Bruno Mars Announces ‘Unorthodox Jukebox’ Album & Release Date

Is your jukebox orthodox? It’s cool if it is — because Bruno Mars is coming to mix it up for you. The singer-songwriter has just released details of upcoming sophomore LP, Unorthodox Jukebox, which is set for a December 11 release. As noted yesterday (September 27), lead single “Locked Out of Heaven” is set to debut October 1.

And if his fans were worried that Mars was struggling with an inferiority complex, fret not, since the singer sounds pretty confident about his direction. “This is me going into the studio and recording and writing whatever I want,” he told Billboard in his new cover story. “This album represents my freedom.” Read on to find out who Mars is working with on the new LP.

The album is executive-produced by Mars’ production trio The Smeezingtons, and will feature songs courtesy of neo-soul master Mark Ronson, R&B innovator Jeff Bhasker and dubstep superproducer du jour Diplo. As for the sound, Mars says listeners can expect an album as diverse as the above-mentioned range of producers.

“I’ve had big record label presidents look me in the face and say, ‘Your music sucks, you don’t know who you are, your music is all over the place, and we don’t know how to market this stuff. Pick a lane and come back to us,'” he told Billboard. “That was disgusting to me, because I’m not trying to be a circus act.”

Pro tip: If you don’t want to be a circus act, start by not shooting a video with a bunch of monkeys.