Atlantic Records serviced the track to Contemporary hit radio in the United States on September 10, 2013, as the fourth single from Unorthodox Jukebox.

It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales and streaming figures of over a million copies in the US.

[2] Regarding the line "I got a body full of liquor with a cocaine kicker", Mars said that his inspiration came "just because the room was dark" and he felt like Johnny Cash.

When the interviewer asked if Mars was concerned with the verses "Got a body full of liquor with a cocaine kicker" due to his 2010 drug bust, he replied "To take that line out would dilute my art", since the recording "needs a sense of danger.

[3] A demo of the song, only featuring the vocals and an acoustic guitar, was exclusively released as a bonus track on the Target edition of the album, on December 11, 2012.

[6][7] "Gorilla" was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine, and produced by the Smeezingtons, Mark Ronson, Jeff Bhasker and Emile Haynie.

[8] On August 25, 2013 at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, Mars unveiled the fourth single taken from Unorthodox Jukebox, "Gorilla" during the performance of the same.

[23][28] Matt Dihel for Rolling Stone said that the recording features a "thundering, Def Leppard-huge thump and risqué subject matter".

[2][21] Overall, the lyrics portray the subject of having a "romantic evening" of making love like wild animals (gorillas), despite being high from cocaine and drunk from liquor.

[27][28][29][30] On September 11, 2013, The Daily Telegraph reported that Dannielle Miller, co-founder of Enlighten Education, decided to appeal to mainstream radio in order to ban "Gorilla", due to its sexual and violent lyrics towards women.

Kreisler found that the lyrics' concept simply "baffled" anyone, while ultimately described the song as "intriguing (and anthemic) enough to make us listen again, and again, and again, to work it out.

[28] Writing for The Washington Post, Allison Stewart opined that the track describes an eccentric night of romance, beginning with "a body full of liquor with a cocaine kicker" and ending with "you and me/Making love like gorillas".

[29] Idolator's Emily Tan commented "the libidinous lyrics are disguised with epic guitars and Phil Collins-esque heavy drum combinations...strong enough to soundtrack a scene in a drama series".

[24] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard magazine similarly felt that the "drums and keyboards are nicely overwhelming, but the overall concept floats too far away to make a dent on the listener".

[27] On the critical side, Amy Dawson of Metro described it as a "Phil Collins-esque low point" in the album, "the singer makes plans to go at it in the same way as said giant ape...by the time the jungle noises kick in, you think he surely must be in on the joke.

[33] Reviewing for Billboard's column, Kevin Rutherford described the track as "raunchy" and if the original version was "dirty enough", then "Mars and company have a treat in store for you".

[7] The Los Angeles Times's Mikael Wood shared a similar opinion as the other reviewers, calling it a "little naughtier" than the original version thanks to Williams and Kelly.

We'd have conversations about it, he'd call me at 2 a.m. and be like ’We gotta do this’ or ’We need to add that.’" Mars had been filming the music video for "Gorilla" as he announced on his Twitter account, on October 2, 2013.

[56][9] On October 10, 2013 it was announced on Bruno Mars's official website, leading up to the release of the video, the unveil of teasers every day via his Instagram account.

[57] The teasers included a car parked in front of a strip club, a reptile, and an angry boss played by Luis Guzmán.

[58] Duddy along with Mars sought to create "more than a standard strip-club video" by researching and going into strip clubs to appreciate the architecture of the local.

Pinto could have harmed herself in the scene where "she sheds her clothes among a sea of sparks", as well as Mars's guitar player "He got dangerously close to having his head burned".

[61] The music video opens with a pair of jealous strippers applying lipstick and caddying back-and-forth between backstage, in a South of the Border strip zoo named "La Jungla".

[9] The role of Isabella is portrayed by Indian actress Pinto, who after an introduction by Guzmán, the owner, starts to pull off "gravity-defying spins on the pole" as Mars and his mates, who serve as the house band, perform the song.

[9][62] On the following scene, Isabella sheds her clothes with such rage that sparks fall from the ceiling while Mars stares at her, intensely singing, "You and me baby making love like gorillas".

James Montgomery of MTV News said that the video "is undoubtedly indebted to the past few decades of pop-cultural history...yet, once again, he's managed to create something entirely new, too".

[62] Billboard's Jason Lipshutz found Mars supporting "a more R-rated side" in the video, calling the cameos by Pinto and Luis Guzman unforgettable.

[74] On this performance, his face was "superimposed" over Williams dancing around a stripper pole with "acrobatic ease" and "breathtaking moves in time to the song".

[70] The UK edition of The Huffington Post commented that despite Mars's voice being on top form, it was the pole-dancer performance who stole the show.

[82] Writing for Billboard magazine, Jason Lipshutz, while reviewing the tour felt that Gorilla was "an odd selection for a set closer".