24K Magic (song)

Background

After the commercial success of his second studio album, Unorthodox Jukebox (2012), Mars performed his first Super Bowl halftime show (Super Bowl XLVIII) as headliner with the Red Hot Chili Peppers as special guests, and it became the second-most-watched halftime show in the history of the Super Bowl, as of 2016. Later, in September 2014, Mars tweeted "Now it's time to start writing chapter 3", hinting that he was recording new music. Mark Ronson also released the single "Uptown Funk" in 2014 with Mars' vocals, which was met with chart success. This resulted in the artist heading to the studio to record more without having plans to release a new album, stating "Until it's done". In early 2016, the singer performed, once more, at the Super Bowl 50 halftime show with Beyoncé, both credited as guests, and British band Coldplay headlining. The album was due in March, but the Super Bowl halftime show postponed it several months. At that time seven songs have already been recorded. On October 3, 2016, the song title was revealed through Instagram, upon the upload of nine photos. These pictures were combined and the final image revealed the singer looking down while wearing a white hat with "XXIV k" inscribed. Mars wrote, "You can call it my first single, but I call it the invitation to the party."

In an interview with Zane Lowe for Beats 1 Mars explained, "It’s what we want to bring to the table musically. You hear these ’90s influences on the whole album, really, but ’24K Magic’ is because of West Coast hip-hop: Dr. Dre, DJ Quik, Suga Free...it was at a time when it was okay to party, to be flashy, to get on the dance floor."

Release

"24K Magic" premiered on October 7, 2016 at midnight on radio station WBMX. The single was released on October 7, 2016 for digital download and streaming via Atlantic Records. On the same date, the album was made available for pre-order worldwide via Mars' official site, offering four different options to purchase with all having the song as an instant download. The label also sent the track to be added to Italian contemporary hit radio on the same date. Subsequently, the song was released to United Kingdom and United States contemporary hit radio stations on October 8, 2016 and October 11, 2016, respectively.

Composition

"24k Magic" is a retro funk, disco and R&B song, influenced by hip-hop. It starts with a Talk box intro, performed by Mr. Talk Box, which was compared by Hugh McIntyre from Forbes to Tupac Shakur's California Love a sound developed by Roger and Zapp in the late 1970s and early '80s" ". American music magazine Rap-Up has describe the track as "synth-heavy..retro funk". The recording is complete with Auto-Tune. The song is heavily influenced by the sounds and styles present in the 1970s and '80s. Lewis Corner of Digital Spy commented that the song is more like the "smooth '80s electronica and hip-hop" than the "'70s groove of "Uptown Funk"." The "prominent synthesizer riff" from "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five resembles the one in "24K Magic".

The song is written in the key of F minor with a common time tempo of 107 beats per minute. Mars' vocals span from F₄ to E♭₆ in the song.

Critical reception

Entertainment Weekly music critic, Eric Renner Brown, called the single an "effortless throwback pop Mars seems capable of dispatching in his sleep." He continued by saying that "24K Magic" is in the same level as his previous lead singles, "Just the Way You Are" and "Locked Out of Heaven", maybe even better." Brown emphasized, "attention to detail and world-class chops are what makes Mars’ music tick; those qualities enable "24K Magic" to practically levitate". American music blog Idolator made a "Pop Perspective" review with 4 different editors. Carl Williott gave the recording its highest rating, 9 out 10, comparing it to a "Pure Funk compilations, West Coast G-funk, and to Midnight Star". He furthered, "It’s not challenging, it doesn’t advance pop in any way. But it’s unrepentant party music, at a time when there’s a shortage of the stuff." Editor, Mike Wass, awarded the song 8 out of 10 feeling that "Bruno’s latest throws R&B influences from the '70s, '80s and '90s into a blender and comes up with a nuclear-power party anthem that is destined to be on high rotation wherever there’s a dance-floor for years to come."

In a mixed review, Rachel Sonis of Idolator gave the single 6.5 out of 10 and believes that "is glossy, lavish and teeming with old school The Neptunes vibes." In another mixed review, Idolator's Robbie Daw rated the track 5 out of 10 saying that it is an "'80s R&B throwback that picks up where "Uptown Funk" left off and, to be quite honest, doesn’t really move the needle of pop evolution forward — rather, it simply keeps the party going."

GQ found the song to be "delightful" and labeled it as the second part of "Uptown Funk". Billboard ranked "24K Magic" at number 64 on their on their "Billboard's 100 Best Pop Songs of 2016: Critics' Picks" list, commenting “Working with funk vibes reminiscent of his recent trip Uptown, Bruno Mars managed to create another bonafide hip-shaker with his first solo single since 2012. While it hasn't quite yet matched the “magic” that his Mark Ronson guest turn had commercially, the similarly infectious beat and James Brown-worthy vocal exhortations make this a great party-starting backup.”

It was considered one of the best songs of 2016 by EW and Spin.

Commercial performance

"24K Magic" debuted at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 with 101,000 downloads and 12.8 million streams, as well as at number one on France's SNEP chart for the week ending October 15, 2016. It also charted in the top ten of various countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Scotland, Spain and the United Kingdom. As of January 29, 2017, it has sold 1,084,000 copies domestically.

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by Bruno Mars and his frequent collaborator, Cameron Duddy, who directed Mars' previous music videos for Unorthodox Jukebox and "The Lazy Song". The music video was released on October 7, 2016.

The video depicts Mars and his friends having a party in a Las Vegas casino, intercut with shots of him riding in a black Cadillac Allanté. The video was filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mars purchased the car he is driving in the video.

Live performances

Mars performed the song live for the first time on Saturday Night Live on October 15, 2016. The singer also performed on The X Factor UK on October 30, 2016 and at the MTV Europe Music Awards on 6 November 2016, the latter performance was praised, while the former raised some controversies as he and his band were accused of "miming". The singer was not only hurt with the accusations as he dismissed the same. On November 11 he performed the song on Skavlan and on the following day at NJR Music Awards. He also performed the song at the American Music Awards on November 20, 2016. He also performed it at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2016 in the bright night angel segment. During the The Late Late Show with James Corden on December 13, 2016, Mars included 24k Magic on the popular feature Carpool Karaoke.

Usage in other media

The song can be heard in the television shows Rosewood and MacGyver. 12th cycle of Germany's Next Topmodel in Germany.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of 24K Magic, Atlantic Records