runo Mars’ newest album, “The Romantic,” released on Feb. 27 with nine short but punchy tracks and a total run time of 31 minutes. Its lead single “I Just Might” released Jan. 9 and, as of print, has spent nine weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. The album is his first solo album after the 2016 release “24K Magic,” and it too has risen to the top of the charts, a feat only previously observed with his 2013 album “Unorthodox Jukebox.”
“The Romantic” transports you to the dance floor where it’s easy to imagine a lively atmosphere, bright colors and feelings. The album is aptly named, with hopeful romantic undertones, the sort of slow love accompanied by pursuit and hope through all of love’s twists and turns. Each song is equally deserving of space on the album, and I see no possible skips. In its brevity, Mars transports the listener into his romantic world, fitting perfectly into the legacy built by songs such as “Count on Me” or “Marry You.”
The first track and second single “Risk It All” immediately brought flashbacks to “Grenade.” Mars is no longer resentful like he was in “Grenade,” and instead is pining after his lover, hoping to win over the person of his desires. This yearning is so strong that he is ready to do anything, even put his life on the line to prove his love. “I would run through a fire…Just to be by your side,” Mars claims, and he continues to list the risks he would take throughout the song. Despite the upbeat accompaniment provided by the mariachi style music, the song seems to be peaceful, a soft hopeful melody in the quest to win love. These musical moods carry throughout the entire album, next seen in “Cha Cha Cha,” but “Risk It All” is much more upbeat and ambitious, fitting to the name of the song. It stands as a song that one can definitely dance to.
The strong opening is followed by the strong lead single “I Just Might,” and if any listener is not already on the dance floor, they are dragged there. Mars refers to the pursuit once more, hoping to find someone who is upbeat and can dance, asking the DJ to “Play a song for this pretty little lady.” So the impromptu dance competition begins, a feat his lover could not have possibly imagined would happen.
In “God Was Showing Off,” we are transported back to songs such as “Just the Way You Are.” Mars is in a mode of a worship-like love, insisting that his lover has been blessed by God with how perfect she is, that her mere presence is a miracle that “can turn that water into wine.” He concludes that his lover’s creation was a result of God picking favorites.
“Why You Wanna Fight?” captures the same desperation described in “Risk it All” and previously scorned in “Grenade,” yet motivations have changed. Mars begs for the end of a fight, ready to apologize and do anything for forgiveness, to “make it right.”“Why You Wanna Fight?” shows progression in Mars’ understanding of what loving someone means. It shows the shedding of pride for love and the work it takes to maintain a relationship.
“On My Soul” picks up the pace once more, with a faster and more lively tune. Mars pours promises of a love like one never seen before, ready to swear it on anything, including his soul. “Something Serious” continues this pace and energy, the lyrics insisting this love would be the most real love, which is why he should be with his lover.
“Nothing Left” completely changes the mood that persisted throughout the beginning of the album. Mars describes the feeling of loss as he feels his lover pull away, explaining that “the fire don’t burn like it used to,” leaving him “reaching out… With nothing left to hold on to.” Feelings of loss lie right below the surface of the rhythm and grandness of the song.
The album concludes with “Dance With Me,” with a hook reminiscent of “Die With a Smile.” The same feeling of loss continues in this song, with a lingering hope that the love could rekindle once more over a dance, one last dance. The song maintains a hope that a dance is all that is needed, and the pair “will fall in love all over again.” The album concludes with no evidence of reconciliation, the bittersweet moment of two lovers drifting apart.
It is clear that “The Romantic” displays all of the aspects of love—the hopeful, happy and tumultuous—in a journey in and out of love. Perhaps a story was not the intent, but one was still told through each of the songs, with no one leaving the dance floor.