STACK #256 February 2026

MUSIC FEATURE

visit jbhifi.com.au/stack

MARS LANDING Get ready to party! Bruno Mars is back with his first solo album in a decade.

MARS EXPLORATION

He was born Peter

Hernandez.

When he was two, his dad called him Bruno because he thought he looked like the wrestler Bruno Sammartino. His first single, 2010’s Just the Way You Are , topped the US, UK, and Australian charts. His band is called the Hooligans. He calls himself the “Aura Lord”.

Rosé, APT. , spent 14 weeks on top of the Australian charts. Mars also created Silk Sonic with rapper Anderson .Paak. They had a smash hit with the 2021 album An Evening with Silk Sonic . But Mars’ new album, The Romantic , is his first solo set since 24K Magic in 2016. The lead single, I Just Might , had fans buzzing, with its funky disco grooves, and a hook that had some critics remembering the Leo Sayer classic You Make Me Feel Like Dancing . Whatever way you want to slice it, Bruno Mars has created the feel-good hit of the summer. Yep, it’s party time. Jeff Jenkins The Romantic by Bruno Mars is out Feb 27 via Atlantic

MARS MEETS ELVIS Bruno Mars was the world’s youngest Elvis impersonator. He was just two when he started performing as “Little Elvis”. He even played Little Elvis in the 1992 movie Honeymoon in Vegas with Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Bruno Mars

Photo credit: John V. Esparza

the biggest chart hits of the past year. His single with Lady Gaga, Die with a Smile , was the fastest track to log three billion streams on Spotify. And his collab with

“It’s party time!” With that simple sentence, Bruno Mars heralded his return. Not that the American superstar has been away. He had two of

MARS ATTACKS!

Bruno Mars has had four Top 5 albums in Australia and 18 Top 10 singles.

Joji was the last Aussie artist to have a number one single on the ARIA charts. Joji’s Glimpse of Us hit number one in June 2022. Joji’s first three albums have all hit the US Top 5. CHART FACT

GALE FORCE Japanese-Aussie star Joji is back with his first album in four years.

THE NAME GAME Joji’s real

T here have been in the Joji world.

in Osaka, grew up in Japan, and is now based in the US, but his dad is Australian. Joji’s fourth studio album has a striking title: P-ss in the Wind . The phrase “p-ssing in the wind” refers to an action that is futile or counterproductive. Joji announced the album when he unveiled

some big changes

After eight years, the singer quit the 88rising record company, starting his own independent label, Palace Creek. It’s a big move for the 33-year-old artist who broke big by posting comedy videos on YouTube in the early 2010s

name is George Kusunoki Miller. He started his performing career as Filthy Frank. He then became known as Pink Guy, before adopting the name Joji – the Japanese version of his first name. He says that unlike Filthy Frank and Pink Guy, Joji is not a character. “Joji’s just me.”

P-ss in the Wind by Joji is out Feb 6 via Inertia

the lead single, Pixelated Kisses , a song about the difficulties of a long distance relationship. “Pixelated kisses got me goin’ insane,” he sings. “Replicate this moment from a million miles away.” Jeff Jenkins

before becoming one of the hottest pop stars in the world with his dark love songs. ARIA classifies Joji as an Australian artist. He was born

AWARDS WATCH

Joji has twice been nominated for ‘Song of the Year’ at the ARIA Awards – for Glimpse of Us and Die for You .

Joji

40 FEBRUARY 2026

jbhifi.com.au