Background
"I was with my friend
Benny Blanco and he was playing me some songs, and he played me this song that had a lyric like [the one in "Grenade"]... he said, this band is not signed, this is a CD that wasn’t released. I said to Benny, I can relate to that so much, I want to take that and make it my own. He was in contact with the dude, and I started writing my version, basically. It’s a heartbreaking, heartbreak song, and I think everyone can relate to that. You’re so in love with this woman and you don’t understand, 'What am I doing wrong? What am I not giving to you? I’ll go as far as putting a bullet in my brain for you, and why can’t I get that kind of love in return?'"
—Bruno Mars on writing and the meaning of "Grenade"
[edit]Composition
"Grenade" is a
pop and
R&B ballad, co-written by Mars with songwriting-production team
The Smeezingtons, Brody Brown,
Claude Kelly, and
Andrew Wyatt.
[4][5][6] Sheet music published by
Sony/ATV Music Publishing shows that "Grenade" is set in the key of
D minor and was published in
common time, with a moderate
tempo of 108 beats per minute. Mars' vocals span from A
3 to D
5 and
background vocals are heard throughout.
[6] The song starts softly but
crescendoes both musically and lyrically toward the climax of the song, backed by "pulsating, synthesized beats".
[7] According to Jon Caramanica of
The New York Times, the song contains elements of
1980s pop and is accompanied by drums similar to those used by
Kanye West.
[8] About.com's Bill Lamb noted "classical pop song construction" and
The New Zealand Herald's Scott Kara described its beats as
Shakira-esque.
[9][10] The song contains elements of
Jeff Tweedy's "I'll Fight".
[4]Lyrically, the "Grenade" contains
masochistic themes and tells the story of heartbreak caused by a failed relationship: "Gave you all I had / And you tossed it in the trash".
[7][11] The chorus has Mars singing, "I'd catch a grenade for ya," and speaks of
unrequited love when the subject girl of his affections "won't do the same".
[9][12] As Mars himself simply told
Blues & Soul: "'Grenade' represents the OTHER side of love - where you're in love with a woman and you know for a fact that she doesn't love you the way you love HER."
[13][edit]Reception
[edit]Critical reception
Grenade has been well received by critics. Lamb gave a review of four-and-a-half stars out of five, praising Mars' vocals and emotional lyrics on a track that "cements his position as the top new artist of 2010".
[9] Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt called "Grenade" the "atmospheric opener" of Mars' debut studio album, and enjoyed it as one of the album's highlights, as did
The Washington Post's Sean Fennessey.
[11][14] Roberto Mucciacciaro for
MTV noted its strong influence and similarity to
Michael Jackson's "
Dirty Diana", a song which Mars has coincidentally covered on several occasions.
[5][15] AOL Radio's Amar Toor praised the song, calling it "nothing short of explosive", and
Rolling Stone's Jody Rosen recommended it as proof of Mars' capabilities as a "lavishly gifted melodist".
[7][16] However,
Slant's Eric Henderson dismissed its unrealistic lyrics and
allmusic's Tim Sendra thought the song was "over-the-top"—one of the weaker ones on the album.
[17][18][edit]Chart performance
"Grenade" first debuted on the
Billboard Hot 100 the week of October 16, 2010 at the eighty-first position and climbed the chart to number five for the week ending December 18, 2010.
[19] On December 29, it peaked at number 1, making it Bruno Mars' third number one single on the chart, the others being B.o.B's
Nothin' On You, on which he was featured, and
Just the Way You Are. (It later dropped and rose back to #1 two more times, making it one of only seven singles in
Billboard history to have three distinct runs at #1.) In January, 2011, it became his second solo single to top the 2 million mark in paid downloads.
[20] It has now sold over 3,000,000 downloads in the US.
[21] In February, it topped the 3 million mark taking only 19 weeks to do so. Compared to this feat,
Just The Way You Are reached this mark only 4 weeks later, in its 23rd week.
[22] The song has peaked at number one in the
Canadian Hot 100,
[23] New Zealand, Australia and Sweden.
[24][25] As of February 4, it has spent a total of 4 weeks at the top of the Irish Singles Chart.
[edit]Music video

Bruno Mars pulling the piano in the music video.
A music video was released on November 19, 2010, directed by NABIL.
[26] In a behind-the-scenes video, Mars explained, "The concept of the video is my struggle, to tell this girl I'd do anything for her, so I'm going as far as dragging a piano to get to her just so I can sing my heart out."
[27]The video involves Mars's efforts to sing to a girl after dragging an
upright piano through
Los Angeles.
[3][27][28] He wears a suit and encounters a
gang and a
pit bull along the way.
[27][29] When he reaches the girl's house and finds out she is with another man, he drags himself and the piano in front of a train.
[29]Lil Wayne created an unofficial remix to the single.
[30] The song is identical except for Lil Wayne provides a 16-bar introduction verse to the song.
[31] When Bruno Mars heard it he called it "Awesome and was really excited about it."
[32] MTV described as "Lil Wayne delivering a spoken word-style flow, expressing devotion for his love interest."
[32] The Source described the his bars as "clever and appropriately emo."
[33][edit]Live performances
Mars performed the song during a performance at the
Bowery Ballroom in
New York City on August 25, 2010, with him and his four-piece band dressed in blue tuxedos and black skinny ties.
[5] The song was also performed in a similar manner on the October 9, 2010 episode of
Saturday Night Live, as part of a segue from "
Nothin' on You".
[34][35] A soulful arrangement of the song was sung for a
Billboard Tastemakers video session.
[36] Additionally, Mars made a musical appearance on the
Late Show with David Letterman with "Grenade" accompanied by an all-female string section.
[37] The song was performed at the 2010
Soul Train Music Awards on November 28, 2010, where Mars also shared a win for Song of the Year with "Nothin' on You.
[38] He also performed the song on the dutch television show
The Voice of Holland, which will air in the United States from May on NBC as "The Voice of America", on January 21.
[edit]Track listing
- "Grenade" – 3:42
- "Grenade" (album version) – 3:45
- "Just the Way You Are" (Carl Louis & Martin Danielle Classic Mix) – 5:17
- The Grenade Sessions digital EP[41]
- "Grenade" – 3:45
- "Catch a Grenade" (The Hooligans Remix) – 3:30
- "Grenade" (Passion Pit Remix) – 6:10
- "Grenade" (acoustic) – 4:09
- "Grenade" (music video) – 3:40
[edit]Personnel
[edit]Charts and certifications
| [edit]Year-end charts[edit]Certifications |
[edit]Chart precession and succession
[show]Order of precedence |
[edit]See also
[edit]References
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- ^ Bain, Becky (August 31, 2010). "Bruno Mars: The Idolator Interview". Idolator. Buzz Media. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
- ^ a b Copsey, Robert (October 21, 2010). "Bruno Mars". Digital Spy. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
- ^ a b c (2010) Album notes for Doo-Wops & Hooligans by Bruno Mars [CD booklet]. United States: 2-525393.
- ^ a b c MacDonald, John S. W. (August 26, 2010). "Hitmaker Bruno Mars Wows the Ladies in NY Debut". Spin. Spin Media LLC. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
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- ^ Caramanica, Jon (October 5, 2010). "Bruno Mars in Ascension". The New York Times(Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr.). Retrieved November 15, 2010.
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- ^ Kara, Scott (November 27, 2010). "Album Review: Bruno Mars Doo-wops and Hooligans". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
- ^ a b Greenblatt, Leah (September 29, 2010). "Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010)".Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (October 19, 2010). "Liking Bruno Mars Just The Way He Is". NPR. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
- ^ Bruno Mars interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' October 2010
- ^ Fennessey, Sean (October 5, 2010). "'Doo-Wops & Hooligans' indicates that Bruno Mars is primed for a durable career". The Washington Post. Katharine Weymouth. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
- ^ Mucciacciaro, Roberto (October 14, 2010). "Bruno Mars' 'Grenade' Channels Michael Jackson Circa 'Dirty Diana'". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
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- ^ http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/72904/week-ending-jan-2-2011-this-is-no-bomb/
- ^ "Week Ending Feb 6, 2011: Songs: Katy Stands Alone - Yahoo! Chart Watch". New.music.yahoo.com. 2011-02-09. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
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- ^ a b "Australian-charts.com – Bruno Mars – Grenade". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
- ^ a b "Charts.org.nz – Bruno Mars – Grenade". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
- ^ Marketwire (November 11, 2010). "Bruno Mars Is On the Move; Major Slate of TV Appearances Scheduled, Including The 2010 GRAMMY Nominations Concert, Letterman, TODAY and the 2010 Soul Train Awards; Pair of Songs Set to Be Featured on FOX's Glee; Sold-Out Headlining Tour Gets Underway as Chart-Topping New Star Joins the Line-Ups at Radio-Sponsored Holiday Concerts Nationwide; "Grenade" Video Set to Premiere Across MTV Networks as Single Continues to Explode at Radio, Following a String of Double-Platinum Hits". Press release. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
- ^ a b c Montgomery, James (November 16, 2010). "Bruno Mars Drags A Piano In 'Grenade' Video Sneak Peek". MTV News. MTV Networks. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
- ^ Ryan, Chris (November 16, 2010). "Video Sneak Peek: Bruno Mars, 'Grenade'". MTV.MTV Networks. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
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- ^ Ziegbe, Mawuse (12 February 2011). "Lil Wayne Relaunches Bruno Mars' "Grenade"". MTV.com. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
- ^ Rutherford, Kevin; Jason Lipshutz, Ricardo Gomez, Kadeem Lundy and Gary Graff (11 February 2011). "Lil Wayne remixes Grenade". www.Billboard.com. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
- ^ a b Rodriguez, Jayson (15 February 2011). "Bruno Mars reacts to Lil Wayne's remix". MTV.com. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
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- ^ Pietroluongo, Silvio (2011-01-13). "Bruno Mars Continues Hot 100 No. 1 Rotation with 'Grenade'". Billboard (Nielson Business Media, Inc). Retrieved 2011-01-13.
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