"Uptown Funk" is a song by British-American record producer Mark Ronson from his fourth studio album, Uptown Special (2015), featuring American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars. It was released as the album's lead single on 10 November 2014 via download in several countries. "Uptown Funk" was written by Ronson, Mars, Philip Lawrence and Jeff Bhasker; produced by the former two, and Bhasker, its composition began during a freestyle studio session when they worked on a jam Mars and his band played on tour. Copyright controversies arose after the song's release resulting in multiple lawsuits and amendments to its songwriting credits.
The song is a funk-pop, soul, boogie, disco-pop and Minneapolis sound track. It has a spirit akin to the 1980s-era funk music. Its lyrics address fashion, self-love and "traditional masculine bravado", performed in a sing-rapping style filled with metaphors, arrogance, charisma, and fun. Upon its release, the single received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the instrumental, style and influences of the track. Others criticised it for not being innovative as it tried to emulate 1980s funk music.
Commercially, the song topped the charts of 19 countries and reached the top 10 of 15 others, making it both Ronson's and Mars' most successful single to date. In the United States, "Uptown Funk" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks and spent seven weeks on the top of the UK Singles Chart. It was certified 11 times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and six times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). "Uptown Funk" peaked at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, and topped the Irish Singles Chart, taking the Christmas number one spot. The song also reached the top spot on France's Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) number one in both Australia for a total of six weeks and in New Zealand for nine consecutive weeks. It also broke its own streaming record three times in the United Kingdom, while breaking the streaming record in the United States and Worldwide at that time.
Director Cameron Duddy and Mars shot the song's music video depicting Ronson, Mars and The Hooligans singing, walking and dancing in a city street. As of July 2020, the official music video for "Uptown Funk" is the seventh most viewed YouTube video of all-time and it has received 4 billion views. "Uptown Funk" was performed on television shows such as Saturday Night Live, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and the Super Bowl 50 halftime show. It received several awards and nominations, winning British Single of the Year at the 2015 Brit Awards, International Work of the Year at the APRA Music Awards of 2016 and Record of the Year at the 2016 Grammy Awards. The television show soundtrack of Glee, and commercials for L'Oreal's Garnier line and Skippy peanut butter, have used the song. It has been parodied several times and became a worldwide phenomenon with a major impact on pop culture.
Last Updated: June 12, 2021
