After nine-ish years of waiting, Bruno Mars fans finally have a date to circle on their calendars. The Grammy-winning superstar announced Tuesday that his fourth studio album, “The Romantic,” will arrive on February 27, 2026, with new music dropping this Friday, January 10.
“New music this Friday đź«‚ The Romantic coming 2.27 🌹♥️,” Mars tweeted on January 7, alongside a link to pre-order the album. The announcement marks his first full-length solo project since “24K Magic” was released in November 2016;a gap of over eight years (not counting 2021’s collaborative “An Evening with Silk Sonic” album with Anderson .Paak).
A Return After Historic Success
While Mars has been relatively quiet as a solo artist, he’s hardly been absent from the charts. In fact, 2025 was one of his most dominant years commercially, thanks to a string of massive collaborations that proved his Midas touch extends beyond his own projects.
“Die With a Smile,” his duet with Lady Gaga, became the biggest song of 2025, topping Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 Songs chart. The ballad spent five non-consecutive weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 beginning in January 2025, logged 51 weeks in the Top 10, and made history as the first annual Hot 100 Songs #1 duet by a female and male soloist each in lead roles over the chart’s 67-year history.
The song also became the fastest track ever to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify, hitting the milestone in just 96 days—the only song to accomplish the feat in under 100 days. As of July 2025, “Die With a Smile” had generated 421.4 million on-demand audio streams in the U.S. alone and reached 1.762 billion audience impressions on U.S. radio.
Mars closed out 2025 with another chart triumph: “APT.,” his collaboration with BLACKPINK’s RosĂ©, which finished at #9 on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 chart and earned three Grammy nominations including record of the year and song of the year. The track, which debuted at #8 on the Hot 100, instantly made RosĂ© the first K-pop female soloist to crack the U.S. Top 10. Mars also appeared alongside Sexyy Red on “Fat Juicy & Wet.”
The Nine-Year Wait
Mars’ last solo album, “24K Magic,” was released on November 18, 2016, and debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200. The nine-track project spawned multiple hits including the title track “24K Magic,” “That’s What I Like” (which won Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best R&B Song at the 2018 Grammys), and “Finesse (Remix)” featuring Cardi B.
The album’s success was staggering: it won Album of the Year at the 2018 Grammys (beating out heavyweights like Kendrick Lamar’s “DAMN.” and Lorde’s “Melodrama”), sold over 2 million copies in the U.S., and sent Mars on the 24K Magic World Tour, which ran from March 2017 through December 2018 and grossed hundreds of millions of dollars.
Since then, Mars has been selective about his output. In 2021, he teamed up with Anderson .Paak to form Silk Sonic, a throwback R&B duo that scored a #1 hit with “Leave the Door Open” and won four Grammys for their album “An Evening with Silk Sonic.” The pair also played a Las Vegas residency at Park MGM in 2022, which Mars then followed with a globe-spanning solo tour that ran through 2024.
But a full-length solo project has remained elusive—until now.
What To Expect From ‘The Romantic’
While Mars hasn’t revealed much about “The Romantic” yet—including the tracklist, album length, or collaborators—the title itself offers a major clue about the album’s direction. The rose and heart emojis accompanying the announcement, combined with the romantic title, suggest Mars may be leaning into the ballad-heavy, emotional territory he explored on tracks like “When I Was Your Man” and “Versace on the Floor.”
This would be a departure from “24K Magic,” which was explicitly designed as a party album steeped in 1980s and early-90s R&B nostalgia—from the Zapp-like bounce of the title track to the new jack swing of “Finesse.” That album was all about funk, swagger, and celebration, with Mars positioning himself as the lovable, slightly cocky entertainer bringing the good times.
“The Romantic,” by contrast, sounds like it could showcase Mars’ considerable skills as a crooner and balladeer—the side of him that won hearts with “Just the Way You Are” and “Grenade” on his 2010 debut “Doo-Wops & Hooligans,” and more recently demonstrated on “Die With a Smile.”
Of course, Mars is known for his musical eclecticism. He once titled an album “Unorthodox Jukebox,” and his catalog spans doo-wop, reggae, rock, funk, R&B, and pop. Given his recent success with “Die With a Smile” (a power ballad) and “APT.” (an indie-pop throwback), “The Romantic” could blend multiple sounds while maintaining an overarching theme of love and relationships.
The Bruno Mars Formula Still Works
What makes Mars’ extended absence remarkable is that unlike most artists who take multi-year breaks, he’s never lost his commercial momentum. He’s one of the few pop stars who can disappear for nearly a decade and return to immediate chart domination.
Part of this is his uncanny ability to reupholster vintage sounds and make them feel fresh to contemporary audiences. Whether it’s Philly soul, electrofunk, new jack swing, or 1970s soft rock, Mars has an ear for the grooves and melodies that made these genres work the first time around—and the production chops to update them for modern ears without losing their essential character.
But it’s also his charisma and versatility. Mars can pull off a sleazy funk jam like “Perm,” a heartfelt ballad like “When I Was Your Man,” and a sugary pop confection like “Uptown Funk” (his 2014 collaboration with Mark Ronson that topped the Hot 100 for 14 weeks) with equal credibility. He’s a shapeshifter, and audiences seem to welcome him back no matter how long he’s been gone or what style he’s trying on next.
The fact that he currently has two songs in the Top 10 of the Hot 100—”Die With a Smile” at #1 and “APT.” at #5 as of mid-January 2026—despite not having released a solo album in over eight years is testament to his enduring star power.
Grammy Timing
The timing of “The Romantic” announcement is notable. The 68th Annual Grammy Awards are scheduled for February 2, 2026, where Mars’ “APT.” with RosĂ© is nominated for record of the year, song of the year, and best pop duo/group performance.
Getty Images for MTV
While Mars won’t have new solo material at the ceremony, the nominations will put him back in the spotlight just weeks before his album drops.
Additionally, “Die With a Smile” won the Grammy for best pop duo/group performance at the 2026 ceremony (the awards honor music released in 2024-2025), where Mars and Gaga performed a cover of the Mamas & the Papas’ “California Dreamin'” as a tribute to Los Angeles.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
The post-Grammy bump could provide additional momentum for “The Romantic” when it arrives three and a half weeks later on February 27.
Can Bruno Break His Own Records?
Mars’ previous album debuts on the Billboard 200 have been impressive: “Doo-Wops & Hooligans” reached #3, “Unorthodox Jukebox” debuted at #2, and “24K Magic” also entered at #2. Notably, Mars has never scored a #1 album debut—a surprising gap in his otherwise sterling chart rĂ©sumĂ©.
“The Romantic” could change that. With nearly nine years of pent-up demand, the momentum from two recent smash collaborations, and the general scarcity of new Mars material, the album is positioned to be a major commercial event. Pre-orders are already available at BrunoMars.com.
The question is whether Mars will embrace the album rollout strategies that have evolved since “24K Magic”—including strategic single drops, TikTok campaigns, and playlist positioning—or whether he’ll rely on his star power and let the music speak for itself. Given that he’s already announcing the album seven weeks before release with a new single dropping Friday, it appears he’s opting for a more traditional promotional cycle.
What’s On The Horizon
Beyond the February 27 album release, Mars hasn’t announced tour dates or additional promotional plans. However, given that his last solo tour ran through 2024 and his Las Vegas residencies have been consistently successful, it’s likely that “The Romantic” will be supported by major live performances in 2026.
For now, fans have two immediate milestones to look forward to: the new single dropping this Friday, January 10, and the full album arriving on February 27, 2026.
After nearly nine years, Bruno Mars is ready to remind everyone why he’s one of the most successful pop artists of the 21st century—one romantic song at a time.
Pre-order “The Romantic” at BrunoMars.com.