[7] Mars began performing five days a week with his family's band (the Love Notes) at age four, and became known in Hawaii for his onstage impersonation of Elvis Presley.

"[19] His stage name was also an effort to "avoid being stereotyped", since the music industry tried to pigeonhole him as another Latin artist and tried to convince him to sing in Spanish.

[24] During this time, Mars played cover songs around Los Angeles in a band called Sex Panther, with Bhasker and Eric Hernandez (the former's brother), who eventually became the drummer of The Hooligans.

[27][29] Before becoming a successful solo artist, Mars was an acknowledged music producer, writing songs for Alexandra Burke, Adam Levine, Brandy, Sean Kingston, and K'naan.

[75][76] On September 8, 2013, Mars was disclosed as the headline performer at the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show, which took place on February 2, 2014, with American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers as special guests.

[123] Their debut album, An Evening with Silk Sonic, released on November 12, 2021, features American musician Bootsy Collins as a special guest host.

[126][47][36] "Leave the Door Open", "Skate, "Smokin out the Window", a cover version of Con Funk Shun's "Love's Train" and "After Last Night" featuring Thundercat and Collins were released as singles.

Mars was raised on his father's 1950s doo-wop collection–"simple four-chord songs that got straight to the point"–and on Little Richard, Frankie Lymon, Little Anthony, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

The playacting had a major impact on his musical evolution; he reflected: I'm a big fan of 1950s Elvis when he would go on stage and scare people because he was a force and girls would go nuts!

[161] As a child he also took notice of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, New Edition, Bobby Brown, Boyz II Men, Teddy Riley, and Babyface.

[165] Other artists Mars has said inspired his work include Janet Jackson,[166] Jimi Hendrix,[161][165] Amy Winehouse,[167] Sly Stone, Carlos Santana, George Clinton, and Usher.

[173][178] His subsequent release, Unorthodox Jukebox, as with his debut album, is infused with different influences including disco, funk, rock, reggae and soul, as well as balladry.

Jim Farber of the New York Daily News likened the voice "the purity, cream and range of mid-period Michael Jackson" in a review of a concert promoting Unorthodox Jukebox.

"[204] In the same vein, Jim Farber of the Daily News commented about the halftime show at Super Bowl XLVIII that Mars "brings old-school showmanship to dynamic performance.

[4] During The Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour, Ara Jansan from The West Australian called the performance "one of the most creative and exciting displays of musical artistry" she had witnessed in a long time and noticed the concert attracted a wide-ranging audience of all age groups.

[209] During the Moonshine Jungle Tour, Jason Lipshutz of Billboard described the singer's performance as "entertaining ... keeping smiles plastered on the faces of his onlookers, and he does a better job at it than almost anyone working in music right now".

From 2010 to 2017, Mars co-directed with Cameron Duddy ten music videos from his albums Doo-Wops & Hooligans, Unorthodox Jukebox, and 24K Magic, as well as featured singles.

[235] During the recording process of 24K Magic, Mars imposed a dress code in the studio, favoring jewelry and "fine clothes" over sweatpants to create "groovy, smooth and soulful songs".

[249] In 2020, Mars decided to go global, after he and Gold tried multiple combinations with the bottles and flavors for years, the singer was responsible for the new taste, branding, and design of the packaging, with a 1970s style.

"[272] He also performed at the Robin Hood Foundation's 2014 annual benefit to "fight poverty in New York City by supporting nonprofit organizations with financial and technical assistance.

[277] He also created a protest placard with an Angela Davis quote for an online auction called Show Me the Signs to help families of black women killed by police.

[278] Until the end of 2021, Mars donated all the profits earned with SelvaRey Rum to the Honolulu Community College's Music & Entertainment Learning Experience program, in Hawaii.

[280] In 2022, Mars alongside Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Shawn Mendes, and Rosalía were named co-chairs for the "Grammy Museum's Campaign for Music Education".

[300] His music and showmanship have inspired singers such as AJ Mitchell,[301] Thomas Rhett,[302] Dua Lipa,[303] Benny Dayal,[304] Rauw Alejandro,[305] KiDi,[306] Lee Brice,[307] Shawn Mendes,[308] Selena Gomez,[309] and Meghan Trainor.

Kyle Dines wrote "one of the century's great writers, performers and hitmakers, who essentially arrived to early-'10s pop already on top of the world and has scarcely left his perch since.

[343] His songs "Just The Way You Are", "Grenade", "Locked Out Of Heaven", and "When I Was Your Man" have each sold over 4 million digital copies, making him the first male artist to do so as a lead singer.

"[368] In 2013, Mars told Rolling Stone that record executives "had trouble categorizing him", and were consequently unsure which radio stations would play his songs, or to which ethnic group (black or white) he would appeal.

"[369] In 2018, Mars was accused during The Grapevine, a series that explores African-American issues, of cultural appropriation on social media for using his racial ambiguity to profit from black music, and was criticized for mimicking the sound of past artists.

In January 2012, his cocaine possession charges were dismissed after his attorneys informed a state court judge that he had completed community service and met the conditions of a plea deal reached a year earlier.

In 2015, similarities with "Oops Up Side Your Head" (1979) by the Gap Band led them, along with keyboardist Rudolph Taylor, and producer Lonnie Simmons to be added as co-writers of "Uptown Funk" and receive publishing royalties.