Bruno Mars: 'We'll be back very, very soon'

MANILA, Philippines - Just as he did during his first visit in the Philippines in 2011, Bruno Mars promised to return to the country "very, very soon" as he culminates the Manila leg of his Moonshine Jungle concert tour held at the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday, March 22.

 

"I promised you all before, and I promise you all again: we'll be back very, very soon," Bruno (real name Peter Gene Hernandez) said as he was about to sing his 2010 hit song "Just the Way You Are." 

 

"Thank you guys so much, you have no idea how much this means to me. Performing right over here, being Filipino, seeing my people right here," Bruno, whose mother Bernadette Hernandez is of Filipino descent, tells the crowd of his standing-room-only concert.

 

It was obvious the 28-year-old singer was out to please his Filipino fans, peppering his spiels with references of his Filipino-American ancestry in concert.

 

Bruno began the concert by addressing the audience: "Manila, are ready?" 

 

The concert saw the singer-songwriter perform songs from both his debut and sophomore albums, "Doo-Woops & Hooligans" and "Unorthodox Jukebox." 

 

He started by singing "Moonshine," and followed through with "Natalie" and "Treasure."

 

In between performing his hits, Bruno also covered a number of older, lesser known hits. He mashed-up Travie McCoy's hit song "Billionaire" (which he co-wrote with McCoy) with the 1960s song "Money (That's What I Want)." 

 

He also performed Soul for Real's "Candy Rain" and Ginuwine's "Pony," which was mashed-up with his song "Our First Time" from his "Doo-Woops & Hooligans" album, revealing the Motown and R&B influence of his music.

 

During his performance of "Marry You," he sang: "Hey Manila, I think I wanna marry you," much to the delight of the audience. Urging the crowd to sing with him, Bruno said: "Manila, I know we are known for singers." 

 

"Some karaoke singers we have in the audience tonight," he quipped after the song.

 

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He slows down with 'When I Was Your Man," one of his more successful songs from "Unorthodox Jukebox."

 

"It's still the hardest song for me to sing," Bruno describes the song.

 

Before his set's penultimate song, the 2012 hit "Locked Out of Heaven," he surprised the crowd by performing a drum solo with the Philippine flag flashing on the LED screen as his backdrop. 

 

Bruno finished the concert off with "Gorilla."

 

The Manila concert culminates Bruno's second visit in the Philippines. Last March 21, the "Grenade" singer attended a media gathering where he handed his US $100,000 donation to the youth victims of typhoon Yolanda. He also attended the Moonshine Jungle pre-concert party at the Republiq in Resorts World Manila.