Bruno Mars: Voice Profile and Vocal Range (2022)

Vocal Range: A2 – Eb5 – B5 (3 octaves and a major second)^[1]https://therangeplanet.proboards.com/thread/1873/bruno-mars

Vocal Fach: Light Lyric Tenor

Vocal Rating: Singer-Vocalist

Analysis: Bruno Mars, one of modern Pop’s leading men, has a voice that may be best described as electric. The son of a singer and a multi-instrumentalist himself, he has spent years honing his energetic performance style and his dramatic, passionate vocal deliveries. As one of radio’s most prominent male vocalists, he has become one of the most admired voices in the industry. His bright, gritty, and slightly nasal voice is often admired for its range, reaching up an impressive D5 with a chest dominant sound. However, Mars often values his musical delivery over the most technically proficient approach, something that should be considered when looking to him for inspiration.

Mars, like many pop singers, tends to push his voice for power by pulling his chest voice up, a dangerous habit that can cause lasting damage. He often chooses wider vowels when singing higher passages, encouraging this behavior and giving him his desired gritty sound.^[2]Sam Johnson, Is Bruno Mars A Good Singer? To his credit, he has shown that he can brighten his voice and create a more sustainable sound, but Mars also can be seen pushing his lower jaw out in front of his upper jaw, which is a clear sign of jaw tension. The combination of these technical shortcomings would be enough to deteriorate the voices of others, but his vocal cords are presumably thin enough to handle this extra tension, at least for the time being.^[3]Id, 9:36.

While these qualities may trick listeners into thinking that Mars has a larger, edgier voice than he naturally does, Mars has the voice of a light lyric tenor. He is certainly a tenor given his high tessitura, but he is not a spinto voice as his volume output is small and lacks any metallic timbre. It’s a youthful and bright instrument with considerable dexterity, whose qualities are often masked by vocal drives and distortions.

With his voice sitting so high, Mars doesn’t begin to pick up bass in his voice until around C3, with his lower register bottoming out around Bb2. From there his voice quickly brightens, as he approaches a tenor’s first bridge, he seemingly faces no issue with F4s (“That’s What I Like”) but begins picking up distortion around G4. From this point up to his highest belt of Eb5, Mars demonstrates the ability to sing with a bright, clear sound, but also his desire to distort these notes for expression. His head voice is also clear and bright, with a ring up to approximately Eb5.

Overall, Mars is a natural vocal talent whose voice is resilient enough to handle the stress that he puts it under. While his most full-throated technique may not be sustainable for most or even him, he is still a respectable vocalist thanks to years of discipline and musicianship.

What do you think of Bruno Mars’ voice? Would you add anything to our analysis? Let us know by commenting below!