abnervaught: Bruno Mars' VMA Promo: Go Behind The Scenes!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Bruno Mars' VMA Promo: Go Behind The Scenes!

Mars, who is performing at Sunday's show, throws an old-school house party in the clip.
By Jocelyn Vena

Bruno Mars in his 2011 VMA promo
Photo: MTV

In Bruno Mars' VMA promo, he hangs out with some fresh-looking hipsters while spinning tunes from folks like Ginuwine and Michael Jackson. The clip captures the joie de vivre of a good old-fashioned house party attended by fashionable folks who love to dance.

"I think what you're going to see is a little of my personality, a lot of my influences and a lot of people having a good time," he told MTV News on the set. "I think that this year's VMAs is a celebration and a party, and MTV did a great job of putting this commercial together."

In between takes, the party never stopped. Extras and dancers milled around, grooving to the tunes blasting throughout the NYC soundstage. Bruno chilled with everyone, making small talk with his fellow partygoers when the cameras weren't rolling. The commercial itself is chockfull of great tunes, and when Mars was shooting the promo, he displayed his skills on the piano. So what tunes make Bruno Mars' party set list?

"This is my party; I'm DJing. I'm playing music that I grew up listening to," he said. "I grew up listening to oldies, and so every time I hear, like, Little Richard or James Brown, the Police, it does something to me. It gets me in the party mood, and I'm just hoping to bring it to this party."

Not only is he set to perform at the VMAs — airing live Sunday at 9 p.m. from L.A. — he's up for four Moonmen, including Video of the Year, Best Male Video and Best Pop Video for "Grenade." "I grew up watching VMAs. I know every performance," Mars said. "Ever since I was a kid, I've been watching MTV VMAs, and when we got the phone call saying that my video was up for Video of the Year — that's the big-boy award."

Mars would be tickled to win Best Choreography for his feel-good track "The Lazy Song." "You know what I'm excited for?" he said. "As much as I put blood, sweat and tears into 'Grenade,' I'm excited for 'The Lazy Song,' Best Choreography."

The 28th annual MTV Video Music Awards will air live Sunday, August 28, from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. ET/PT, following the Selena Gomez-hosted pre-show at 8. See the list of nominees, revisit last year's highlights and vote for Best New Artist by visiting VMA.MTV.com.

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