"Gorilla" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars from his second studio album Unorthodox Jukebox (2012). The song was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence, and Ari Levine, who produced the song under the name of the Smeezingtons, with Emile Haynie, Jeff Bhasker and Mark Ronson. Atlantic Records serviced the track to Contemporary hit radio in the United States on September 10, 2013, as the fourth single from Unorthodox Jukebox. Its official remix (G-Mix) features American singers Pharrell Williams and R. Kelly, and was released in Canada and US on November 12. "Gorilla" is a midtempo arena-rock, rock and soft rock song with a power pop hook, "epic" guitars and a Phil Collins-esque synth/percussion. Its style has drawn comparisons to Prince's 1984 single "Purple Rain".
The single received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its resemblance to early 1980s arena rock, but criticized its explicit lyrical content, which addresses the subject of making love like wild animals. The song reached number 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 62 on the UK Singles Chart, being unable to achieve the same success of the previous singles. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and by Music Canada (MC). Mars performed "Gorilla" live at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards and at the 2013 MTV Europe Music Awards. The song was included on the set list of his second world tour, The Moonshine Jungle Tour (2013–14) as the final act, usually performed as an encore and was performed in some shows of the 24K Magic World Tour (2017–18) and Bruno Mars Live (2022-24).
Background "Gorilla" was the first song written for the album, setting "the tone for the entire project and it kind of became the mascot". This was the reason behind the gorilla on the cover of the album, as Bruno Mars explained in an interview with MTV News. In another interview, this time for GQ, Mars revealed the song's conception, saying that "it was just painting a picture—some animalistic sex". When asked about what the meaning is for "making love like a gorilla", Mars replied aggressively "What does that sound like to you? Come on...What is this, 1933? We can't talk about this?". Regarding the line "I got a body full of liquor with a cocaine kicker", Mars said that his inspiration came "just because the room was dark" and he felt like Johnny Cash.
On the same interview, he was asked if his perfect idea of encounter was the same as described in the track, one in which your partner is screaming to you, "Give it to me, baby, give it to me, motherfucker" and having attracted the attention of the cops due to the violent noises you are making with your partner outside while "trying to get in". To this question Mars said "It definitely sounds awesome. Right? Isn't that what matters? It's an awesome song! I don't know how to tell you that more". In another interview, this time for Rolling Stone, he explained that the track is about "good old animalistic sex". When the interviewer asked if Mars was concerned with the verses "Got a body full of liquor with a cocaine kicker" due to his 2010 drug bust, he replied "To take that line out would dilute my art", since the recording "needs a sense of danger. When I was a kid, pop could be dangerous but still massive. Michael Jackson would grab his crotch. Prince would rock assless chaps".
A demo of the song, only featuring the vocals and an acoustic guitar, was exclusively released as a bonus track on the Target edition of the album, on December 11, 2012. Almost a year later, on November 5, 2013, the demo of the song was also included on the deluxe edition of the album, released in various countries.Unorthodox Jukebox deluxe edition: Upon the release of the remix of the song (G-Mix), on November 12, 2013, Mars commented that it featured "two of [his] favorite artist[s]", Pharrell Williams and R. Kelly.
Production and release "Gorilla" was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine, and produced by the Smeezingtons, Mark Ronson, Jeff Bhasker and Emile Haynie. The same producers have contributed to Mars 2012 single "Locked Out of Heaven" for his second album Unorthodox Jukebox. "Gorilla" was recorded at Levcon Studios in Los Angeles, California and Avatar Studios in New York City, New York by Levine, ALALAL and Ronson, the latter two assisted by Bob Mallory and Tyler Hartman. The track's engineering was additionally provided by Charles Moniz. "Gorilla" was mixed by Manny Marroquin at Larrabee Sound Studios in North Hollywood. Steve Jordan played the drums, while Sharrod Barnes was responsible for the guitar and Bhasker handled the keyboards. Ronson was the performer of beats and Artie Smith was the technician of gear and served as a performer of vibes. It was mastered by David Kutch at The Mastering Place.
On August 25, 2013 at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, Mars unveiled the fourth single taken from Unorthodox Jukebox, "Gorilla" during the performance of the same. On September 10, Atlantic Records serviced "Gorilla" to Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States. It also impacted US Rhythmic contemporary radios on September 17. On September 24, "Gorilla" was sent for radio airplay in Italy by Warner. BBC Radio 1Xtra began adding the song onto their playlists on October 21. Later, on November 12, the official remix of the song was made available for purchase in the United States and Canada. It features American singers Pharrell Williams and R. Kelly. In both countries, two versions were made available; a clean and an explicit one being released in the same day in both countries. Capital FM radio considered the single artwork one of the best of 2013.
Composition and lyrical interpretation
"Gorilla" is an arena-rock, soft rock, pop rock, and rock song. The track opens with a stark, insinuating beat and Mars's bleating vocals. As it progresses, monstrous drums burst. A guitar, a piano, keyboards and a backbeat are also part of the instrumentation. The song features jungle noises in the background along with a pop hook. According to the digital sheet music, the song was composed in common time and in the key of B minor with a tempo of 70 beats per minute. Mars's vocals range spans from the low note of B3 to the high note of A5.
Billboard'''s magazine reviewer, Jason Lipshutz, called the track "an ambitious...sex jam". It is often noted that "Gorilla" is a song rich of instruments that create a 1980s sound similar to Prince's, with the keyboards overwhelming the instrumental backbeat. On the song, Mars performs multiple high-range falsettos. Matt Dihel for Rolling Stone said that the recording features a "thundering, Def Leppard-huge thump and risqué subject matter".
The song has gained attention due to its explicit lyrics. The song begins with the lyrics "I got a body full of liquor and a cocaine kicker", during the song "a slew of f-bombs" can be heard, and varied graphic descriptions such as: "You got your legs up in the sky with the devil in your eyes / Let me hear you say you want it all" and the chorus "You and me, baby, making love like gorillas!". Overall, the lyrics portray the subject of having a "romantic evening" of making love like wild animals (gorillas), despite being high from cocaine and drunk from liquor. On September 11, 2013, The Daily Telegraph reported that Dannielle Miller, co-founder of Enlighten Education, decided to appeal to mainstream radio in order to ban "Gorilla", due to its sexual and violent lyrics towards women.
Critical reception "Gorilla" received mixed reviews by most music critics. Some of them praised its musical structure, while others complained for its lack of lyrical depth. In a review of Unorthodox Jukebox, Slant Magazines Andrew Chan wrote that it is the album's highlight being the most energetic track on the album and found it "most infectious bedroom anthem of the year." Likewise, Lauren Kreisler from the Official Charts Company, described the song as an apparent bedroom antics. Kreisler found that the lyrics' concept simply "baffled" anyone, while ultimately described the song as "intriguing (and anthemic) enough to make us listen again, and again, and again, to work it out." About.com critic Bill Lamb rated the song 3 out of 5 stars, praising the musicality, since the singer recaptures "the musical spirit of Prince's arena sized ballad "Purple Rain" and "the pounding keyboards and crunchy guitar will invite a live audience to sway along in time to the music". On the other hand, the "erotic connection" is misguided because "the words about alcohol and cocaine fueled rough sex, it is difficult to see the song as truly erotic", making the lyrics "tasteless" and lacking concept.
Writing for The Washington Post, Allison Stewart opined that the track describes an eccentric night of romance, beginning with "a body full of liquor with a cocaine kicker" and ending with "you and me/Making love like gorillas". She concluded, "for all its awfulness" the song is the "image shifter Mars needs". Idolator's Emily Tan commented "the libidinous lyrics are disguised with epic guitars and Phil Collins-esque heavy drum combinations...strong enough to soundtrack a scene in a drama series". Jason Lipshutz of Billboard magazine similarly felt that the "drums and keyboards are nicely overwhelming, but the overall concept floats too far away to make a dent on the listener". Day Hyman of Spin thought that the lyrics on the album "desperately needed kick in the pants" mainly noticed on "Gorilla". He also drew comparisons on the "Prince-channeling" vibe. On the critical side, Amy Dawson of Metro described it as a "Phil Collins-esque low point" in the album, "the singer makes plans to go at it in the same way as said giant ape...by the time the jungle noises kick in, you think he surely must be in on the joke."
Kory Grow of Rolling Stones magazine reviewed the remix of the song, in the song "Pharrell opens the track with a salacious rap", setting "the thematic pace for track", in the end of his verse the original "steamy" verses of Mars begin. He further added that R. Kelly makes the song a "sex jam" and only him has "the hubris and swagger to shout": "I'm like an anaconda in your garden/Baby girl, I'm explorin'". Reviewing for Billboards column, Kevin Rutherford described the track as "raunchy" and if the original version was "dirty enough", then "Mars and company have a treat in store for you". The Los Angeles Timess Mikael Wood shared a similar opinion as the other reviewers, calling it a "little naughtier" than the original version thanks to Williams and Kelly. For Idolator, Mike Wass called the remix "X-rated", thanking the feature guests for that.
Commercial performance In the week ending of August 25, 2013, after the performance on the VMAs, the song was downloaded 20,000 times, a jump of 1,003% from the previous week when it sold 2,000 copies. In the following week, the song debuted at number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100, selling 55,000 to 60,000 copies, as most of the songs performed at the show were still earning from the performances, including "Gorilla". The song eventually peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. On the Mainstream Top 40 chart, the single debuted at number 30 and reached its peak at number 11. The song ended two top 10 streaks, one on the Billboard Hot 100 and the other at the Pop Songs chart and it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Gorilla" reached the high position of 23, on November 2, 2013, on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. The song has been certified platinum by Music Canada (MC).