After waiting for so long, it’s finally here: Bruno Mars has released music! It has been over 4 years since his last album, 24K Magic, and almost 2 years since his last song “Blow.” When I first heard Mars had released a new song, I was super excited! He is one of the best, most well-rounded artists of our generation. I love that he sings, writes songs, plays multiple instruments, produces records, and even dances! Most of all, I love his music with my favorite album of his being Doo-Wops & Hooligans.

The song, “Leave the Door Open,” was released on March 5th. It quickly rose to #2 on Youtube’s Trending list soon after its release and has already reached over 5.5 million views for its music video alone not even 24 hours since its release! On Youtube, the music video’s title starts by listing 3 artists – first Bruno Mars, then Anderson .Paak, then Silk Sonic. I assumed the song was a collaboration between those 3 artists, but that isn’t the case. In reality, Silk Sonic is Mars and Paak’s new joint band, making “Leave the Door Open” their debut song together. It is the first single from their upcoming album An Evening with Sonic Silk. 

From the very beginning of the song, I was in love, hooked by the amazing drums. To be honest, I didn’t expect this at all. I hadn’t heard any of Anderson .Paak’s music prior to this song so I’m not familiar with his style. Also, “Leave the Door Open” is very different from what Mars has released in the past, which pleasantly surprised me. Throughout the song, I kept thinking the best word to describe this song is smooth, as their voices really complimented each other. They seemed to be just two close buddies grooving and jamming together, having a good time while doing something they love. The music transported me to the 1970’s and I imagined myself on the set of the music video, in the same “Motown studio, where the vibes are immaculate, complete with Kangols and amber shades” (Vulture).

This song really is “smooth like a newborn.” I expect big things from Silk Sonic’s future album, An Evening with Sonic Silk. If you haven’t heard it yet, go and listen to it! “Shamone!”