Bruno Mars - 24K Magic [American Music Awards Performance]
This has been a year of loss and sadness and war, and many people cannot wait to see 2016 drag its battered self off the calendar and pass the mantle to Baby New Year 2017.
David Bowie, really? And Prince? AND Florence Henderson? AND Alan Thicke AND Arnold Palmer AND Muhammed Ali AND Harper Lee AND AND AND?
Truly a year of suck.
In the midst of darkness, however, there are fifteen minutes of the brightest light, one quarter-hour of sheer joy. Singer Bruno Mars joined James Corden, host of CBS"s "The Late Late Show with James Corden," for an exuberantly musical "Carpool Karaoke" cruise through the streets of Los Angeles. (CBS is CNET"s parent company.)
During the ride, corden makes mars prove he looks better than Corden does in even the silliest hat, pets the singer"s silk shirt, discusses Mars" start in music (he still sings a mean Elvis) and makes the one-time professional card player demonstrate his poker face.
Best of all, the two joyously rock out to a bevy of Mars" hits, including "24K Magic," "Versace on the Floor," "Locked Out of Heaven" and a rousing rendition of Mars" blockbuster hit "Uptown Funk."
It"s too hot, (hot d**n), you"re gonna want to call a police, and a fireman. It"s too hot (hot d**n!), make a dragon want to retire, man.
Bruno Mars just hopped into the passenger seat of James Corden"s car and took us on a funky journey through some of his greatest hits, including "Locked Out of Heaven","Versace on the Floor", "Uptown Funk", "If I Knew" and, of course, "24K Magic."
Between the costume changes (Hello, matching hats and pinky rings!) and plenty of perfectly timed dance breaks, tonight"s segment was not one to be missed. The two brought the housecar downwhile harmonizing to the Grammy-winner"s most memorable singles.
Corden teased the segment yesterday with a short clip of the duo dancing to "24K Magic," and Mars shared the teaser on Twitter, saying, "I think the game just changed." mars certainly did put on a great show with help from the always charming Corden, but was it truly game changing? We"re still processing Madonna"s turn from last week, so it"s hard to say.
Sound off in the comments below, then check back on E! Online tomorrow for more, including our updated ranking of every Carpool Karaoke guest so far!
The Late Late Show with James Corden airs weeknights at 12:37 a.m. on CBS.
Bruno Mars - Versace on The Floor [Official Audio]
Hold fire!
As debates over this year"s GRAMMY snubs rage on, ET would like to take a moment to clarify which albums were actually eligible, and which we might see more of on the next awards season cycle.
RELATED: 2017 GRAMMY Awards: The Complete List
In order to be considered for the 2017 GRAMMY Awards, the new music -- including singles and albums -- must have been released between Oct. 1, 2015 and Sept. 30, 2016. Among the albums released outside the window: The Weeknd"s Starboy, Bruno Mars" 24K Magic, Lady Gaga"s Joanne, Miranda Lambert"s The Weight of These Wings, Alicia Keys" Here, Michael Buble"s Nobody But Me, Kenny Chesney"s Cosmic Hallelujah, and Bon Jovi"s This House Is Not for Sale.
However, a handful of those artists did debut their album"s lead singles ahead of the eligibility cutoff, including The Weeknd"s "Starboy" (released just eight days before) and "False Alarm," as well as Lady Gaga"s "Perfect Illusion." None of those tracks garnered a nomination on Tuesday.
RELATED: 2017 GRAMMYs: 6 Biggest Snubs and Surprises
In the country world, Lambert and Chesney both scored nominations for their singles, "Vice" and "Setting the World on Fire," respectively. Lambert"s "Vice" is up for Best country solo performance and Best country song, while Chesney"s collaboration with Pink is up for Best country duo/group performance. Both albums will be in contention for the 2018 ceremony.
Meanwhile, neither of Frank Ocean"s 2016 releases -- Blonde and Endless -- were submitted for consideration, despite being released within the eligibility timeframe. The 29-year-old has already won two GRAMMYs -- Best Urban Contemporary Album for Channel Orange and Best Rap-Sung Collaboration for "No Church in the Wild" with Kanye West and Jay-Z -- and been nominated a total of eight times between 2013 and 2015.
The 2017 GRAMMY Awards will be hosted by The Late Late Show"s James Corden and will air live on CBS on Feb. 12.
From Taylor Swift winning her second Album of the Year to Lady Gaga"s tribute to the late David Bowie, here"s a look at some of the stand-out moments from last year"s GRAMMYs.
Bruno Mars - 24K Magic [Official Video] Justice, Randy Justice - "Randy" Video by Justice
Justice, the French electronic duo, have always had a flair for iconography, and not just in their stage show. So the video for Randy a new single from their third album, Woman, due on Nov. 18 is true to form. Directed and designed by Thomas Jumin, it features a choreographed flow of graphics and footage on 25 vintage televisions, stacked in a wall-like installation. Its an effective tactic for a disco-esque song whose lyrics reek of motivational camp: Dont stop/Try to make your mark/And make your mind up. (The vocals, by Morgan Phalen, are in a thin falsetto.) The most transfixing moments in the video, which was filmed in real time, involve simple shifts in perspective: a slow zoom-in on a single screen, or the pulsating light show set to an industrial breakdown that kicks in just after the three-minute mark. NATE CHINEN
Alicia Keys feat. ASAP Rocky, Blended Family (What You Do for Love) Alicia Keys - "Blended Family (What You Do For Love)" ft. A$AP Rocky Video by aliciakeysVEVO
Laying it bare, paring it back, opening up: these are now the core principles for Alicia Keys, if they werent already. HERE, the title of her forthcoming sixth album, carries an implicit pledge: I am fully present in this moment, for you. And thats precisely the message conveyed in her soothing new single, Blended Family (What You Do for Love). Produced by Ms. Keys and Mark Batson, its a stepmothers note of reassurance: Hey, I might not really be your mother, she begins, over an acoustic guitar loop. But that dont mean that I dont really love ya. A sparse hip-hop beat kicks in, and Ms. Keyss encouraging tone is eventually co-signed by ASAP Rocky, who raps his verse from the other side of the parent-child arrangement: I remember having four stepmoms at 9/Love Christmastime and birthday was fly. N.C.
Ricardo Grilli, Arcturus
Ricardo Grilli is a postbop guitarist with a sideline interest in the cosmos. He crowded his new album, 1954, with tracks bearing titles like Cosmonauts and Radiance. Rather than a gimmick, the concept feels like a natural fit for Mr. Grilli, who was born in So Paulo but now lives in Brooklyn, and has a taste for the ultramodern. Theres an attractively questing quality in the albums opener, Arcturus, named after the brightest star in the Northern sky. Featuring an A-list rhythm team the pianist Aaron Parks, the bassist Joe Martin, the drummer Eric Harland it has a driving rock groove over which Mr. Grilli unfurls a coolly billowing solo. N.C.
Zeds Dead feat. Rivers Cuomo and Pusha T, Too Young Zeds Dead - "Too Young" (ft. Rivers Cuomo & Pusha T) Video by Zeds Dead
The post-Avicii kitchen-sink approach to big-tent dance music is one of that worlds most perverse strengths so long as the beats-per-minute are appropriate, almost anyone can be co-opted into the style, regardless of how apt they sound. Too Young, the new single by Canadian production duo Zeds Dead, appears to exist largely for the novelty of getting Rivers Cuomo and Pusha T on the same song, the sort of overlap that last had frisson around the Judgment Night soundtrack era, and which the mash-up craze of the early 2000s should have killed for good. Instead, on this harmlessly dopey track, Mr. Cuomos vocals are light and tart, and Pusha T delivers his snarling rhymes clearly enough for Sesame Street. J.C.
Mary J. Blige, Thick of It
Theres almost no limit to the Mary J. Blige-ness of the new Mary J. Blige single, Thick of It. An affronted list of grievances delivered as if from the foot of the bed, it has a measured pace, a soulful arrangement and an air of embattled dignity. Ms. Blige, who wrote the song with Jazmine Sullivan, isnt issuing a snapshot of reconciliation here, as anyone could tell by scanning the end rhymes in the chorus:
lovetrustmuchenough
Theres a verse rapped in sure-footed triplet cadence, but all of the songs tension comes from the pained rhetorical in the introduction: Should I stick it out? Ms. Blige sings in her confiding lower register, before springboarding up an octave. Are you worth this fight? Are we worth this fight? N.C.
Orrin Evans, Half the Battle
Mr. Evans is a pugnacious, intuitive jazz pianist who has long divided his time between New York and his native Philadelphia. Hes also an avid pop-culture consumer now in his 40s, which explains the throwback allusion in the title of his new album, #knowingishalfthebattle. (If that doesnt ring a bell, you obviously didnt watch G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, a Reagan-era staple of the after-school cartoon block.) The album puts Mr. Evans in dialogue with two different guitar heroes from his hometown, Kevin Eubanks and Kurt Rosenwinkel. He hasnt often worked with guitarists, but the evidence suggests that he should keep exploring in this vein. Half the Battle, featuring Mr. Rosenwinkel, is a shadow-realm prowl suspenseful in its harmonic irresolution, an excellent disquisition on the dark grandeur of the unknown. N.C.
Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker, Something Familiar Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker - "Something Familiar" Video by Rough Trade Records
The British folk duo Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker have often seemed to pine for pastoral bygones, working mainly with her sweet, somber voice and his fingerpicked acoustic guitar. Their elegant new album, Overnight, due Oct. 14, indulges this fantasy with a hushed but cleareyed purpose. It includes a version of the traditional English ballad Weep You No More, Sad Fountains, but theres also a bone-dry cover of Dark Turn of Mind, by the American singer-songwriter Gillian Welch. Most of the originals feel just as lean, with a few sweeter outliers like The Waning Crescent, which inches toward 60s mod. One of the loveliest offerings is Something Familiar, a swaying waltz about the bittersweet transience of a choice moment and, just maybe, the mirage-like beauty of a mythic past. N.C.
Taking to his Instagram account, Bruno Mars has confirmed that he will be joining Beyonc and Coldplay for the Super Bowl halftime festivities this weekend.
Back in September, the NFL confirmed that they had asked Mars to help curate the artists to perform for the esteemed halftime show, helping to hand pick the accompanying musical acts.
And now, Mars has posted photos on his Instagram account of his arrival to the Levis Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Brunos halftime performance at Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey was nominated for a primetime Emmy.
The 2016 Super Bowl is scheduled to air on CBS this Sunday at 3:30 p.m. PST.
