Silk Sonic | |
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Background information | |
Origin | U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active | 2021–present |
Labels | |
Members | |
Website | silksonic |
Silk Sonic is an American musical superduo composed of musicians Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. The duo released their debut single, "Leave the Door Open", in March 2021. They later released "Skate" in July 2021, followed by third single, "Smokin out the Window", and their debut album, An Evening with Silk Sonic , in November 2021. The album peaked at number two on the Billboard 200, while the first three singles reached the top twenty on the Billboard Hot 100, with "Leave the Door Open" spending 18 weeks in the top ten and two non-consecutive weeks at the top spot. The song later won four Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
In 2017, Anderson .Paak was the opening act for Bruno Mars on the European leg of the 24K Magic World Tour. [1] In April, Mars and .Paak worked together at Abbey Road Studios in London with Nile Rodgers and Guy Lawrence for Chic's album It's About Time , and worked on music while on tour that appeared on Paak's album Ventura . [2] [3] The duo was formed in 2017 by Mars and .Paak "as a joke the two friends hatched on the road". [4]
On February 26, 2021, Mars announced that he and .Paak had formed a band, saying, "[Silk Sonic] locked in and made an album." [5] In a press release, they said Bootsy Collins named the band after he heard the album. [6] "Leave the Door Open", the band's debut album's lead single, was released on March 5, along with the intro song, hosted by Collins. [7] The band made its television debut at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards performing the single, alongside a tribute to Little Richard consisting of "Long Tall Sally" and "Good Golly, Miss Molly". [8]
"Leave the Door Open" was performed again at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards, with a similar aesthetic. [9] The duo won Best Group at the BET Awards 2021. [10] At the same ceremony, it performed "Leave the Door Open" again, alongside teasers of its forthcoming releases. [11]
On July 28, Mars announced that Silk Sonic would host a "Summertime Jam" two days later. [12] This event turned out to mark the release of another single, "Skate", which was released on July 30 alongside an accompanying video. [13]
In October, the band announced that the album's release had been pushed ahead to November 12. [14]
On November 5, Silk Sonic released its third single, "Smokin out the Window", a week before the album's launch. [15] [16] On November 12, An Evening with Silk Sonic was released. [15] On November 21, "Smokin' Out the Window" was performed as the opening act of the American Music Awards of 2021, [17] [18] where the duo also won Favorite Song – R&B. [19]
On January 19, 2022, it was announced that the duo would host a residency concert series at the Park MGM in Las Vegas. [20] On February 3, they were announced to also make an appearance in Fortnite . [21] [22] On February 14, the duo released a cover of Con Funk Shun's "Love's Train", which was later released as single in Italy, making it the group's fourth single. [23] On April 21, 2022, Billboard reported that "Love's Train" was the album's fourth single, with no official date of release in the United States. [24] [25] "After Last Night" was released as the next single on July 5, 2022. [26]
Silk Sonic's musical style has been described as R&B, [17] [27] [28] [29] soul, [30] [31] [32] funk, [30] [33] pop, [34] [33] hip hop, [30] and smooth soul. [35] Its sound has also been described as disco-inspired. [36] Of An Evening with Silk Sonic's sound, The Ringer wrote, "though styled as a 1960s to '70s retro endeavor, Silk Sonic isn't a work of nostalgia but rather a fusion: funk, rap, and R&B as they've sounded in heavy rotation as recently as the 2000s." [34] Sputnikmusic called the album "rich and authentic, existing at the irresistible intersection between 70s funk nostalgia and the luxuries of a modern day studio. As a result, An Evening With Silk Sonic lives up to its billing as a true experience: it’s sexy, ever-so-smooth, and radiates confidence and charisma." [37]
Principal members
Touring members
Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [40] | US R&B [41] | AUS [42] | CAN [43] | DEN [44] | IRE [45] | NLD [46] | NZ [47] | SWI [48] | UK [49] | ||||
An Evening with Silk Sonic | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
|
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [57] | US R&B/ HH [58] | AUS [42] | CAN [59] | IRE [45] | NLD [46] | NZ [47] | SWI [48] | UK [49] | WW [60] | |||||
"Leave the Door Open" | 2021 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 9 | 18 | 13 | 1 | 23 | 20 | 2 | An Evening with Silk Sonic | ||
"Skate" | 14 | 4 | 32 | 19 | 48 | 61 | 12 | 74 | 45 | 18 |
| |||
"Smokin out the Window" | 5 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 31 | 4 | 92 | 12 | 12 | ||||
"Love's Train" | 2022 | — [A] | 47 | — | — | — | — | — [B] | — | — | — | |||
"After Last Night" [67] (with Thundercat and Bootsy Collins) | 68 | 17 | — | 92 | — | — | — [C] | — | — | 78 | ||||
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Bub. [65] | US R&B/ HH [58] | NZ Hot [69] | WW [60] | |||
"Silk Sonic Intro" [70] | 2021 | 14 | 48 | 34 | 176 | An Evening with Silk Sonic |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [57] | US R&B/ HH [58] | CAN [59] | IRE [45] | NLD [46] | NZ Hot [68] | UK [49] | WW [60] | |||||||
"Fly as Me" | 2021 | 81 | 23 | 93 | 51 | 75 | 9 | 49 | 92 | An Evening with Silk Sonic | ||||
"Put on a Smile" | 78 | 22 | — | — | — | 10 | — | 103 | ||||||
"777" | — [D] | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | 132 | ||||||
"Blast Off" | 73 | 20 | 95 | — | — | — | — | 74 | ||||||
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Organization | Year | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
American Music Awards | 2021 | Favorite Duo or Group – Pop | Silk Sonic | Nominated | [19] |
Favorite Music Video | "Leave the Door Open" | Nominated | |||
Favorite Song – R&B | Won | ||||
2022 | Favorite R&B Album | An Evening with Silk Sonic | Nominated | [71] | |
Favorite R&B Song | "Smokin out the Window" | Nominated | |||
BET Awards | 2021 | Best Group | Silk Sonic | Won | [72] |
Video of the Year | "Leave the Door Open" | Nominated | |||
Viewer's Choice Award | Nominated | ||||
2022 | Best Group | Silk Sonic | Won | [73] | |
Video of the Year | "Smokin out the Window" | Won [a] | |||
Album of the Year | An Evening with Silk Sonic | Won | |||
Billboard Music Awards | 2022 | Top Duo/Group | Silk Sonic | Nominated | [74] |
Top R&B Artist | Nominated | ||||
Top R&B Album | An Evening with Silk Sonic | Nominated | |||
Top R&B Song | "Leave the Door Open" | Won | |||
Brit Awards | 2022 | International Group of the Year | Silk Sonic | Won | [75] |
Grammy Awards | 2022 | Record of the Year | "Leave the Door Open" | Won | [76] |
Song of the Year | Won | ||||
Best R&B Performance | Won [b] | ||||
Best R&B Song | Won | ||||
iHeartRadio Music Awards | 2022 | Song of the Year | "Leave the Door Open" | Nominated | [77] |
Best Duo/Group of the Year | Silk Sonic | Won | |||
R&B Album of the Year | An Evening with Silk Sonic | Won | |||
R&B Song of the Year | "Leave the Door Open" | Won | |||
R&B Artist of the Year | Silk Sonic | Nominated | |||
Best Lyrics | "Leave the Door Open" | Nominated | |||
Best Music Video | Nominated | ||||
2023 | Best Duo/Group of the Year | Silk Sonic | Nominated | [78] | |
R&B Artist of the Year | Nominated | ||||
R&B Song of the Year | "Smokin out the Window" | Nominated | |||
Favorite Residency | An Evening with Silk Sonic at Park MGM | Nominated | |||
MTV Europe Music Awards | 2021 | Best Group | Silk Sonic | Nominated | [79] |
Best Collaboration | "Leave the Door Open" | Nominated | |||
MTV Video Music Awards | 2021 | Group of the Year | Silk Sonic | Nominated | [80] |
Song of the Year | "Leave the Door Open" | Nominated | |||
Best R&B | Won | ||||
Best Editing | Won | ||||
2022 | Group of the Year | Silk Sonic | Nominated | [81] | |
NAACP Image Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Album | An Evening with Silk Sonic | Nominated | [82] |
Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Traditional) | "Leave the Door Open" | Won | |||
Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album | Nominated | ||||
Outstanding Soul/R&B Song | Nominated | ||||
2023 | Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Traditional) | "Love's Train" | Won | [83] | |
Soul Train Music Awards | 2021 | Song of the Year | "Leave the Door Open" | Won | [84] |
The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award | Won | ||||
Video of the Year | Won | ||||
2022 | Album of the Year | An Evening with Silk Sonic | Nominated | [85] | |
Video of the Year | "Smokin out the Window" | Won | |||
Best Dance Performance | Nominated |
Peter Gene Hernandez, known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for singing in a wide range of musical styles, including pop, R&B, funk, soul, reggae, disco, and rock. Mars is accompanied by his band, the Hooligans, whose members are also backup singers and dancers. In 2021, Mars and fellow singer Anderson .Paak formed the musical superduo Silk Sonic.
American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars has released three studio albums, one collaborative studio album, one EP, 34 singles and four promotional singles. With estimated sales of over 26 million albums and 200 million singles worldwide, Mars is one of the best-selling artists of all time. Six of his singles are among the best-selling singles of all time: in order of release date, "Just the Way You Are", "Grenade", "The Lazy Song", "When I Was Your Man", "Uptown Funk" and "That's What I Like". According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), he has sold 91.5 million copies in the United States. His first two albums have sold 5.04 million copies in the US market alone. In 2012, Mars was named 2011's best selling music artist worldwide. In 2022, he became the first artist to receive six diamond certified songs in the United States.
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An Evening with Silk Sonic is the debut studio album by American musical superduo Silk Sonic, composed of American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars and fellow singer and rapper Anderson .Paak. It was released by Aftermath Entertainment and Atlantic Records on November 12, 2021. Silk Sonic recruited American musician Bootsy Collins, who came up with the name for Mars and Paak's duo, for narration and American record producer D'Mile to compose the album. Recording sessions for An Evening with Silk Sonic took place from early 2020 to mid-2021 at Shampoo Press & Curl Studios.
"Leave the Door Open" is the debut single by the American superduo Silk Sonic, consisting of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, from their studio album An Evening with Silk Sonic (2021). The song was written by the artists alongside Brody Brown and Dernst "D'Mile" Emile II, who produced it with Mars. It was released on March 5, 2021, by Aftermath Entertainment and Atlantic Records for digital download and streaming. A Philadelphia soul, R&B, and pop song, it is influenced by quiet storm. The lyrics are humorous and describe a "detailed erotic invitation".
"Skate" is a song by American superduo Silk Sonic, which consists of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. It was released on July 30, 2021, by Aftermath Entertainment and Atlantic Records as the second single from their debut studio album An Evening with Silk Sonic (2021). The song was written by the artists alongside James Fauntleroy, Domi & JD Beck, and Dernst "D'Mile" Emile II, who produced it with Mars. An R&B, disco, and funk song, it was inspired by music from the 1970s disco period. The song's lyrics discuss roller skating and include an invitation to a dance floor.
"Smokin out the Window" is a song by American superduo Silk Sonic, which consists of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. It was released on November 5, 2021, by Aftermath Entertainment and Atlantic Records as the third single from their debut studio album An Evening with Silk Sonic (2021). The song was written by the artists alongside Dernst "D'Mile" Emile II, who produced it with Mars. An R&B and soul song, it was inspired by music from the 1970s. The lyrics are humorous and describe the narrator's heart being broken by an unfaithful lover.
"After Last Night" is a song by American superduo Silk Sonic, which consists of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, with Thundercat and Bootsy Collins, from their debut studio album, An Evening with Silk Sonic (2021). The song was written by Mars, .Paak, Thundercat, Dernst "D'Mile" Emile II, James Fauntleroy, Jonathan Yip, Ray Romulus, Jeremy Reeves, and Ray Charles McCollough II. The production was handled by Mars, D'Mile, Yip, Romulus, Reeves, and McCollough II, with the latter four credited as the Stereotypes. It was released to urban adult contemporary radio as the fifth single from the album in the United States on July 5, 2022, by Atlantic Records. The song is a funk, neo soul and R&B ballad about a man who was a player, changing his behavior for a woman with whom he is in love.
An Evening with Silk Sonic at Park MGM was a concert residency by American R&B superduo Silk Sonic, held at Dolby Live in the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada. The concert residency was promoted by Live Nation and MGM Resorts.
"Love's Train" is a song by American R&B and funk band Con Funk Shun from their tenth studio album, To the Max (1982). The song was written by Michael Cooper and Felton C. Pilate II, and produced by Con Funk Shun. Cooper wrote the song to a music track created by Pilate, which had different lyrics. It is an R&B, funk and quiet storm song that includes a "steering bass guitar", "glittering keys", and "synth-centric flair of '80s R&B". Lyrically, the song is based on a real-life love triangle, involving Cooper and Pilate. Since its release, the song has received praise from music critics, with the majority commending the band's vocals.
Domi and JD Beck are a jazz duo consisting of French keyboardist Domi Louna and American drummer JD Beck. The two met in 2018 and have since worked with Thundercat, Anderson .Paak, Herbie Hancock, Eric Andre, Ariana Grande, Earl Sweatshirt, Bruno Mars and many more. They released their first single, "Smile", and debut album, Not Tight, as a duo in 2022. They received two Grammy Award nominations in 2022, for Best New Artist and Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for Not Tight.