Hand Grenade

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Lore & Background

"Grenade" was well received by critics, praising the vocals, emotional lyrics of the song and considering it one of the stand-out tracks on Doo-Wops & Hooligans. The single reached number one in fifteen countries, giving Mars his third number one single on the Billboard Hot 100, and topping the Canadian Hot 100 for three non-consecutive weeks. "Grenade" was certified sixteen times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), diamond by Music Canada (MC) and seven times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). It was the second best selling digital single of 2011 with 10.2 million copies. The music video, directed by Nabil Elderkin, was released on November 19, 2010. In the video, Mars is seen dragging an upright piano through Los Angeles. By the time he arrives at the home of his beloved, he discovers she is with another man, so he decides to leave and ends up killing himself. Mars performed "Grenade" on the Late Show with David Letterman and during all his tours since 2010. The song has been covered by a variety of performers. It was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.

In Their Own Story

In an interview with Idolator, Bruno Mars revealed the song's conception and inspiration, saying that he was with his friend Benny Blanco and he was playing a couple of songs to Mars, including one which lyrics were similar to the ones in "Grenade". Blanco added that the band to which the song belonged was not signed and the CD was not released. Mars replied, "I can relate to that so much, I want to take that and make it my own". Mars confessed that the song was inspired by "his love for a girl who did not love him back". He admitted to be "a bit of a drama queen in that song" and that the track was therapeutic to him. Afterwards, Blanco contacted Mars, who started writing his version. In May 2018, Claude Kelly stated in an interview that he was invited to the studio by Mars, as the singer wanted to collaborate with him. Once in the studio, he noticed Mars giving a hard time to one of his music partners, Philip Lawrence. The latter was once in a relationship with a girl that "he would do everything for" and received nothing in return. They started to throw extreme examples such as "you jump out of a plane" or "a shark would eat you" which they found amusing and started to write them on a list, "I'd jump out in front of a train, throw my hand on a blade, get hit by a bus". Eventually, they realized it was "catchy".

Reader's Guide

The original version of "Grenade" had an "uptempo 1960s surf-style sound with jangle pop" and before a live show in New York, Mars "slowed and stripped it down". The reworked song was the last track added to the album. In an interview with Sound on Sound, Levine, who carried out the recording and instrumentation on "Grenade", explained that the song was originally recorded with "a more guitar‑based arrangement", 15bpm faster. According to Mars, the record was much happier. Mars ended up by playing the song live in showcase for the label and to several booking agents in a slower tempo. The singer and his bandmates rehearsed a lot to that show, yet "Grenade" "sounded terrible". Mars decided to do a "stripped down" version by playing the guitar, while Brody Brown played the piano. The single received praise from the label. The Smeezingtons completely rearranged and re‑recorded it, including the vocals, "two days before the album was supposed to be handed in". Levine, added, "There was quite a bit of deadline stress involved in that". The latter explained which instruments and software were involved in the song: "The drums in 'Grenade' came from a combination of my MPC and some software drums, and I created the piano sound in the Fantom. The rest of the synth sounds came from the Virus, and I use the V‑synth and the MicroKorg on pretty much everything. Bruno and I played the keyboards and Brown played the bass. He's an incredible musician who has a great feel and he can play everything."

Did You Know?

• "Grenade" was completely rearranged and re‑recorded two days before the album "was supposed to be handed in".
• The last line of the song took two months for the team to come up with: "but you won't do the same".
• The original version had an "uptempo 1960s surf-style sound with jangle pop" and was 15bpm faster.
• The song was inspired by Philip Lawrence's past relationship with a girl that "he would do everything for" and received nothing in return.
• It was the second best selling digital single of 2011 with 10.2 million copies.