"Grenade" is a song by American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars from his debut studio album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010). The pop and power pop song was written and produced by the Smeezingtons (Mars, Phillip Lawrence, Ari Levine) with additional songwriting by Brody Brown, Claude Kelly, and Andrew Wyatt. The song was developed from an unreleased track with similar lyrical themes. "Grenade" was completely rearranged and re‑recorded two days before the album "was supposed to be handed in". The lyrics carry a message of unrequited love and how Mars's heart was broken, despite his best efforts to show her his love. Elektra Records released the song as the second promotional single and as the second official single, to contemporary hit and rhythmic contemporary stations in the United States in October 2010.

"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.

Background and writing 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 the same interview, the singer expressed the desire to release the song as a single, claiming it was a "personal favourite". Ari Levine said the writing of "Grenade" was among the most difficult songs in the album since it took several months to complete. The team also said that the last line of the song was the conflict since it took two months for them to come up with "but you won't do the same". 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".

Development and conception 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:

Production and release "Grenade" was written and produced by the Smeezingtons (Mars, Lawrence, Levine) with additional songwriting by Brown, Kelly, and Andrew Wyatt. The song was mixed at Larrabee Recording Studios Los Angeles by Manny Marroquin, with Christian Plata and Erik Madrid serving as the assistants. It was engineered at Levcon Studios in Los Angeles, California by Levine. The latter along with Mars and Brown played all the instruments on the track and recorded them. It was mastered by Stephen Marcussen at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California.

"Grenade" leaked on September 22, 2010, a week before its initial release on September 28, 2010, as the second and final promotional single by Elektra Records. It was issued as an iTunes Store-exclusive before the Doo-Wops & Hooligans album release on October 4, 2010. On October 21, 2010, in an interview with Digital Spy, Mars revealed the intention to follow "Just the Way You Are" with "Grenade". Later, during an interview with Los Angeles Times, Mars confessed he was anxious regarding the song's reception. According to Billboard, the song was sent to American contemporary hit radio and rhythmic contemporary stations in October 2010 by Elektra; the exact radio impact date is unknown. On January 10, 2011, the track was released via digital download in the United Kingdom. On February 4, 2011, it was released a CD single, which included a Carl Louis & Martin Danielle Classic Mix of "Just the Way You Are" and "Grenade".

Composition and lyrics

"Grenade" is a pop and power-pop song with instrumentation that features keyboards, drums and bass. The song is set in the key of D minor and was published with a moderate tempo of 108 beats per minute. Mars's vocals span from A3 to D5. It has a "powerful kick/bass combination", and competent vocals, mainly in the chorus. A "snare" can be heard when the second verse begins. Mars's vocals have been described as "pure and clean ... over a pounding drum beat". Spencer Hawk from Little Village wrote that the song "doesn't rely on a hook, and it's mostly Mars' voice with a simple piano riff and a pulsing drum beat".

According to The New York Times music reviewer, Jon Caramanica, the song contains elements of 1980s pop and is accompanied by drums similar to those used by Kanye West. Mike Senior of Sound on Sound said that the "piano riff sounded like Coldplay's "Clocks"." The New Zealand Heralds Scott Kara described its beats as "Shakira-esque". Both Roberto Mucciacciaro for MTV and Robert Copsey from Digital Spy noticed the similarities with Michael Jackson's "Dirty Diana". The later describe it as an "haunting piano melody and thunderous drum claps". On the other hand, Tony Clayton-Lea of The Irish Times believed that the structure of "Grenade" resembled the one in "Just the Way You Are".

Lyrically, the song contains masochistic themes and tells the story of heartbreak caused by a failed relationship: "Gave you all I had / And you tossed it in the trash". The chorus has Mars singing, "I'd catch a grenade for ya," and speaks of unrequited love when the subject girl of his affections "won't do the same". Tim Byron, writer for The Vine, "'Grenade' is about the feeling of withdrawal". The critic added, "Mars knows she is bad for him, that's she's preventing him from thinking straight, that he can't actually have her the way he wants, but he still nonetheless has crazy desires for that rush of romantic cocaine that he gets from her." Mars commented in an interview to Blues & Soul: "'Grenade' represents the OTHER side of love – where you're in love with a woman and you know for a fact that she doesn't love you the way you love HER."

Reception

Critical The song received generally positive reviews from most music critics. Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave a review of four stars out of five, praising Mars's vocals, "Mars has the vocal chops ... to carry that off", and emotional lyrics. The latter reminiscent was also noted by Roberto Mucciacciaro for MTV, who added that the song was coincidentally covered on several occasions by Mars. Entertainment Weekly Leah Greenblatt called "Grenade" the "atmospheric opener" of Mars's debut studio album, adding that is a "captivating masochist's anthem", enjoying it as one of the album's highlights, as did The Washington Post Sean Fennessey. Rolling Stone Jody Rosen recommended it as proof of Mars's capabilities as a "lavishly gifted melodist". Tom Gockelen-Kozlowski of The Daily Telegraph complimented "the Kanye West-style genre-bending on Grenade". Consequence of Sounds Kevin Barber praised the track and Mars, since it "showcases his Michael Jackson-esque vocal range" and its "heavy, heartbreaking lyrics". Ken Tucker for NPR noticed "it's hard to resist the clever come-on refrain of "Grenade" – "I'd catch a grenade for ya", adding the song had a "creamy melody".

Tony Clayton-Lea of The Irish Times praised "Grenade", saying "the kind of song that JLS and their ilk would chop off their dancing legs for." However, Slants Eric Henderson dismissed its unrealistic lyrics, while AllMusic's Tim Sendra thought the song was "over-the-top"—one of the weaker ones on the album. Spencer Hawk from Little Village criticized the song by calling it "fairly innovative" and notice that the shouting of the lyrics "doesn't feel genuine", however he felt that "it's very safe while being a little risky, and Mars is a solid singer". The Scotsman dubbed the track a "boy band missile which is a touch desperate in its overwrought overtures to a girl who wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire". Music-News.com, reviewer David Spencer, stated "great pop but little in way of surprise". In 2019, Nerisha Penrose from Elle said "Grenade" was one of the 52 Best Songs That Defined the 2010s, ranking it at number two. She said that the "raw, somber ballad is easily the highlight of Bruno's career and is what helped catapult him to fame."

Accolades "Grenade" received several nominations. In 2011, it was nominated for Choice Music: Break-Up Song at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards, and at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards, the song received a nomination in the category of Best Song. In the same year, it received a nomination for The Record of the Year ceremony. In 2012, "Grenade" was nominated for three Grammy Awards, including: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and the newly introduced Best Pop Solo Performance, losing all of them to British singer Adele. In the same year, the single received a nomination for "Best Hit International" at the Swiss Music Awards. At the 2012 ASCAP Pop Music Awards, the song was one of the winners of Most Performed Songs.

Commercial performance

North America