The Other Side by Bruno Mars

Album: It's Better If You Don't Understand (2010)

License This Song

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

This is a track from Hawaii-born singer/songwriter/producer Bruno Mars' debut EP, It's Better If You Don't Understand. Mars is well known for his vocal contributions to the songs "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B, and "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy and for co-writing Flo Rida's international hit "Right Round." The multi-talented Hawaiian is also a member of the production trio The Smeezingtons (Cobra Starship, Matisyahu). This song sees Mars joined by both B.o.B and Cee Lo Green of Gnarls Barkley.
All four tracks on It's Better If You Don't Understand were produced and written by Mars in collaboration with his Smeezingtons partners, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine. Mars said of the EP's contents: "It's hard to put myself in a box. 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--t out of them."
Mars told MTV News: "Once 'Nothin' on You' blew up, I had these songs in my back pocket and the label thought it'd be a good time to give people a little taste of what they're gonna get with the album."
The name of the EP comes from both a line and the outro of this song. Mars explained to About.com why he chose this particular title for the disc: "A lot of people... there's always been so much question about what kind of music I do. Everything. You know, what's his nationality? Is it R&B? Is it pop? Is he a rapper? Is he really that short? A lot of things. It's hard for me to explain. Not because I'm trying to be out of the box, it's just like, man, I just write songs. Hopefully, I try to write songs that touch a lot of people.

So that phrase, 'It's better if you don't understand,' resonated so well with me because that's been my whole life, a campaign. Just listen, basically. It's a way to say just listen to this music and you be the judge of what it is and how it makes you feel. Opposed to me telling you I am a pop singer or an R&B singer or a soul singer. I want the audience to have their own personal feelings toward my music."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

More Songfacts:

With Arms Wide OpenCreed

Scott Stapp of Creed wrote "With Arms Wide Open" when he found out he was going to be a dad. He named his son Jagger.

The JokerSteve Miller Band

The "pompatus of love" from the Steve Miller song "The Joker" comes from a line in a '50s doo-wop song Miller misheard: "puppetutes of love."

Amber311

The 311 song "Amber" is likely about Nicole Scherzinger, who was dating the band's lead singer Nick Hexum.

Bitter Sweet SymphonyThe Verve

"Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve samples an obscure orchestral arrangement of the 1965 Rolling Stones song "The Last Time." The Verve had to sign away most of the royalties before they could release the song.

Cult of PersonalityLiving Colour

"Cult of Personality" by Living Colour incorporates speeches by John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Six Months In A Leaky BoatSplit Enz

The Split Enz song "Six Months In A Leaky Boat" is about the journey explorers made from Europe to colonize Australia and New Zealand, where the band is from.