my fans and anybody it could reach – and the fact that it actually reached them… it’s crazy.”

The track was up for “Song Of The Year” and lost to Bruno Mars’ “That’s What I Like” but to Logic, it didn’t seem to matter much.

“I mean, I won. That’s how I feel!” he told me and the rest of the Media Center at The Garden following his performance. “This is insane.”


Bonus: I asked Alessia Cara a few questions following her GRAMMY win for Best New Artist.

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VIDEO: Talking GRAMMY Nominations And Snubs On PIX11

Ralphie Aversa  —  11/29/2017 — Leave a comment

Woke up early (or perhaps, stayed up late?) to join my friends at the PIX11 Morning News and talk about this year’s GRAMMY Nominations. Of course we covered some local artists who received nods, the major categories and who might have been snubbed. A big thanks to Dan, Oji, Betty and Marcia for having me!

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INTERVIEW: DNCE Isn’t Focusing On Another Album… For Now

Ralphie Aversa  —  06/03/2017 — Leave a comment

Bad news if you’re expecting a new DNCE album: don’t.

“For us, we focus on songs right now,” lead singer Joe Jonas told me backstage at the Billboard Music Awards. “We’re always writing so, if something just kind of comes together and it’s an album (then) so be it, we’re going to release it.

“We’re not really trying to lock us down to like, ‘Here’s a release date for a record.’ We got a song? Let’s just put it out.”

Jonas and company dropped an EP with the breakout hit “Cake By The Ocean” before releasing a full length album a year later. The quartet is back with its first single since: the Nicki Minaj-featured “Kissing Strangers.”

“We’re huge fans of her’s,” bassist Cole Whittle said. “We thought about it and she hadn’t really done anything in the rock-and-roll world with like a raw band and we approached her. She was in to it.”

Whittle noted the “aesthetic marriage” between the two acts and how both thought it was a good idea. For Minaj, the only time she really came as close to a “rock band” vibe was her feature on the track “Knockout” from Lil Wayne’s “Rebirth” album. While the song did not fare too well on the charts, it did sell over a half-million copies in less than a year.

Meanwhile, DNCE probably wouldn’t mind replicating the success of “Cake,” which earned platinum-certification in a number of countries including over 3 million served in the U.S. The band will play a smattering of shows this summer before joining Bruno Mars on the Latin America leg of his “24K Magic World Tour.”

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Requesting Wet Wipes Is Nothing New For Bruno Mars

Ralphie Aversa  —  12/16/2016 — Leave a comment

Bruno Mars responding to James Corden’s inquiry about his tour rider during “Carpool Karaoke” was hilarious but upon further review, far from revealing, at least at the moment.

“Some booze, some water,” the “24K Magic” singer first told Corden about what he needs in his dressing room prior to a concert. Mars then offered up a thoughtful pause before adding, “Wet wipes.”

“All Bruno Mars needs is some wine and some wet wipes,” the TV host joked while Mars cracked that the line could provide the inspiration for his next album, to which they then both agreed could be massive.

“Pop the cork and wipe down!” Corden quickly sang, to the tune of “Don’t believe me, just watch!” from “Uptown Funk.” And the host wasn’t finished, freestyling, “Stop! Wait a minute! Wipe my face, put some liquor with it!” as Mars beatboxed the Mark Ronson-produced beat.

The interaction, its likes which have become Corden’s trademark on the segment, was instant TV and viral video gold. However following a search for a leaked Bruno Mars rider online, two points became apparent: the rider has never leaked and Mars talked about wanting wet wipes and wine backstage in a 2013 clip posted on TMZ’s website.

If anything, credit Mars with consistency… and of course, cleanliness. Plus fast forward a few years, and who knows, you might even be able to credit Corden with the singer’s next LP title.

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Don’t Believe Me Just Watch: ‘Uptown Funk’ Almost Didn’t Give It To You

Ralphie Aversa  —  02/09/2016 — Leave a comment

The next time you hear “Uptown Funk,” the infectious anthem birthed by DJ/producer Mark Ronson and recording artist Bruno Mars, think about this: it almost never was.

“I remember Bruno once saying like, ‘Man it just breaks my heart but maybe this song is just not supposed to be,’” Ronson recalled to me early last year. “From that initial creative point of it, it was so exciting. That’s why I was hanging on to it like, ‘We gotta make this work.’”

Good thing he did. A billion-view music video, Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, double-GRAMMY nomination and 9-times RIAA platinum certification later, “Uptown Funk” has gone on to top the 2015 year-end charts in seven different countries. Additionally, it sits as 12 on Billboard’s all-time Hot 100 chart here in the U.S.

“Now when I hear it and I just see people like go wild or dance or light up, it’s great,” Ronson told me, noting that he forgets about the long, stressful nights that went in to the record’s creation.
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Coming off last weekend’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, Ronson and Mars now look to take home hardware on music’s biggest night. The GRAMMYs air Monday on CBS from Los Angeles, and “Uptown Funk” is up for Best Pop Song Duo/Group Performance and one of the evening’s biggest awards: Record of the Year.

“I’ve had a few (successes) but none of my own records have… you know, they’ve always been cult hits or ‘DJ records’ and stuff,” reflected the English-born, New York-raised producer on the success of “Uptown Funk” in 2015. “This is beyond anything I ever really thought would happen.”

This is Ronson’s third nomination for Record of the Year and if he wins, he’ll add it to the mantle alongside the award he scored thanks to Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab.” Coincidentally, Mars and Ronson also were up for the category in 2014 thanks to “Locked Out Of Heaven.”

“You know, I had always heard about (Mars) even when he just started out and everyone around LA was like, ‘Oh yeah, this super-talented kid Bruno; he plays all these instruments (and) he’s a great songwriter,’” Ronson said. “I never met him and I got a call just to go in and we met and we talked about music…and I just really liked him so we started working on his second album.”

The DJ/producer has three GRAMMYs in-all, also nabbing Producer of the Year, Non-Classical and Best Pop Vocal Album in 2008 – a year that belonged to the late Winehouse.

“No one’s ever going to live up to Amy, you know in the way she was such a singular, incredible artist,” Ronson said of her. But while the two are never compared (and rightfully so), when MTV wanted to pay homage to Winehouse on the 2011 Video Music Awards, they called on one artist.

Bruno Mars.

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INTERVIEW: Mark Ronson Recalls Growing Up In NYC, Reveals ‘Uptown Funk’ Almost Never Was

Ralphie Aversa  —  02/19/2015 — Leave a comment

Mark Ronson, tall on knowledge but short on sleep, stopped by “Ralphie Tonight” to chat about his number one hit that almost never was. Ronson also talked about the media comparing new artists to others that have come before them and what it’s like to perform alongside the likes of Bruno Mars and Mystikal.


The DJ and producer recalled growing up in New York City, and opined how Manhattan has changed since he was a kid on the Upper West Side. Ronson’s album, Uptown Special, is on Rdio now.

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INTERVIEW: Fitz and The Tantrums Talk Touring With Bruno Mars, ‘The Walker’

Ralphie Aversa  —  03/31/2014 — Leave a comment

Fitz and The Tantrums sat down with “Ralphie Tonight” to chat about the band’s latest single “The Walker” and last year’s trek in support of Bruno Mars.

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INTERVIEW: Sharon Osbourne ‘Would Die’ For Bruno Mars

Ralphie Aversa  —  02/09/2014 — Leave a comment

Sharon Osbourne talked for a quick minute with “The Ralphie Show” about a current artist she adores and her CBS TV show, “The Talk.”

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INTERVIEW: Bruno Mars’ Sisters Let The World Into Their Home With New Reality Show

Ralphie Aversa  —  12/01/2013 — Leave a comment

If you’re a Bruno Mars fan, you’re going to get an unprecedented look inside his family life and home thanks to his four sisters. Tiara, Presley, Tahiti, and Jaime Hernandez are collectively known as “The LYLAS,” and the singing group’s new reality show airs Friday at 9 on WE tv. In the first episode, the sisters waste no time mentioning that their brother is pretty famous. The audience also gets a look at the family coping with the death of their mother. Bernadette Hernandez died of a brain aneurism on June 1. She was 55.

“We were able to capture the last moments we had with her,” Tahiti said when the sisters sat down for an interview on “The Ralphie Show” prior to the series premiere. Tiara interjected that the filming and airing of that period in their life, “turned out to be a blessing.”

“(The show) became more about our family,” she continued. “We let everybody in (to our life) more than we really expected we were going to. It became really personal.”

Jaime notes that the girls’ mother will appear in the first five episodes of the series. Outside of his tour that was set to begin later that month, their brother Bruno stayed away from the public eye after the tragedy. There was also talk among the sisters about shutting down production of the show.

“We didn’t want to hide what was really happening,” Tiara said of the family’s decision to move on as planned. “We didn’t want to fake what was really happening. It would have been disrespectful to our mother had we just (said), ‘Let’s not talk about it.’ That would have been shallow, and not real.”

While the show gave more of an inside look in to the Hernandez family than they had initially anticipated, the main premise is still four sisters moving from Hawaii to Los Angeles with aspirations for musical stardom. The LYLAS, an acronym for “Love You Like A Sister,” will release new music throughout the series to coincide with new episodes.

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INTERVIEW: Kelly Clarkson Reveals Failed Collabs With Lil Wayne, Bruno Mars

Ralphie Aversa  —  11/30/2012 — Leave a comment

Kelly Clarkson recently told The Associated Press that the only pop artist that has ever said “yes” to collaborating with her is Chris Daughtry. When asked about this on “The Ralphie Show,” the singer revealed two of her failed attempts.

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“Either Bruno Mars or Lil Wayne, I had different songs for both of them,” Clarkson said in an interview that aired Thursday night on 95.5 PLJ’s “The Ralphie Show.” “It was just kind of a cool, random thing.”

Clarkson has no hard feelings for either artist as both were in the midst of touring at the time. The original “Idol” winner admitted that the road schedule for pop music stars is the biggest reason why she hasn’t been able to link up with any.

“So I know a lot of people are busy,” she said. “But, everyone can’t be busy right?”

The singer has better luck linking up with country artists; she duets with Vince Gill on her new Greatest Hits: Chapter 1 album.

“When the (record) label brought (the idea of the compilation) up to me, I was like, ‘Seriously? I’m not over,’” Clarkson recalled. “Usually, like a ‘Greatest Hits’ would be like someone older that’s like, ‘And this is what we’re doing because we can’t do anything else.’”

Clarkson’s perspective on the project is what prompted the “Chapter 1” in the album title.

“The past decade is going to be so different from the next decade for me,” Clarkson also said. “Your 20’s are just so difficult, and like very much a roller coaster ride. There’s some awesome things in there, but there’s also some like, ‘Oh God, please let me get to my 30’s.’”

The artist won “American Idol” when she was 20, and spent the next 10 years selling over 25 million albums across the world. The success came with its downfalls: a relatively public feud with RCA Records head Clive Davis and an empty search for love. As the 30 year-old Clarkson looks ahead, both seem to be in the rear-view mirror. The singer is currently dating Brandon Blackstock, her manager’s son and Reba McEntire’s stepson.

“We have a new house together, so it’s our first Christmas together, like in the new house, and we’re pretty excited,” said Clarkson. “We’re trying to do some first Christmas traditions.”

As for a possible engagement, Clarkson told Ellen DeGeneres that she and Blackstock “were totally going to get married.” In hindsight, she admitted to me that the fleeting moment of gushing about her beau led to a bit of embarrassment.

“I had such a girl moment!” Clarkson said, also noting that she didn’t think that she would be talking about her personal life on the show. “It’s awesome to be the youngest in my family and everyone’s married with children, and I’m like the black sheep that travels the world alone.”

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