MANILA, Philippines—It’s still 21 days away, but tickets to the Bruno Mars concert on April 8 at the Araneta Coliseum are almost sold out.
Bruno Mars (Photo from https://www.brunomars.com/)
Ticketnet sources told the Inquirer that only the upper box B section—whose tickets are priced at P2,650 each—is available. The sources added that, just like what happened at the Taylor Swift concert, they were still awaiting coliseum management’s decision if more tickets can be sold.
The excitement over Mars is heightened by the fact that the singer/songwriter/producer is the hottest Filipino-American music artist in the world right now—having recently conquered the Mount Everest of the music industry: His song, “Just the Way You Are,” went to No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on October 2, 2010. The hit single also won for Mars the best male pop vocal performance trophy at the 53rd Grammy Awards held last month.
But that’s not all. The 25-year-old Mars, who was born Peter Gene Hernandez in Hawaii to a Puerto Rican father and Filipino mother, is also known worldwide as a sought-after collaborator of other contemporary pop acts. Even before “Just the Way You Are” was released, there were two songs, B.o.B’s “Nothin’ on You” and Travie McCoy’s “Billionaire,” that Mars co-wrote and which featured his soulful tenor on lead vocals.
The tunes became big hits as well — “Nothin’ on You” went to No. 1 and “Billionaire” reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Mars — who said he was nicknamed Bruno by his father after an Italian professional wrestler, Bruno Sammartino, and added Mars as a cool moniker — is very proud of his Filipino roots.
“My mother always had stories about the Philippines where she was born. It rubbed off on us because she’s so proud of her heritage,” Mars told the Inquirer via e-mail.
His show at the Big Dome will be preceded by an April 7 gig at the Cebu Waterfront Hotel.