Bruno Mars

I take a respite from toxic impeachment and adopt the following column of my lawyer-daughter Ivy as my column:

Last Oct. 10, 2026, I watched pop star Bruno Mars’ The Romantic tour in the San Francisco Bay Area. He sold out 110,000 tickets for two nights at the Levi’s Stadium.

As we lined up for security, it looked like a Bruno Mars costume party. In keeping with the Romantic tour’s theme, fans wore red and black, or just red bandannas or roses. Some came in embroidered suits or cowboy hats. The fun ones had 24K Magic red pajamas, cap and bling.

Bruno’s mother is from the Philippines, while his father is obviously from Mars. So thousands of Fil-Am fans from the northernmost part of The Bay trekked three hours just to see him – or hear him from cheap seats above the moon. There were even sold seats behind the stage walls where you cannot see any part of the stage so you had to just watch Bruno from a screen on the wall.

I’m not a Romantic but Bruno Mars is my musical GOAT, so I had to watch him. He composes hit songs like Paul McCartney, plays the guitar like Prince, dances like Michael Jackson and performs and dresses like Elvis.

Bruno is also funny, charming and seems like a really Nice Guy. He looks like a good role model for my kids. As a Tiger Mom, values matter to me. So I admire and patronize artists who blow up without having overblown egos.

And that’s why I paid for Floor seats so I can actually see Bruno Mars perform live within 10 feet, instead of just a dot from a distance. And there’s no point in watching him on a giant screen if I have to drop rent money on tickets, sit five hours in the stadium and crawl two hours in traffic to drive home.

We got to our seats three hours early. As I sat there within pickleball distance from the stage, I felt so grateful we could afford to buy #blessed seats to watch an extraordinarily gifted artist who lives in our time. I was thankful Bruno Mars chose to perform in Silicon Valley within easy driving distance from our neighborhood. I truly appreciated this moment in history, that would also form part of my memory.

Bruno also had a duet with Silk Sonic partner Anderson Paak. I enjoyed Paak as DJ Pee Wee in a bob when he warmed up the crowd for 30 minutes with iconic hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s and incited wanna be dancers like me to bust some moves.

The front act was Raye in a waist- disappearing scarlet gown. She shared her relaxed positivity, “It’s going to be OK!” then ended with her hit “Where is My Husband!” which gave me a chance to sit and rest because I already knew that my husband, The Count, was squished right beside me.

On the way to the concert, I prayed for Bruno Mars, his team and for everyone to be safe that night. And that’s the same thing Bruno prayed for in the concert’s opening video. He’s kneeling in a church with a gorgeous stained glass as he prayed for his band, the audience and for everyone “to have an unforgettable experience.”

Then Bruno Mars came out HOT in a demon red suit with “Risk It All” (2026) as everyone jumped up screaming. He sustained the euphoria with a stream of funky tunes, including his 2026 summer hit “I Just Might,” which I tried to dance to. However, premium Floor seats do not include shoulder room, so I just bumped into the guy on my left. At least the farther section seats had arm rests.

I was impressed with Bruno’s energetic backup vocals and band, The Hooligans – which is also what he calls his super fans.

They really carried the show, especially while Bruno disappeared for his clothes changes. The saxophone solo of “Versace on the Floor” (2016) was sultry silk.

Bruno had four clothes changes, each with a new bandanna. He opened with a flaming red suit, next a black bedazzled suit reminiscent of Elvis, then he removed his coat and wore a white shirt with vest as he played his guitar and ended with a teal suit embroidered with roses.

For the slow songs, Bruno played on a grand piano as the lights dimmed, the moon rose and the stars sparkled – which all mean “It’s time to get romantic” – but since I’m not romantic, my brain said, “It’s time to sleep... Zzzz...” which was very relaxing.

For the finale, Bruno sang the upbeat “Locked Out of Heaven” (2012) and to wake me and every senior citizen up past their 7 p.m. bedtime, he busted out confetti and fireworks. Earlier there were flames so big and high it felt like I had opened a hot oven.

Bruno dedicated his 2010 hit, “Just the Way You Are” to everyone in the audience and said, “God bless you all” as he went to the very end of each side of the stage so the farthest audience can say they saw Bruno Mars from space.

Throughout the show, Bruno’s voice and vivacity never wavered. He was magnetic and electrifying. Watching him, I realized why he could command the world’s adoration and convince miserly anti-socials like me to pay thousands and endure a drove of Hooligans. It’s not just talent, nor great songs, nor skillful dancing, nor looks. It’s the same quality every superstar on the planet stays rich and famous. Bruno Mars has charisma.

Bruno Mars is unbelievably talented and an outstanding performer. There is no one who can match Bruno Mars. He is the ultimate artist.

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