Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars perform as Silk Sonic during the 2021 Grammy Awards broadcast. Theo Wargo/Getty Images for The Recording Academy hide caption
Bruno Mars
Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars, together as Silk Sonic. Their debut, An Evening with Silk Sonic, tops our shortlist of the week's best new albums. John Esparza/Silk Sonic hide caption
Musicians who made some of NPR Music's favorite songs of 2021 (so far) include (left to right) Silk Sonic, Cico P, Seinabo Sey, Petal Supply and Amber Mark. Courtesy of artists hide caption
Meshell Ndegeocello's album Ventriloquism is a collection of covers of R&B songs from the 1980s and '90s. Charlie Gross/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Bruno Mars received seven Grammys, including Album, Song and Record of the Year. Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Bruno Mars (left) and Mark Ronson, whose song, "Uptown Funk!," has been the No. 1 song in the country for four weeks in a row. Vevo/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Just One Of The Guys: Bruno Mars (center, with microphone) performs with his band at Key Arena in Seattle, Washington on July 21. Mat Hayward/Getty Images hide caption
Bruno Mars draws inspiration from across the pop landscape on his second album, Unorthodox Jukebox. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Bruno Mars co-wrote "Right Round" by Flo Rida (featuring Ke$ha) and "Wavin' Flag" by K'naan. Atlantic Records hide caption
Bruno Mars has experienced success as a producer but is now making a name for himself with a new album of his own. Gabriel Bouys hide caption
Bruno Mars. Andreas Laszlo Konrath/Courtesy of the artist hide caption