From hip-hop anthems with Sexyy Red to romantic ballads with Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars has proved that with unmistakable star status, almost anything can cater to a mass audience. The question lies within the long-awaited release of his fourth solo studio album: Is Mars’ music widely streamed because of his quality, or his reputation?
Mars’ album, “The Romantic,” was released Feb. 27, 2026. Channeling musical genres such as retro-soul and funk, the album dives deep into Mars’ love life. The release spans only 31 minutes with nine songs, an underwhelming release for a ten-year wait. While the anticipation Mars managed to create around the record was enthralling, “The Romantic” falls flat with its one-dimensional lyricism and ordinary melodies.
Mars announced the album on Instagram through a 20-second video clip of a Mariachi band and a Latin wedding. With the announcement, he also released the date of his first single, “I Just Might,” and the accompanying music video. Diverging from this pre-proposed aesthetic, the music video featured a band in a disco-inspired room. While these differing aspects were confusingly dissimilar, both promised an album full of life.
“I Just Might” is certainly a standout track. While it stands apart obviously because of its musical inspirations rooted in disco, the groovy nature of it is reminiscent of his old hits, such as “Uptown Funk.” It invites the listener to dance, and its instrumentation feels freeing, bringing energy back to a quite lifeless album.
As the album peters out, however, the lackluster lyricism is glaring. The tracks “God Was Showing Off” and “Why You Wanna Fight?” offer much possible depth, but Mars chooses to stay shallow. While he is not necessarily known for his eloquent writing, his witty lyrics have been praised throughout the years in his previous smash hits. These two aforementioned tracks solidified the album’s low lyrical status.
The first track, “Risk It Al,l” definitely sets the album up for a good start. The soft strum of a guitar and passionate trumpet melody do well at establishing the feeling encapsulated in this album: passionate romance. While the lyrics are full of devotion and joy, they still end up feeling flat compared to Mars’ previous clever and beautifully written songs off of his second album, “Unorthodox Jukebox.” While he talks about being willing to do anything for his partner, he introduces nothing new to the idea, leaving nothing to be interpreted.
One thing that you cannot deny about Mars are his insane vocals. Throughout the album, even in the more forgettable tracks, he displays his vocal range in crazy runs. His inflection and tone perfectly match this genre of music, so it is disappointing that the songs made as a result of the two are not as expected.
In the second-to-last song off “The Romantic,” Mars strips it back to a track reminiscent of his number one hit with Lady Gaga, “Die With A Smile.” With the roaring electric guitar, his voice slides smoothly through the song. “Nothing Left” deviates from Mars’ deeply-in-love attitude and highlights his powerful belting vocals. He recognizes a relationship that has seemed to burn out, and leaves the listener with a message of how important community and communication are. The guitar riffs in the song are a highlight, and even though the lyrics are hopeless, the instrumentation lightens the mood to match the other songs.
Overall, while “The Romantic” may look promising as a highly anticipated album, it fails to deliver any nuance. The songs feel flat and undeveloped, as shown by the shallow lyrics, which don’t come close to rivaling Mars’ old ones with their catchy hooks and melodies. It may be worth a casual listen, but it is not going to captivate you.
