American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars recently embarked on his tour, The Romantic Tour, beginning on April 10 at the Las Vegas Allegiant Stadium. In February, Mars released his newest album, “The Romantic,” after publicly announcing on social media that he would be headlining his first ever world tour in nearly a decade. Although originally planned to last for 39 concert dates, record-breaking demands during the first day of ticket sales forced Mars, his management team and his tour promoter, Live Nation, to extend the world tour to 127 total concerts. Already touring through countries like Spain, Germany, France and the Netherlands so far, Mars recently performed in Inglewood, Calif. on Oct. 3.
Themes of love and spirituality come to play in this album and the tour. These overarching concepts mix throughout Mars’ newest musical era, embracing change compared to the rest of his musical content seen in the past.
Mars grew up in Honolulu, first gaining traction as a child impersonator performing impressions of legendary artists Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. In the early 2000s, he moved to Los Angeles to become a musical artist with his three-octave tenor vocal range.
He rose to fame in 2009 when he was featured alongside B.o.B on “Nothin’ on You.” Shortly afterwards in 2010, Mars officially formed his backing band, “The Hooligans,” starring his eldest, drum-playing brother, Eric Hernandez. Since then, Mars has released four solo studio albums, spanning a repertoire from 2010’s “Doo-Wops & Hooligans” to “24K Magic” in 2016.
“God, I thank you for giving me another day to do what I love,” Mars said in a pre-recorded video shown before his performance in Inglewood.
“All that I ask is that you protect everyone in this audience, protect everyone on this stage, give my band and I the power and strength to give this city a show they’ll never forget. AMEN,” continued the video of Mars before the Sofi Stadium spectators.
The jumbotrons displayed Mars wearing a white sombrero with an embroidered red-and-gold mariachi-style charro suit as he walked on to the stage in front of a sold-out stadium of 70,000 fans.
The opening song, “Risk It All,” set the mood for the concert performance as well as The Romantic Tour as a whole. Dressed in a dark, short-sleeved shirt, black trousers and a red bandana, Mars appeared onstage as the crowd roared in much awaited anticipation.
After he started singing, he shouted “The Hooligans” as its members appeared on stage, including trombonist Kameron Whalum, saxophonist Dwayne Dugger, keyboardist John Fossitt and Hernandez. Wearing black outfits with traditional gold embroideries, the band’s coordinated appearance was unified, complimenting Mars’ all dark attire. Toward the ending, there was a solo ensemble performance in which several men simultaneously played the trumpet, highly associated with authentic mariachi groups.
Another symbol presented itself in the opener: Mars’ faith. Against the dark red lighting, stained glass windows emerged, with its framework forming a cross-like structure at the middle of the stage. The background evoked the architecture of a Gothic cathedral. At the center of the cross was a red rose, potentially symbolizing a new coexisting beginning of rebirth and romance. Together, these visual elements presented a bridge between two realms, allowing love and spirituality to coexist in a shared expression of gratitude.
This dynamic did not go unmissed. Back in 2012’s “Locked Out of Heaven,” from “Unorthodox Jukebox,” Mars sang that he had “never had much faith in love or miracles.” The song explores how romantic love can fill an emotional emptiness, offering an experience that feels almost like a divine reward. Its focus, however, was primarily focused on a relationship with another person rather than an explicitly spiritual relationship.
In contrast, Mars’ most recent work incorporates spiritual imagery more directly, particularly in his latest studio album. For instance, “God Was Showing Off” candidly references God, suggesting that He was “showing off” while creating the person Mars admires in the specific song itself. Words such as “heaven,” “divine,” “wings” and “Hallelujah” establish a sacred tone, blending the language of religious praise with romantic admiration.
Mars publicly expressed his appreciation for DJ Pee Wee and RAYE, who were the Inglewood openers. He then went on to acknowledge that The Romantic Tour was meant to celebrate love. As he sang his latest songs like “I Just Might” and “Why You Wanna Fight?,” Mars revealed both sides of the complexity of being in a romantic relationship. The recordings of both songs couldn’t compare to hearing them live, where the band’s instruments were amplified and added an intrinsically dynamic energy to the whole performance.
Popular songs such as “24K Magic,” “That’s What I Like,” “Treasure,” “Locked Out of Heaven” and “Die With A Smile” allowed the audience to remember where they themselves were when these very same songs got released to begin with. However, one of the grand moments was when Mars performed a piano medley of some of his earliest songs — “It Will Rain,” “Talking To The Moon,” “Grenade” and “When I Was Your Man” — toward the end of the show. The instrument permitted Mars to get intimate and personal with his audience.
Mars’ voice is truly timeless with his raw, distinctive range. Despite his growing age, he remains exactly the same from his recordings years earlier. The performance was one to remember, and even with the three hour wait to leave the stadium after the concert itself, the night left many faces with a smile.
Julia Magdei is an Arts & Entertainment Writer for the fall 2026 quarter. She can be reached at jmagdei@uci.edu.
Edited by Corinna Chin and Geneses Navarro.
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