What qualities of Bruno Mars’ new single, “I Just Might,” helped it soar to a No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Jan. 24)?
Here’s a look at the sonic highlights of the song — the first taste of Mars’ album The Romantic, due Feb. 27 — that contributed to its out-of-the-gate chart success.
Related
Still Retro, Still Relevant
With the exception of his 2024 ROSÉ collaboration, “APT.,” Mars’ three most recent Hot 100 top 10s prior to “I Just Might” — “Leave the Door Open,” “Smokin Out the Window” (both with Anderson .Paak via their Silk Sonic side project, in 2021) and “Die With a Smile” (with Lady Gaga; 2024) — have been rooted deep in 1970s nostalgia. “I Just Might” continues that lineage through a meticulous blend of classic disco, funk, R&B/soul and pop, brought to life by era-authentic instrumentation including acoustic drums, electric bass, vintage overdriven guitar, handclaps and a full brass section.
Since the beginning of the 2020s, just 3% of Hot 100 top 10 hits have featured this specific combination of ‘70s-inspired genres and influences — and Mars goes deeper than most. The result is a song that’s instantly recognizable to his core fanbase yet distinctive in today’s marketplace, reinforcing that when he revisits a familiar sound, he doesn’t merely recycle it — he sets the bar for how high it can go.
Keeping the Party Going
The song’s carefree, live-it-up party theme is a relative rarity on today’s charts, appearing in less than 10% of Hot 100 top 10 hits since the start of the ‘20s. Yet for Mars, it’s a proven sweet spot — showing up in roughly 42% of his top 10s over the past decade-plus, including such chart-toppers as Mark Ronson’s 2015 smash “Uptown Funk!,” featuring Mars, and 2017’s “That’s What I Like.”
Say It Again … and Again
“I Just Might” is a hook lover’s dream, with every section packed with vocal and instrumental ear candy. But the defining technique is what Hit Songs Deconstructed calls the “say it again” repetition-based hook approach. From the song’s playful “doo, doo, doo” opener to repeated pre-chorus phrases including “break my heart” and “show me now” to the echoed title hook in the chorus and nonsensical “whoo”s in the second post-chorus, repetition drives memorability.
The result is a song that rolls effortlessly off the tongue — catchy, fun and perfectly aligned with its party-first spirit.
David and Yael Penn cofounded Hit Songs Deconstructed. In 2023, Hit Songs Deconstructed and fellow song analysis platform MyPart publicly launched ChartCipher, an AI-powered platform analyzing a deeper scope of hit songs, as defined by Billboard’s charts.
