"Locked Out of Heaven" is a song by American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars from his second studio album, Unorthodox Jukebox (2012). It was released as the lead single from the album on October 1, 2012. The song was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine. It was produced by the former three, under their alias, the Smeezingtons along with Mark Ronson, Jeff Bhasker and Emile Haynie. "Locked Out of Heaven" is a reggae rock and pop rock song influenced by new wave and funk. The song's lyrics are about the rapturous feelings brought about by a relationship infused with positive emotion as well as euphoria from sex.
"Locked Out of Heaven" was well received by most critics, some of whom complimented Mars's different musical direction. His vocals were compared to the ones by Sting, while its sound was lauded, with the song being called "interesting" and a "musical evolution". While some critics noted influences from various bands, Mars stated that the Police were the ones who influenced him to write the song. The single charted inside the top ten in various countries, including the United States, where it became Mars's fourth number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, holding the spot for six consecutive weeks, and topping the Canadian Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks. "Locked Out of Heaven" was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and by Music Canada (MC), seven times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and seven times platinum by Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ).
The song's music video was shot by director Cameron Duddy and by Mars. It depicts Mars and his bandmates leisurely engaging in activities such as smoking, drinking and playing games. The singer performed "Locked Out of Heaven" on television shows such as Saturday Night Live and The X Factor and included it on all his tours since 2013, but An Evening with Silk Sonic at Park MGM (2022). It was also used at his Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show set list. The song won several awards and received three Grammy nominations. The song has also been covered by various recording artists, including Leona Lewis and Bastille.
Background and production After the 2010 debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans, Bruno Mars revealed he wanted to create something unexpected with its follow-up. "This is me going into the studio and recording and writing whatever I want," Mars said confidently. "This album represents my freedom." It all started backstage, after a show, during a jamming session in a "greenroom", while singing the phrase "Locked Out of Heaven". According to Philip Lawrence, the track developed a meaning as they started to write it, "when you’re with someone who's showing you a new way to love." The Smeezingtons went to New York to work with Jeff Bhasker, Emile Haynie and Mark Ronson and during a jamming session with drums, bass, and guitar, Mars created the riff of the song. He started singing the chorus previously created on the top of the riff. Then, the production team went back to L.A., where they finished the lyrics and changed the original melody. Lawrence felt that the recording was "sort of empty but it had a carnal vibe to it", making them enthusiastic to place a "driving rhythm" in it. He recalled thinking it was "something special" in the studio, the same way he did during the creation of "Just the Way You Are" and "Billionaire" (2010).
Bhasker, one of the song's producers, explained the track's roots as it "came in the middle of the process of putting together the album". He elaborated; "We were just having a jam session, tracking some things, and Bruno started playing this groove and making up something on the spot; we all thought it was pretty good. We wound up working a long time on that, trying to get it just right." "Locked Out of Heaven" began as a "cha-cha-style duet", sounding like Santana's "Smooth". Ronson asked the Dap-Kings to collaborate on the track in order to get a "crisply syncopated, locked-in groove." According to Michael Leonhart, he contributed with "Thriller" vibe horns to the song, however, they didn't make the final version. Regarding the development of the song, the Smeezingtons thought "there's a good pocket on this song right now. Let's keep it going." Mars also mentioned that it took a long time to create it, commenting "People didn't see us going at each other's throats in the studio and pulling out our hair." He added, "Trying to get these drums right and figure out a bass line." Lawrence believes the lack of "heavy hitting drums" and the presence of a small guitar solo allows the song to be carried by Mars.
"Locked Out of Heaven" was written by Mars, Lawrence and Ari Levine. Its production was handled by the former three, under their stage name, the Smeezingtons, alongside Ronson, Bhasker, and Haynie. Bhasker, Mars, Nick Movshon, and Homer Steinweiss played the instruments, with additional assistance by Haynie. The recording was done by Levine, Wayne Gordon, ALALAL and Ronson, while Bob Mallory and Tyler Hartman served as the recording assistants for the latter two. Recording took place at the Levcon Studios in Los Angeles, Daptone Studios in Brooklyn and Avatar Studios in New York. Charles Moniz provided additional engineering to the recording. It was mixed at Larrabee Sound Studios in Hollywood by Manny Marroquin and mastered by David Kutch at The Mastering Place.
Release According to Ronson, Mars wanted "Locked Out of Heaven" to be the lead single, which he considered a "brave" choice. Aaron Bay-Schuck, Mars's A&R representative at the time, found the track's production to be cutting edge, although it wasn't an instant favorite. However, he perceived that "it was something special" but had no idea how to classify it. Bay-Schuck felt the song needed time to grow as "the more you hear it, the more of an earworm it becomes", leading the promotional department to make sure that program directors weren't afraid of playing a track that "sounded different from what was on the radio".
"Locked Out of Heaven" was unveiled digitally and sent to radio airplay on October 1, 2012, as the lead single from Unorthodox Jukebox. It also became available for purchase the following day, and it was officially sent to American contemporary hit radio by Atlantic Records and for radio airplay in Italy by Warner. The label also sent the song to rhythmic contemporary on October 25, 2012. It was made available to purchase as a digital download in Germany on October 3, 2012. In early November 2013, a CD Single was released on Poland, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, it included the album version of "Locked Out of Heaven", as well as a poster and stickers of Bruno Mars. The song was released as an available download on November 21, 2012, in Japan. On November 26, 2012, the song was released as a digital download in the United Kingdom. On January 21, 2013, four remixes were released for download in the UK.
Composition and influences
The sheet music for "Locked Out of Heaven" shows the key of D minor, with the vocals ranging from the low note of A3 to the high note of C5. Levine said that some parts of the song are assembled from vocals, not instruments; Mars said they needed "a dep-dep-dep-dep sound". Mars's voice was recorded, chopped up and processed to sound like an instrument. The song's composition relies mainly on a "guitar-worthy groove guitar, a soaring sing-along chorus and sexual innuendo galore". It finds Mars singing a confession of a relationship that is so good that he repeats to his love "Your sex takes me to paradise", a verse inspired by Halle Berry; "You make me feel like I've been locked out of heaven for too long/ Can I just stay here, spend the rest of my days here?" he sings. During his Google Hangout on the day of the song's release, Mars was asked by a fan to name his favorite lyrics from the track. Mars picked the phrase "But swimming in your water is something spiritual", and said that the single's exploration of feeling and being in love fits into the "sensual, sensual and sensual" theme of the album.
It has been described as a reggae rock and pop rock track heavily influenced by new wave and funk. Tim Sendra of AllMusic described the song as "a breezy mashup of 'Beat It' (1982), the Police, and Dire Straits." For Paul MacInnes of The Guardian called it "a brazen – but successful – welding of Dire Straits' 'Sultans of Swing' (1978) and 'Can't Stand Losing You' (1978) by the Police." Carl Williott of Idolator found out that "the angular guitars and Mars' Sting-like staccato delivery are heavily indebted to The Police," also seeing "hints of Foster the People on the omnipresent 'eh-eh-eh-eh-ooo' punctuating the beat." Melinda Newman of HitFix commented that the song has a "Police/'80s rock skipping beat plus a touch of the Romantics' 'What I Like About You' (1980)." Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times likened it to the Police era Ghost in the Machine (1981) heavily influenced by Human League. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times simply called it "a vivid carbon copy of Zenyatta Mondatta (1980)-era Police."
Though critics have pointed out the song's similarities to some of the hits by the Police, Mars told MTV News that he did not intend to write anything mimicking by the Sting-fronted band. Instead, it came to him out of the blue, one night during his studio sessions prior to recording the Unorthodox Jukebox album. "I don't think it initially tried to sound like anybody else, but I picked up the guitar and just started playing [the song's opening chords]," Mars explained. "That's how it normally works; I'll pick up a guitar and I'll start humming a melody, and I started singing that, and I was up there in Sting-ville, in that register, so that's what you get...". John Marx, a partner in the music division at William Morris Endeavor (WME), who was responsible for managing The Moonshine Jungle Tour said "it's the type of song that really motivates people to purchase a ticket. It has that live element to it; it was a very active track".
Critical reception
The song received generally positive reviews from music critics. Robert Copsey of Digital Spy was positive, giving the song a rating of 5 out of 5 stars, praising the "80s-styled funk beats and wildly infectious percussion", the "singalong chorus may be a hasty reminder that his strength lies in fist-clenching". He also wrote that considered the song "one of the most interesting musical evolutions of 2012." Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone gave the song 3.5 out of 5 stars, writing that "The song is about unbridled passion, but as usual with Mars, the aesthetic is tidy and impeccable, pop songcraft polished to a high-gloss gleam: jittery Police-esque rock-reggae verses that erupt, amid thunder-boom synths, into a steamrolling four-on-the-floor chorus." Carl Williott of Idolator also gave the song a positive review, writing that it "shows an interesting musical evolution," and called the song "interesting" and marks it as a shift for Mars and his style.