Happy Birthday, Bruno Mars!

Even as pop music constantly reformulates itself to stay close to the zeitgeist, there's always those artists who reach back into retro sounds to make something fresh. There aren't many artists that successfully use that formula to because a superstar. However, Bruno Mars fits in that category of those that do. He turns 30 years old today (Oct. 8).

The diminutive superstar was dropped by Motown Records only to become great with Atlantic records. The slight irony is how his sound draws from the saccharine, pretty boy atmosphere of the Motown '60s. The dated reference didn't matter that much, though. People just wanted to dance. He's been doing so after breaking out with "Just the Way You Are."

Mars' first couple of hits weren't all that distinctive from the others that surrounded it; they swung from folksy tunes to manufactured pop. He came into his own with his sophomore album, Unorthodox Jukebox. Mars belted out undeniable anthems like "Locked Out of Heaven" and pulled off Chic chic with "Treasure." The result was another double-platinum album and a gig as the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime performer.

"Uptown Funk," his collaboration with Mark Ronson, ruled the Billboard charts for 14 weeks, so Mars isn't going anywhere. The world waits to see what he has next.

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