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S<\/span>ixteen years since his sugary debut Just the Way You Are became a megahit, Bruno Mars is the most-streamed musician in the world. Last year, the Hawaiian-born 40-year-old became the first (and still only) artist to reach 150m monthly listeners on Spotify, and his staying power shows little sign of waning: Mars now has more listeners than even Bad Bunny<\/a> and Taylor Swift<\/a>. His latest, funk-inspired single I Just Might \u2013 which he performed at the Grammys earlier this month, with a brass band, slick suit and his trademark bandana \u2013 shot to the top of the US Hot 100, making him only the fourth male soloist in chart history to achieve 10 No 1 singles there, after Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Drake.<\/p>\n \u201cWe always say, I don\u2019t know when that happened,\u201d laughs Philip Lawrence, the songwriter and producer who has helped shape Mars\u2019s story, when asked about their huge success together. The two musicians were introduced in 2006 and bonded over a shared dream to get signed and get on stage. \u201cThat was our connection \u2013 let\u2019s perform!\u201d<\/p>\n Stardom didn\u2019t come quickly enough, though, so along with Ari Levine they formed songwriting and production trio the Smeezingtons, and shaped the sound of the 2010s by creating a raft of chart-toppers for other artists, including CeeLo Green\u2019s omnipresent Fuck You. When, finally, they got the chance to launch Mars as a solo artist \u2013 with his debut album propelled by the singles Just the Way You Are, Grenade and The Lazy Song, all UK No 1s \u2013 Lawrence led Mars\u2019s live band the Hooligans and they toured the world together. He grins at the memory: \u201cShowtime!\u201d<\/p>\n Two decades after they first met, their artistic relationship remains chartdefining: Lawrence recently achieved his 19th <\/sup>Grammy nomination for contributions to APT., a duet between Mars and K-pop star Ros\u00e9 (Mars himself has 16 Grammys from 36 nominations). Last week, this retro pop-rock track about a Korean drinking game was confirmed as the world\u2019s biggest-selling single of 2025 by industry body IFPI.<\/p>\n