Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven

"Locked Out of Heaven" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars from his upcoming second studio album, Unorthodox Jukebox. It was released as the lead single from the album on October 1, 2012. The song was written and produced by Mark Ronson, Jeff Bhasker, Emile Haynie and The Smeezingtons. The song is Bruno Mars' 9th million-selling single.

This song has a muscular shuffle to it that's instantly more aggressive than any of the Doo-Wops singles besides “Runaway Baby,” and rather than the obvious soul throwback of that song, this one goes for more of a new wave energy, with a choppy guitar and bass combo that hits halfway in between The Romantics’ “Talking in Your Sleep” and The Police's “Roxanne.” To prevent it from sounding too old-fashioned though, each line of the verses is also injected with a squeaky one-note synth riff that sounds like it belongs on an A-Trak song, upping the excitement of an already fairly invigorating song.

Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven printable sheet music - CLICK HERE

Really, there are so many musical ideas going on in the song that you’re almost exhausted by the time you get to the chorus. Perhaps it’s for that reason that Mars reigns it in a bit on the refrain rather than taking it to the next level, slowing the song’s shuffle down to a “Just the Way You Are”-like marital drum rhythm and upping the intensity on the synths as he songs the hook: “Baby you make me feel like / I’ve been locked out of heaven / For too lo-o-ong.” It’s the tiniest bit disappointing that Mars doesn’t just totally blow the doors open with the chorus, but with the build-up on the synths and his own emotional intensity keeping the song moving, it’s hardly a total letdown either.