In a few short years Bruno Mars has gone from songwriter/producer for the likes of B.o.B and Travie McCoy to halftime act for next year's Superbowl. He'll join Beyoncé, Madonna and Springsteen among the artists to have played the biggest gig on Earth, to a TV audience of more than 100 million.
The Hawaii-born cat in the white trilby hat undoubtedly has chutzpah, even if he and his songs are infrequently as entertaining as the lavish spectacle that unfolds around him tonight beneath a giant disco ball. Much of this show's immense watchability derives from Mars's eight virtuoso backing musicians, the Hooligans. During Treasure, they assemble for some James Brown and the Famous Flames-style formation dancing; come Runaway Baby, they wind and grind comedically as Mars declares: "We got you ladies." At one point in Marry You there are so many musicians hurtling around clutching horns and guitars, it's like a bomb alert at a big band rehearsal.
You can practically tick off the retro soul and R&B references as they pass – from the Soul Train-inspired stage set to a Michael Jackson homage of finger-clicking and crotchy dance moves by spotlight. It'd be churlish to suggest Mars doesn't make his own mark – Grenade and Just the Way You Are have sold something like 13 million copies combined – but they're the transition point from a show of rare energy and dynamism into a much more procedural arena-pop spectacle.
When Mars emerges for the encore on a hydraulic riser bashing out a slick solo on a gold drum kit, there's little denying he has 360-degree talent. But as pyrotechnics bang and flames shoot from the stage one last time following the Police-cribbing reggaefied new wave of Locked Out of Heaven and the grimly horny Gorilla, it's another visual feast that flatters the music at its core.
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