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10 Things About... Bruno Mars

Winning a Grammy for his second album Unorthodox Jukebox, racking up countless nominations, and booked to play at the Super Bowl half-time show in front of over 100m viewers, it's safe to say Bruno Mars is having a good 2014.

In the span of just three years, Mars has amassed five Billboard number one singles, and topped the UK chart three times. This in addition to 10 million album sales and 58 million singles sold.

Bruno Mars accepts the award for best pop vocal album for "Unorthodox Jukebox" at the 56th annual Grammy Awards

© PA Images / Matt Sayles/AP

Bruno Mars at the 56th annual Grammy Awards

Here are ten things you may not know about the 'Just The Way You Are' crooner.

1. Bruno Mars was born Peter Gene Hernandez on October 8, 1985, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His mother, who was a hula dancer, met his percussionist father after they performed in the same show.

2. Inspired by his uncle who did the same, Mars performed as an Elvis Presley impersonator from as young as two. He gained so much recognition in Hawaii that he scored a cameo in the 1992 film Honeymoon In Vegas with Sarah Jessica Parker and Nicholas Cage. You are not prepared for the amount of cute.

3. His father nicknamed him Bruno because of his porky resemblance to Bruno Sammartino, a large professional wrestler. He says he decided on his Mars stage name because a lot of girls told him that he was "out of this world".

4. Fans of processed meat can breathe a collective sigh of relief: Mars absolutely loves Spam. He says he grew up eating a spam and rice mixture called musubi, which he describes as "unbelievable and delicious".

5. He's absolutely tiny. No, seriously. At a meagre 5'5", Mars is only a few inches taller than miniature Australian pop icon Kylie Minogue. His relatively low stature wasn't that noticeable until he received a VMA from Taylor Swift.

Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars at the MTV VMAs 2013

© Rex Features / PictureGroup

6. Having moved to California to become a recording artist, he was approached by a record label who had heard one of his songs and wanted to give it to one of their acts. Mars was hesitant to give away his own music at first, but ex-American Idol judge Kara Kara DioGuardi - who he was writing with at the time - told him to "stop being a bitch".

7. Harsh but sound advice, Mars has gone on to write hit songs with many acts, including CeeLo Green's 'F**k You' - which they finished in one day. Sadly he also wrote and produced 'Get Sexy' for the Sugababes, but is yet to be apprehended for this crime against pop.

8. It may have reached number one on both sides of the pond, but Mars hates 'The Lazy Song'. We can't imagine why.

9. He's selling records by the truckload, but Mars is also popular with those pesky illegal downloaders. Last year he was named the most pirated music star of 2013, falling victim to over 5.7 million file shares.

10. In 2013 Mars co-hosted Saturday Night Live, and for one sketch gave a frighteningly convincing performance as a 17-year-old girl. Warning: video may contain twerking.

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