Bruno Mars The Romantic
Bruno Mars's The Romantic arrives as a concise nine-song suite of retro-soul showmanship and wedding-ready grooves, and critics largely agree the record favors polished homage over personal revelation. Across 14 professional reviews the album earned a 64.07/100 consensus score, with reviewers consistently pointing to a
“I Just Might” is the standout for its roller-boogie, disco-banger energy and chart success.
The album’s core strength is polished retro showmanship, but it is weakened by derivativeness and a lack of lyrical specificity.
Best for listeners looking for retro 1970s soul revival and romantic balladry, starting with I Just Might and Risk It All.
Full consensus notes
Bruno Mars's The Romantic arrives as a concise nine-song suite of retro-soul showmanship and wedding-ready grooves, and critics largely agree the record favors polished homage over personal revelation. Across 14 professional reviews the album earned a 64.07/100 consensus score, with reviewers consistently pointing to a handful of standout tracks that supply most of its charm.
Reviewers name “I Just Might”, “Risk It All”, “Cha Cha Cha”, “Something Serious” and “Nothing Left” as the best songs on The Romantic, praising doo-wop disco hooks, bolero-tinged tenderness and crisp, concise pop songwriting. Critics repeatedly commend Mars's immaculate production, retro 1970s soul revival flourishes and showman vocal delivery, noting Latin traces and dancefloor-ready arrangements that make several tracks immediate crowd-pleasers. Those highlights demonstrate the craft and precision that keep Mars in heavy rotation for weddings and late-night slow dances.
At the same time professional reviews voice a common reservation: admiration for pastiche often slides into derivativeness and lyrical generality. Some critics celebrate the album's tasteful nostalgia and short, polished arrangements, while others fault the lack of lived-in specificity and the absence of the chemistry that elevated his prior collaborations. The critical consensus suggests The Romantic is worth listening to for its standout moments and immaculate production, even if the record stops short of being a necessary reinvention in Bruno Mars's catalog.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
I Just Might
13 mentions
"Like clockwork, “ I Just Might ,” the lead single off The Romantic , went Number One"— Rolling Stone
Risk It All
12 mentions
"Say you want the moon, watch me learn to fly, ain’t no mountain you could point to I wouldn’t climb ,” he sings on ‘Risk It All’."— New Musical Express (NME)
God Was Showing Off
8 mentions
"the fourth, “God Was Showing Off,” is when it really settles into the groove where Mars is most comfortable these days"— Variety
Say you want the moon, watch me learn to fly, ain’t no mountain you could point to I wouldn’t climb ,” he sings on ‘Risk It All’.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Risk It All
Cha Cha Cha
I Just Might
God Was Showing Off
Why You Wanna Fight?
On My Soul
Something Serious
Nothing Left
Dance With Me
The short list, not the firehose.
New albums and standout tracks, filtered through real critic reviews.
Chorus email is intentionally low-volume.
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 13 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Bruno Mars leans into classic romanticism on The Romantic, and the review makes clear the best songs are grounded in old-school craft rather than gimmick. The lead single “I Just Might” is praised as a disco roller-boogie banger and the album's lone sugar-rush, while ballads like “Risk It All” and “Nothing Left” showcase Bruno's lush, showman vocalism and bolero-tinged tenderness. The reviewer frames these as impeccably rendered, period-accurate moves that please the crowd and underline why the best tracks on The Romantic feel both timeless and immediate.
Key Points
-
“I Just Might” is the standout for its roller-boogie, disco-banger energy and chart success.
-
The album's core strengths are period-perfect 1970s soul production and Bruno's wholehearted showman vocals.
Themes
Critic's Take
In his concise nine-track set, Bruno Mars leans into tender showmanship on The Romantic, where the best songs on The Romantic are clearly “I Just Might” and “Cha Cha Cha”. The review revels in the slinky floor-filler groove of “Cha Cha Cha” and praises the funky lead single “I Just Might” as emblematic of Mars's raspy, terrific voice. Meanwhile ballads such as “Nothing Left” and “God Was Showing Off” supply the album's soft centre, making the best tracks on The Romantic an easy sell to wedding playlists and late-night slow dances.
Key Points
-
The best song is the funky lead single “I Just Might”, which best showcases Mars's raspy voice and concise pop craft.
-
The album's core strengths are retro-flavored production, tight songwriting, and a mix of danceable grooves and lush ballads.
Themes
Critic's Take
Bruno Mars fashions The Romantic as a well-dressed set of nine finely crafted love songs, and the best tracks here prove that thesis. The crowd-pleasing single “I Just Might” stands out as a chart-topping preview built for big rooms, while the vibrant rhythms of “Cha Cha Cha” and the soulful melding in “Something Serious” mark the best songs on The Romantic for dancers and romantics alike. Mars' beaming rasp sells even trite lines, and those moments where he goes all out are what make these standout tracks resonate.
Key Points
-
The best song is “I Just Might” because it was a chart-topping, crowd-pleasing preview showcased at the Grammys.
-
The album's core strengths are its retro-leaning production, danceable grooves, and Mars' persuasive, beaming vocal delivery.
Themes
Critic's Take
Bruno Mars sounds every bit the honey-voiced preservationist on The Romantic, and the best songs - particularly “I Just Might” and “Nothing Left” - show why his vintage-soul craft still charms. The reviewer's eye lingers on “I Just Might”, praising its interplay between electric and acoustic guitars and its vibe-first approach, and on “Nothing Left”, where weeping strings and expressive drums underline a sudden heartbreak. Throughout, the album's sun-soaked rhythms and Latin-tinged openers like “Risk It All” and “Cha Cha Cha” reinforce why listeners search for the best songs on The Romantic - they deliver polished, old-school romance even as lyrics stay delightfully general. Overall, the record trades daring for timeless atmosphere, so the best tracks are those that most fully inhabit that throwback sound.
Key Points
-
The best song, "I Just Might", is the most effective at cultivating a vintage vibe through its guitar interplay and production.
-
The album's core strength is its meticulous retro production and Mars's flawless, honeyed vocal delivery.
Themes
Critic's Take
Bruno Mars leans into familiar pleasures on The Romantic, and the reviewer's eye is drawn to a few clear highs. Chief among the best songs on The Romantic is “I Just Might”, whose doo-wop and disco fusion and even the "do-do-do" post-chorus make it the record's most winning moment. The electric-guitar cut “Nothing Left” provides the boldest hint of a new direction, while the mariachi-tinged “Risk It All” shows Mars trying small, successful experiments. Still, the tone remains one of a talented showman opting for comfort over provocation, which leaves the album pleasant but not essential.
Key Points
-
The best song is “I Just Might” because its doo-wop/disco craft and charming post-chorus deliver genuine moments of pleasure.
-
The album's strengths are polished musicianship and nostalgic showmanship, even as it avoids real risk.
Critic's Take
Bruno Mars sounds trapped in his own replay button on The Romantic, where attempts at charm often feel like imitation rather than invention. The review singles out “On My Soul” as a bright spot, praising its groovy, squealing guitar hook and lively horns even as the album recycles old moves. Equally noted are ballads like “Risk It All” and brooding closers like “Nothing Left” which show Mars’ fervor but not enough specificity to lift them. If you search for the best songs on The Romantic, the critic still names “On My Soul” as the most persuasive moment amid otherwise tedious, derivative tracks.
Key Points
-
“On My Soul” is the best song due to its groovy guitar hook and lively horns that stand out from the pastiche.
-
The album’s core strength is polished retro showmanship, but it is weakened by derivativeness and a lack of lyrical specificity.
Themes
Ho
Critic's Take
Bruno Mars returns with The Romantic, a tidy nine-song love story that hits its marks more often than not. The reviewer applauds opener “Risk It All” as the vow that sets the tone, and singles out “Something Serious” and “Nothing Left” as the emotional spine of the record. The voice is admiring of Mars' knack for wedding-reception-ready smoothness, while also scolding moments where the album lapses into pop cliché. Overall the best songs on The Romantic are presented as compact, immediate tracks that prioritise melody and mood over sprawling ambition.
Key Points
-
The best song works as a vow-setting opener that establishes the album’s romantic throughline.
-
The album’s core strengths are concise songwriting, Latin-pop flavor, and smooth, crowd-pleasing production.
Themes
Critic's Take
Bruno Mars’s The Romantic settles into a nostalgic, Latin-pop groove where the best tracks — “Cha Cha Cha” and “Dance With Me” — do the heaviest lifting. The reviewer savors the bright guitar licks, infectious congas and brass that make “Dance With Me” swoon and applauds how “Cha Cha Cha” finds a nice groove in its final third. Yet the voice remains mixed about the songwriting, noting that songs like “Risk It All” fall back on clichés. While these are the best songs on The Romantic, the album ultimately comes up a little short.
Key Points
-
The swooning production and nostalgic arrangements make "Dance With Me" the album’s strongest moment.
-
The album’s core strength is its nostalgic, Latin-pop-infused arrangements and danceable grooves, even when songwriting sometimes leans on clichés.
Themes
Critic's Take
Brittany Spanos hears Bruno Mars as a consummate pastiche artist on The Romantic, and she singles out the moments where his craft still shines. She praises the opener “Risk It All” for its Mexican bolero flavor and notes that the album peaks when he leans into the bossa nova-lite pulse, while “Why You Wanna Fight?” and “On My Soul” capture his sultry, rum-soaked rasp. But the reviewer repeatedly finds the songs risk-averse and lyrically schlocky, arguing that the best tracks are undone by their uncanny familiarity. Overall, Spanos frames the best songs on The Romantic as polished highlights that cannot fully overcome the album’s impersonatory tendencies.
Key Points
-
The best song moments come when Mars leans into Latin and bossa nova flavors, notably on "Risk It All."
Themes
Th
Critic's Take
Hi, everyone. Bruno Mars returns with The Romantic, an album that often trades risk for polish and nostalgia. The reviewer's highlights land on “I Just Might” and “God Was Showing Off” as moments where Bruno's melodicism and songwriting cut through the gloss, but even those tracks feel curbed by ultra-safe production. The best songs on The Romantic showcase Bruno's knack for classic pop-soul hooks, yet the record rarely summons the grit or chemistry that made Silk Sonic sing, leaving the listener wanting more adventurous takes. I also enjoyed “Why You Wanna Fight?” for its big Romeo energy.
Key Points
-
The best song moments, such as "I Just Might", succeed because they blend soul, disco, and funk with catchy melodicism.
Themes
Critic's Take
Alexis Petridis writes with the canny, slightly sardonic clarity that has become his hallmark, noting that Bruno Mars leans hard on past pleasures throughout The Romantic. He flags “I Just Might” and “Something Serious” as the album's most immediate moments, praising the lead single's chart success and the closer's soaring vocal while arguing the pleasures are largely familiar rather than daring. The review insists the best tracks are memorable because they echo songs you already know, making them wins for taste if not for invention. Ultimately Petridis judges The Romantic as perfectly pleasant but fundamentally lazy songwriting, where highlights sound like highlights of other records rather than new ones.
Key Points
-
The best song is the lead single "I Just Might" because its irresistible, chart-topping familiarity makes it immediately memorable.
-
The album's core strength is polished, tasteful homage to 1970s soul, though it often favors reproduction over invention.
Themes
Critic's Take
Bruno Mars sounds caught recycling old tricks on The Romantic, and the review wedges its sharpest barbs into why songs like “I Just Might” and “On My Soul” matter in the conversation about the best songs on The Romantic. Sam Rosenberg writes with a weary, exacting tone, singling out “I Just Might” as emblematic of the album's derivative, blandly algorithmic energy, while calling “On My Soul” a lone positive outlier for its groovy guitar and lively horns. The narrative makes clear that the best tracks are those that at least flirt with vitality, even if the album overall is trapped in pastiche and theatricality. The review reads like a diagnosis: a performer still devoted to showmanship, but too anchored to homage to produce fresh best tracks on The Romantic.
Key Points
-
“On My Soul” is the best track because it injects genuine groove and lively horns into an otherwise derivative album.
-
The album’s core strength is Mars’s showmanlike production and vintage stylings, but its reliance on pastiche leaves it feeling unoriginal.
Critic's Take
Chris Willman writes that Bruno Mars’s The Romantic is a lovingly rendered time machine to mid-1970s soul, and he singles out “I Just Might” as one of the album’s few bona fide bangers while praising the slow-burning opener “Risk It All” for its supple vocals. He notes that the record’s Latin touches inform “Risk It All” and “Cha Cha Cha,” and that uptempo moments like “Something Serious” flirt with homage rather than invention. Willman admires the craft and Mars’ voice, but repeatedly argues that the album lacks lived-in lyricism, making even strong tracks feel more stunt than confession. The result is an album whose best songs - notably “I Just Might” and “Risk It All” - reward nostalgia but leave the listener wanting more emotional specificity.
Key Points
-
“I Just Might” is the album’s clearest standout for its single-ready energy and immediate attention-grabbing production.
-
The album’s core strengths are its meticulous 1970s sonic replication, Mars’ abundant vocals, and tasteful Latin and guitar touches, even if the lyrics feel impersonal.