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Mars confessed in an interview with [[Rap-Up]] that he dedicated a track to one of [[New York City]]’s five boroughs. “My dad is originally from [[Brooklyn]],” Bruno states. “I think that everyone can agree that New York is a special place, so one song is called ‘Somewhere in Brooklyn.’ [The premise of that song is that] she’s somewhere in Brooklyn and I’m gonna find her.”<ref name="Georgette"/>
Mars confessed in an interview with [[Rap-Up]] that he dedicated a track to one of [[New York City]]’s five boroughs. “My dad is originally from [[Brooklyn]],” Bruno states. “I think that everyone can agree that New York is a special place, so one song is called ‘Somewhere in Brooklyn.’ [The premise of that song is that] she’s somewhere in Brooklyn and I’m gonna find her.”<ref name="Georgette"/>


Mars on "The Other Side": "The song depicts the musician’s current routine. “It’s basically a story of the lifestyle you end up living as an artist and how I would describe it to a girl I just met to try and explain, but in the end… It’s better if you don’t understand".<ref>{{cite web|title=Bruno Mars bio|url=www.wmeentertainment.com/bruno_mars/Bio/bruno_mars_bio.pdf|work=Warner Entertainment|publisher=Time Inc.|accessdate=May 24, 2016|format=PDF}}</ref>
<br />

==Composition==
==Composition==
''It's Better If You Don't Understand'' is composed of four songs, featuring [[Pop music|Pop]]<ref name="Pardalis"/>, [[Pop rock]] and [[Hip hop music|Rap]].<ref name="Allmusic"/> According to Mars, the EP it's hard to classify, "I just write songs that I strongly believe in and that are coming from inside. There's no tricks. It's honesty with big melodies. And I'm singing the s*** out of them".<ref name="Marketwire">{{cite press release|url=http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Bruno-Mars-Blasts-Off-Into-Top-Ten-Albums-Chart-on-iTunes-With-New-Digital-EP-Acclaimed-1258360.htm|title=Bruno Mars Blasts Off Into the Top Ten Albums Chart on iTunes With New Digital EP; Acclaimed Singer/Songwriter/Producer Follows B.o. B's #1 Blockbuster, "Nothin' On You" With Much-Anticipated Solo Debut; Four-Song EP Features Guest Appearances From B.o. B and the Legendary Cee Lo Green; Major TV Performances Slated Throughout May; "It's Better If You Don't Understand" Arrives at All Digital Retailers Today|date=May 11, 2010|publisher=[[Marketwire]]|accessdate=August 26, 2010}}</ref> The opening track, "Somewhere in Brooknlyn", was composed by [[The Smeezingtons]] (Mars, Philip Lawrence, Levine). It is
''It's Better If You Don't Understand'' is composed of four songs, featuring [[Pop music|Pop]]<ref name="Pardalis"/>, [[Pop rock]] and [[Hip hop music|Rap]].<ref name="Allmusic"/> According to Mars, the EP it's hard to classify, "I just write songs that I strongly believe in and that are coming from inside. There's no tricks. It's honesty with big melodies. And I'm singing the s*** out of them".<ref name="Marketwire">{{cite press release|url=http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Bruno-Mars-Blasts-Off-Into-Top-Ten-Albums-Chart-on-iTunes-With-New-Digital-EP-Acclaimed-1258360.htm|title=Bruno Mars Blasts Off Into the Top Ten Albums Chart on iTunes With New Digital EP; Acclaimed Singer/Songwriter/Producer Follows B.o. B's #1 Blockbuster, "Nothin' On You" With Much-Anticipated Solo Debut; Four-Song EP Features Guest Appearances From B.o. B and the Legendary Cee Lo Green; Major TV Performances Slated Throughout May; "It's Better If You Don't Understand" Arrives at All Digital Retailers Today|date=May 11, 2010|publisher=[[Marketwire]]|accessdate=August 26, 2010}}</ref> The opening track, "Somewhere in Brooknlyn", was composed by [[The Smeezingtons]] (Mars, Philip Lawrence, Levine). It is

Revision as of 20:19, 24 May 2016

Untitled

It's Better If You Don't Understand is the first extended play (EP) and debut release by American singer-songwriter and music producer Bruno Mars.[3] Its title comes from the last line on the lyrics of the song "The Other Side".[4] The EP consists of four songs and musically incorporates Pop, Pop rock and Rap genres. It was only released as a digital EP and it was made available for download on May 11, 2010 by Elektra Records. To promote the album, Mars' released a Home video for the song "The Other Side".[4]

It's Better If You Don't Understand received generally rave reviews from music critics –AllMusic's David Jeffres praised the album as showcasing Mars songwriting abilities and genre that "leans towards" pop, while About.com's Bill Lamb positively viewed the EP as "music that should be on your radio", calling it "pop pleasure". All the songs from It's Better If You Don't Understand were later included on Mars' debut studio album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010). The EP peaked at number 99 on Billboard 200, and at number 97 on the UK Singles Chart.

Background

When Ari Levine was asked about the writing credits of "The Other Side" he said the song was also written to somebody else’s track. "We redid the sounds and then added things on top of it. Then we found out that there were all these writers on the track, and we went OMG! In general, we find it easier to write songs to an existing track. We approach writing songs almost like remixes: anything can change at any point in time. There’s nothing set in stone."[5]

In addition, he confessed that "Talking to the Moon" is his favourite song from the album explaining that in the beginning they "only had the first verse and the horns, but we knew that it was great." In the midd time "We then had three different bridges and we spent a lot of time trying to find out which one was the best. Jeff Bhasker is a fantastic musician, and he helped write that track. I think we tried to arrange and produce this in four different ways, mostly trying to figure out what kind of drums to put on."[5] Mars “We have a song called ‘Talking to the Moon,’ which was actually the first song we wrote when we really got into my project, because we were working with everybody else".[6]

Mars confessed in an interview with Rap-Up that he dedicated a track to one of New York City’s five boroughs. “My dad is originally from Brooklyn,” Bruno states. “I think that everyone can agree that New York is a special place, so one song is called ‘Somewhere in Brooklyn.’ [The premise of that song is that] she’s somewhere in Brooklyn and I’m gonna find her.”[6]

Mars on "The Other Side": "The song depicts the musician’s current routine. “It’s basically a story of the lifestyle you end up living as an artist and how I would describe it to a girl I just met to try and explain, but in the end… It’s better if you don’t understand".[7]

Composition

It's Better If You Don't Understand is composed of four songs, featuring Pop[8], Pop rock and Rap.[2] According to Mars, the EP it's hard to classify, "I just write songs that I strongly believe in and that are coming from inside. There's no tricks. It's honesty with big melodies. And I'm singing the s*** out of them".[3] The opening track, "Somewhere in Brooknlyn", was composed by The Smeezingtons (Mars, Philip Lawrence, Levine). It is

Release and promotion

It's Better If You Don't Understand was only released for digital download on May 11, 2010 by Elektra Records in the United States.[3]

"The Other Side" was released as the first song released from the EP on July 2010. The song features guest vocals of Atlanta-based rappers Cee Lo Green and B.o.B.[4] The music video for "The Other Side" was directed by Nick Bilardello and Cameron Duddy, and premiered on MTV's website on August 23, 2010.[9] "The Other Side", "Count on Me", and "Talking to the Moon" were later included in the standard edition of Mars' debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010).[10] "Somewhere in Brooklyn" was included as a bonus track to the deluxe edition of the album.[11] The song was also added to the set list of Mars' Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour.[12]

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[13]
Allmusic[2]
The Truth About Music(Positive) [14]
411Mania8.5/10[8]

Upon its release, It's Better If You Don't Understand received rave reviews from music critics. Bill Lamb from About.com labelled the EP as "pop pleasure". Lamb further praised the EP saying that "with justice in the pop music world, this is the music that should be on your radio".[13] Writing for Allmusic, David Jeffres called the four songs of the EP a "sparse effort that leans towards pop" and draws attention to "the man’s songwriting". He also deemed the EP as a "short set of easy, breezy tunes", which doesn't necessarily leave people "begging for more, but it will make most pop fans open to the idea".[2]

411Mania's Dan Pardalis complimented the EP, noting the tracks. Harris Decker of The Truth About Music also gave a positive review, calling the EP a

Chart performance

It's Better If You Don't Understand failed to achieve commercial success. It debuted at number ninety-nine on Billboard 200, on the week of May 29, 2010, where it stayed on the chart for only one week.[15] The EP also peaked at number thirteen on Billboard Digital Albums.[16] It also made into the United Kingdom, by peakinf at number ninety-seven at the UK Albums Chart, on the week of August 28, 2010.[17]

Track listing

Credits adapted from It's Better If You Don't Understand liner notes[18]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Somewhere in Brooklyn"Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari LevineThe Smeezingtons3:01
2."The Other Side" (featuring Cee Lo Green and B.o.B)Mars, Lawrence, Levine, Brody Brown, Mike Caren, Patrick Stump, Kaveh Rastegar, John Wicks, Jeremy Ruzumna, Joshua Lopez, Bobby Simmons, Jr.The Smeezingtons3:48
3."Count on Me"Mars, Lawrence, LevineThe Smeezingtons3:16
4."Talking to the Moon"Mars, Lawrence, Levine, Albert Winkler, Jeff BhaskerThe Smeezingtons, Bhasker*3:27

(*) denotes co-producer

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[17] 97
US Billboard 200[15] 99

Personnel

Credits are adapted from It's Better If You Don't Understand liner notes and Allmusic.[18][2]

Release history

Region Date Label Format Ref
United States May 11, 2010 Elektra Digital download [1]
France August 11, 2010 Warner [19]
United Kingdom [20]

References

  1. ^ a b "It's Better If You Don't Understand: Bruno Mars". Amazon.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e Jeffries, David. "It's Better If You Don't Understand > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c "Bruno Mars Blasts Off Into the Top Ten Albums Chart on iTunes With New Digital EP; Acclaimed Singer/Songwriter/Producer Follows B.o. B's #1 Blockbuster, "Nothin' On You" With Much-Anticipated Solo Debut; Four-Song EP Features Guest Appearances From B.o. B and the Legendary Cee Lo Green; Major TV Performances Slated Throughout May; "It's Better If You Don't Understand" Arrives at All Digital Retailers Today" (Press release). Marketwire. May 11, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c Fried, Melanie (July 16, 2010). "Bruno Mars Brings Cee-Lo to 'The Other Side'". Billboard. Nielsen Media Research. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  5. ^ a b Tingen, Paul (June 2011). "Ari Levine & The Smeezingtons: Producing Bruno Mars". Sound on Sound. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  6. ^ a b Cline, Georgette (March 3, 2010). "Bruno Mars Calls on B.o.B, Cee-Lo for EP". Rap-Up.com. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  7. ^ [www.wmeentertainment.com/bruno_mars/Bio/bruno_mars_bio.pdf "Bruno Mars bio"] (PDF). Warner Entertainment. Time Inc. Retrieved May 24, 2016. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  8. ^ a b Pardalis, Dan (May 11, 2010). "Bruno Mars – It's Better If You Don't Understand EP Review". 411Mania. 411mania.com, LLC. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  9. ^ "Bruno Mars - "The Other Side "". MTV. August 23, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  10. ^ Bain, Becky (September 10, 2010). "Bruno Mars Reveals His 'Doo-Wops & Hooligans' Track List". Idolator. SpinMedia. Retrieved September 10, 2010. {{cite web}}: templatestyles stripmarker in |work= at position 1 (help)
  11. ^ "Doo-Wops & Hooligans (Deluxe) (+video) (+digital booklet)". Amazon MP3. Amazon.com. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  12. ^ Escudero, Nicki (November 21, 2010). "Bruno Mars at Martini Ranch Last Night (VIDEO)". Phoenix New Times. Kurtis Barton. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
  13. ^ a b Lamb, Bill. "Bruno Mars - It's Better If You Don't Understand". About.com. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  14. ^ Decker, Harris (May 12, 2010). "EP Review: Bruno Mars – "It's Better If You Don't Understand"". The Truth About Music. The Truth About Music, LCC. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  15. ^ a b "Bruno Mars Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  16. ^ "Bruno Mars – Awards". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved September 22, 2012. {{cite web}}: templatestyles stripmarker in |work= at position 1 (help)
  17. ^ a b Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart Log UK – Weekly Updates Sales 2010". Germany: Zobbel.de. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  18. ^ a b It's Better If You Don't Understand (Digital booklet). Bruno Mars. Atlantic Records, Elektra Records, Fueled by Ramed. 2010.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ "It's Better If You Don't Understand: Bruno Mars" (in French). Amazon.fr. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  20. ^ "It's Better If You Don't Understand: Bruno Mars". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
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