"Treasure" is a song by American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars from his second studio album, Unorthodox Jukebox (2012). It was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, and Phredley Brown, while production was handled by Mars, Lawrence and Levine under the name of the Smeezingtons. Due to the similarities with Breakbot's "Baby I'm Yours", new writing credits were added. The song was selected as the third single by Atlantic Records and was first issued to airplay in Italy on May 10, 2013.
The single became Mars's seventh top ten hit in the United States since his career as an artist began in 2010. It has also reached the top-ten in countries like Australia, Canada, France, Israel, and New Zealand. It reached the top of the charts in Libya, Mexico, and South Africa. "Treasure" received media attention for its funk and disco vibe, which few artists have brought back, comparing it to Michael Jackson's music.
The single was certified five-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), eight times platinum by Music Canada (MC) and four times platinum by Recorded Music New Zealand (RMNZ). The accompanying music video for the song was shot by Cameron Duddy and Mars in Las Vegas, Hollywood and premiered on June 14, 2013. The video presents Mars's band, The Hooligans, in a live performance. "Treasure" was performed on all his tours since its release. It was also used at his Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show set list.
Background and production
In an interview with Rob LeDonne, Philip Lawrence explained the inspiration for the song: "Well, the thing we learned after touring with Doo-Wops was how it is we like to feel on stage when performing. We're fun, like to dance and party, and we didn't really get to do a lot of that on the first album. Even going to festivals and seeing big bands live, like Coldplay or Bruce Springsteen, we knew the second time around we wanted something fun. It's the kind of song where the whole band can get up and jam and have this Earth, Wind and Fire kind of moment."
"Treasure" is one of the eleven songs composed and produced by the Smeezingtons for Bruno Mars's second studio album, Unorthodox Jukebox, with additional songwriting by Phredley Brown. It was mixed at Larrabee Sound Studios in Hollywood by Manny Marroquin. Ari Levine recorded the track at Levcon Studios in California. Charles Moniz served as the song's additional engineer. It was mastered by David Kutch at The Mastering Place.
In December 2012, French electronic artist Breakbot tweeted Mars regarding the similarity to "Treasure" and his song "Baby I'm Yours" (2010). In May 2013, during an interview, Breakbot explained that the boss of Because Music had mentioned, a year previously, that Mars wanted to cover "Baby I'm Yours". As Breakbot was busy finishing the album, "it did not happen." Breakbot called "Treasure" a "rip-off" of his song; however, he was "cool with it"; he explained that he also had many influences on his music "with lots of bits taken from here and there". The song was re-registered with new writing credits, which included Thibaut Berland and Christopher Khan.
Composition and release
"Treasure" is composed in the key of E major with a tempo of 112 beats per minute. The chord progression of AM7–(Gm7)–Fm7–Gm7–Cm–(B) repeats throughout the song, changing only to end phrases on B9sus (A/B), a deceptive cadence. Mars's vocals range from the low note of B3 to the high note of E5. Its composition features punch bass lines, "high synthesizer chimes", call-and-response structure on the backing vocals and "the fill at the end of the chorus" is inspired by "a roller disco". All the vocals on the track are taken from a "playbook of a '70s pop Lothario". It's has been dubbed as a "roller-rink-ready slice of pop-funk with heart-eyed lyrics". It also includes a "clap-along breakdown and a giddy chorus".
"Treasure" is a disco, soul, funk-pop and synth-pop track, heavily influenced by R&B. Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian called it a "sprightly disco thumper". Josep R. Atilano of Philippine Daily Inquirer wrote that Mars was "acknowledging artists synonymous with the 80s in the likes of The Police, New Edition, Billy Joel, Earth, Wind And Fire, and Michael Jackson". Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly remarked that the song "makes silk-jumpsuit disco feel contemporary", Andy Gill of The Independent wrote that Mars "demonstrates a keen appreciation of Patrice Rushen's funk-pop". In a Slate article, critic Ann Powers said that the song "was a direct homage to the sound and even the look of 'P.Y.T.'-era Michael Jackson". Tris McCal writing for NJ.com noticed the similarities between "Treasure" and the sound of Michael Jackson's Off the Wall (1979).
In the April 18, 2013 issue of Billboard Top 40 Mid-Week Update, it was reported that Atlantic Records had selected "Treasure" as the third single from Unorthodox Jukebox. "Treasure" was sent for radio airplay in Italy on May 10, 2013, by Warner Music Group. On May 29 of the same year, BBC Radio 1 began adding the song onto their playlists. On June 21, 2013, a CD single was released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland through Atlantic Records. A remix EP with five remixes of the song was released on August 13, 2013 for digital download by the former label.
Reception
Critical reception "Treasure" was well-received by music critics. Jason Lipshutz of Billboard wrote that one "gets the feeling that 'Treasure', with its grand harmonies, classically kooky hooks and slyly sexual undertones, is the musical mode that makes Mars the happiest", while Spins Dan Hyman favorably compared "Treasure" to the work of American disco artist Donna Summer. Journalist Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave the song a rating of 4 out of 5, and noted that it "sounds like a modern-day 'Rock with You', a feat that few could get away with pulling off so authentically". Ryan Reed of Paste gave the song a positive review, and described "Treasure" as a "stripper-theme funk-pop with gooey synth pads and enormous slap-bass fills that punch through like air-humps"." Rolling Stones Jody Rosen commented that "Treasure" is "creamy Michael Jackson/Prince-schooled disco soul", while Matt Cibula from PopMatters also compared the "funky" song to the work of those two musicians when he said that "Treasure" "knows that a flirt beats a bleat any day". Matthew Horton from BBC Music wrote that the track has a "sugary early 80s funk", and that it "is lathered in so much slap bass it starts to sting". Evan Rytlewski of The A.V. Club wrote that for this "disco-spiked" song, Mars "capably sells himself as a one-man Maroon 5". Tim Sendra of AllMusic found that the song had an "easy-going charm" of the previous album, and described it as "MJ-inspired disco jam".
In a mixed review for The Scotsman, Fiona Shepherd wrote that "Treasure" is "likeable pop funk". The song made the cut of HitFix's songs of the summer of 2013, which was filled with a funk retro vibe, with Katie Hasty saying that "it looks like it was culled straight out of Soul Train." On the "Billboard 20 Best Songs of 2013: Critics' Picks" list, the single was placed at number 20, writing, "Bruno Mars' throwback single ... made more than a few fans smile this year."
Accolades In 2014, "Treasure" received a 2014 NAACP Image Awards nomination for Outstanding Song. In the same year, the song was one of the winners of Most Performed Songs at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards. The song was nominated for Choice Music: Love Song and Choice Music: Summer Song at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards and for the 2013 NRJ Music Awards in the International Song of the Year category. According to Rdio's, an online music service, the song was the sixth most streamed track worldwide; it was also eighth in the US.
Commercial performance
North America The Billboard Top 40 Mid-Week Update of April 18, 2013, reported that "Treasure" was the album's third single, with no official date of release in the United States. Nevertheless, "Treasure" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 71 on June 1, 2013. In the following week, it entered the top 40 after the first full week of sales and Mars's performance of the song in the opening of the 2013 Billboard Music Awards. In the week of July 6, 2013, the song entered the top 10 of Billboard Hot 100 at number eight. Treasure" eventually peaked at number five on Billboard Hot 100. It was certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). As of November 2013, the song had sold two million copies in the US indicating inclusion of on-demand audio and/or video song streams in addition to downloads.
In the week of July 11, 2013, the song entered the top 10 of radio and extended Mars's streak on Radio Songs. All of his 11 first entries reached the top 10 of the chart, tying with T-Pain among males and within one of tying Mariah Carey for the best start among all acts. The list tracks releases since December 1990. His next single, "Gorilla", peaked at number 21, preventing him from extending the streak. "Treasure" also peaked at number five on Billboards Pop Songs chart. It rose to number five on the Canadian Hot 100 and reached the top position on Canada AC. It was certified eight times platinum by Music Canada (MC).
Europe and Oceania "Treasure" first appeared in the UK Singles Chart on May 26, 2013. After three weeks, it reached its peak position at number 12. It was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for track-equivalent sales of 1,200,000 units. The single made its debut at number 51 on the Ö3 Austria Top 40 and peaked at number 15. In France, the song entered the French singles chart at number 113 and peaked at number six; it was Mars's fifth top-ten single in that country. In Ireland, it reached number nine and became Mars's ninth top-ten single. "Treasure" started at number 33 in the Ultratop 50 Wallonia and peaked at number 10 in its eighth week on the chart. In Denmark, it entered the singles chart at number 30 and climbed to number 14, making it Mars's eighth top-fifteen single in that country.
It entered the Australian ARIA Singles Chart at number 28 on May 19, 2013, and eventually reached number 10, thus becoming Mars's ninth top-ten single in Australia. "Treasure" was certified two times platinum by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). In New Zealand, it first entered the singles chart at number 21 on May 27, 2013, and rose to number seven. In 2026, it was certified four times platinum by the Recorded Music New Zealand (RMNZ).
Music video
Development and synopsis Mars filmed the music video for "Treasure" with Taja Riley, a model and dancer, in Las Vegas on May 20, 2013, the day after the live performance of the song at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards. It was directed by Cameron Duddy and Mars, who also directed the videos for the last two singles of the album, "Locked Out of Heaven" (2012) and "When I Was Your Man" (2013). The video was released on June 14, 2013, by Mars on his official Twitter account and was the third of Mars series to feature simple effects from the late 1970s and early 1980s music videos.