Some of them complimented Mars' vocals and compared them to James Brown, describing the song as engaging, fun and evoking feelings of nostalgia.

Following the release of the successful Mark Ronson and Mars's single "Uptown Funk" (2014), the latter headed to the studio to record more songs.

[5] Ray Romulus recalled the singer telling them he wanted to create something that would make people dance again, because in clubs the crowd is on their phones, not moving and glancing at each other.

"[9] In an interview with NME, Mars said he wrote "24K Magic" when "Uptown Funk" (2014) was "number one", so the songs share the same "spirit".

He also admitted that "24K Magic' was influenced by West Coast hip hop artists like "Dr. Dre, DJ Quik, Suga Free ... [they represented] a time when it was okay to party, to be flashy, to get on the dance floor".

[11][12] In November 2017, Mars was a guest on the Charlie Rose Show sharing that the song was the vision he had intended for this album "I saw us having fun on stage.

Dave Foreman played the guitar, while Byron "Mr. Talkbox" Chambers and Mars provided the vocals on the talk box.

[29][30][31] Eventually, they concluded that it was a talk box, developed by Roger Troutman and Zapp, which heavily influenced the single.

[27][30][32] Forbes and Entertainment Weekly's music critics noticed the resemblance between the "robotic-sound" intro on "24K Magic" and Tupac Shakur's "California Love" (1995).

Its structure borrows from "Uptown Funk" as Mars raps while singing the track with a "call and response" composition.

[35][36] The bridge features a record scratching, while the backing vocals of Mars, Lawrence, Brown and Fauntleroy make heavy use of a vocoder.

[35][38] The track reaches its "ebullient" and "infectious" chorus where Mars sings, "Put your pinky rings up to the moon, What y'all tryna do?

I bet they know soon as we walk in", punctuating the verses, he continues with more confidence "I'm a dangerous man with some money in my pocket", while backed up by a chorus "adding tough-guy punch to his mellifluous" shouts.

[37][40] Many reviewers felt "24K Magic" condensed a playlist's worth 80's electro-R&B into one song, with a modern twist on its lyrics.

Willis praised Mars for using the same formula as the earlier single and described the intro as "reminiscent of mid-1990s K-Ci & Jojo".

[36] Carl Williott of Idolator rated the song a nine out of ten, comparing it to "Pure Funk compilations, West Coast G-funk and to Midnight Star".

In the same review, Mike Wass awarded the song 8 out of 10 feeling that it is a mash-up of the 70's, 80's and 90's R&B into "a nuclear-power party anthem" to be played in discos over the next years.

[34] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard compared "24K Magic" to the TV show Stranger Things (2016), since both evoke nostalgic feelings.

Lipshutz found the single "impressive", with a "killer groove" that mashed the "G-funk" genre into a song with modern elements.

[30] Patrick Bowen, reviewing the album for Idolator, said "24K Magic" has the best chorus Mars ever wrote, being superior to "Uptown Funk" in every detail.

Taylor Weatherby wrote that Mars was able to "create another bonafide hip-shaker" like "Uptown Funk" thanks to "24K Magic"'s "infectious beat and James Brown-worthy vocal exhortations".

[39] The Village Voice's annual year-end Pazz & Jop critics' poll selected it as the 48th best song of 2016, tied with Childish Gambino's "Redbone" and Beyoncé's "All Night".

[71] "24K Magic" debuted at number one on France's Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) chart for the week ending October 15, 2016.

[34][100][101] Then, Mars is seen wearing Versace, designer minks and a baseball cap with XXIV written on it as he starts to put on his golden jewelry that consists of rings, necklaces chain, and sunglasses.

[34][102] The rest of the video includes intercut shots of Mars and his band having fun by the poolside, partying, drinking and playing the tables at the MGM Grand Las Vegas.

[101][102] Other scenes include the singer and some of his bandmates driving down the Strip in a black Cadillac Allanté convertible, later purchased by Mars, and riding power-driven scooters in the casino, while "throwing money in the air".

It features Victoria's Secret models Adriana Lima, Elsa Hosk, Jasmine Tookes, Lais Ribeiro, Romee Strijd, Stella Maxwell and Taylor Hill lip-syncing to the song.

Daniel Kreps of Rolling Stone magazine praised the "electric performance" describing it as a "fluid, full-scale spectacle as the camera followed Mars and his singers down a hallway and into the audience" throwing an "epic dance party".

[118] Later that month, he performed the single on the Norwegian television talk show Skavlan and on the following day at the 2016 NRJ Music Awards.

[127] Kendrick Lamar's single "Loyalty", featuring Rihanna, on his album Damn (2017), sampled the song's intro reversed.