"Finesse" is a song by American singer Bruno Mars from his third studio album, 24K Magic (2016). The song was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence, Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Jonathan Yip, Ray Romulus, Jeremy Reeves and Ray McCullough II. The former three produced it under the name Shampoo Press & Curl, along with the latter four, as the Stereotypes. The song was composed after a jam session as Mars wanted to recreate the "new jack swing sound". Atlantic Records released a remix, featuring verses from American rapper Cardi B, as the album's fifth and final single on January 4, 2018. Musically, it is a new jack swing, hip-hop soul and funk song. The lyrics demonstrate the happiness of being with who one loves and the positive outcome of that for them and others.

"Finesse" was well received by music critics, who complimented Cardi B's verses, on the remix, and compared them to the old-school hip hop flow. Moreover, according to critics, the song evokes the sound of Bobby Brown's album Don't Be Cruel (1988), Bell Biv DeVoe's track "Poison" (1990), and Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time" (1992). The song was a commercial success, peaking at number two in New Zealand, and number three in the United States and Canada. It has also entered the top ten of Australia, Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The song was certified five times platinum by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ). It was also certified eight times platinum by Music Canada (MC) and three times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).

The accompanying music video, which was directed by Florent Dechard and Mars, pays homage to the popular FOX sketch comedy television series In Living Color (1990–1994). To promote "Finesse", Mars and Cardi B performed it at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. In 2018, the song was included on a medley of hits performed by Cardi B at the iHeartRadio Music Awards and by Kelly Clarkson at the Billboard Music Awards. It received several awards, including Favorite Song Soul/R&B at the 2018 American Music Awards, Video of the Year at the 2018 Soul Train Music Awards, as well as Best Collaboration at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards. It was also nominated for Video of the Year at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards.

Background and development In September 2014, Bruno Mars tweeted, "Now it's time to start writing chapter 3", hinting he was working on new music. Following the release of the successful Mark Ronson and Mars's featured single "Uptown Funk" (2014), Mars headed to the studio to record more songs, and said he had no plans to release a new album "until it's done". The album was due in March 2016, but Mars's appearance at the Super Bowl halftime show postponed it for several months. At the time, seven songs were already recorded.

The Stereotypes had known Mars and worked with him since 2007, but after he signed a deal with Atlantic Records, in 2009, they did not collaborate very often. In 2015, Jonathan Yip of the team talked with Mars about working together. Mars was already recording 24K Magic and asked for "some beats", which Yip sent. Mars later asked for more samples and the Stereotypes sent them, but they never heard back: "Nothing came of it", they said. In June 2016, Yip contacted Mars, who asked the former if the Stereotypes would like to help him finish a song for his album; he needed another song with a certain tempo and key. Yip sent Mars an idea that caught his attention, with him asking the Stereotypes to go to the studio. After helping Mars finish "24K Magic" and "That's What I Like", the team brought "in another track idea". The idea went into fruition when Mars decided to come up with the "new jack swing sound of Keith Sweat and Bobby Brown". It was created from scratch after a jam session in Mars's studio. While he was playing a drum set, everyone was either playing an instrument, singing, or yelling.

During an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Mars said one iteration of "Finesse" had him singing about "gold chains and cognac over a silky beat", which he found "too corny", and another version sounded "like a Seventies cop show—like I should be on roller skates". Mars explained, "Anytime you see us, on tour, on TV, I want to be moving ... I was very conscious on this album of the bounce." However, he was not satisfied with the 20th version of the song, rearranging its groove. At that time, Mars also decided to fix the bridge of the song, since there was something bothering him on the harmonies or on the chord progression. Mars furthered, "I don't know what's not hitting home. There's just something weird that I ain't fucking with yet."

When Mars chose "Finesse" as a single, he told the Stereotypes that he wanted rapper Cardi B to feature on it. The former said on an Instagram post, "I met Cardi B at 3 a.m. after my show in LA, backstage, where we recorded her verse for 'Finesse'. She walked in the room and she was everything I'd hoped she'd be." Charles Moniz, Mars's audio engineer, confirmed this as he recorded their vocals on selected microphones and "brought all the sound elements together". Rumors regarding the collaboration between Mars and Cardi B began on Twitter around Christmas 2017. Billboard associated director of charts and radio confirmed Mars was set to release new music on January 4, 2018.

Production and release "Finesse" was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence, Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Yip, Ray Romulus, Jeremy Reeves and Ray McCullough II. Its production was handled by the former three under their alias Shampoo Press & Curl, along with the latter four as the Stereotypes. Mars, Lawrence, Brown, and Fauntleroy served as the background vocalists. The recording was done and engineered by Moniz, with additional engineering assistance by Jacob Dennis, at Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank, California. It was mixed at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach by Serban Ghenea, with John Hanes serving as the mixing engineer. Tom Coyne mastered the track at Sterling Sound. The remix features additional songwriting by Cardi B and Klenord Raphael, and new mastering by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound.

In early January 2018, Mars announced via Instagram that "Finesse" would be the album's fifth single, and unlike the original, the single version features rap verses from Cardi B. The announcement was accompanied with the single's artwork, which features Mars and Cardi B "channeling some serious '90s music video vibes". It was released on January 4, 2018, via digital download and streaming services in various countries via Atlantic Records. Warner Music Group also issued the track for radio airplay in Italy on January 8, 2018. Subsequently, the song was released to US contemporary hit radio stations on January 9, 2018, by Atlantic Records. BBC Radio 1 began adding the song onto their playlists on January 12, 2018. American urban contemporary radio stations began adding the track onto their playlists on January 16, 2018, through the aforementioned label. On March 23, 2018, two additional remixes of the single version were released in various countries by Atlantic Records. A vinyl featuring the single rendition of "Finesse" and its original version was released in 2018. The version with Cardi B was later included on the deluxe version of 24K Magic. The remixed version was also included on Mars's first compilation album, Collaborations (2026).

Composition

"Finesse" is a new jack swing, funk and hip-hop soul song with a light influence of R&B. The song draws its main inspiration from the early 1990s new jack swing sound. The original version was composed in the key of A-flat major at a tempo of 124 beats per minute. The song features Mars in the center of the track, with a "tightly clipped vocal delivery" sounding like Bobby Brown. Its instrumentation features walloping clattering drum machine rhythms, syncopated rhythms, lurching "orchestral-stab" synthesizers, and "close-harmony background vocals". It all resonates with the sound of Bobby Brown's album Don't Be Cruel (1988) and its title track. Most critics say the open "programmed snare line" on "Finesse" resembles the one in Bell Biv DeVoe's "Poison" (1990). Its bass line and beat have also been compared to Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time" (1992), and the new jack swing style to Jackson's album Dangerous (1991). The lyrics demonstrate the happiness of being with who one loves and the positive outcome of that for them and others. It is also "about being confident with the person you're taking out".

For its single release, the composition of the song was reworked to feature verses from Cardi B. The key of the song was changed to A-flat minor and the tempo was reduced to 100 beats per minute. Her flow and rhymes on the track have been compared to "turn-of-the-1990s cadence", as well as to Salt-N-Pepa and Heavy D styles.

Critical reception The album version of "Finesse" has received generally positive reviews from music critics. Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian praised the song for paying homage to new jack swing, calling it a "resurrection". Nick Levine, writing for NME, thought the song is "pitch-perfect pastiche of the new jack swing sound that recalls" Jackson's "Remember The Time" (1992). AllMusic's Andy Kellman said "Finesse" reminded him of "the era when Teddy Riley, Dave 'Jam' Hall, and Dr. Freeze fused hip-hop with electronic post-disco R&B pioneered by Leon Sylvers III, Kashif, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis". He added that the song, just like his preceders, "is a blast". Patrick Ryan of USA Today recommended the casual reader to download the song. On the other hand, Jonathan Wroble of Slant Magazine criticized the song for being a copycat of Bell Biv DeVoe's "Poison" (1990) and for "failing to add anything new to his rehashing of new jack swing". American singer-songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello opined that Mars copied Bell Biv DeVoe, Babyface and the work of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis with The Human League on "Finesse".

The remix also received positive reviews from music critics. Chris Gayomali writing for GQ considered the album version to be a "sleeper jam" and dubbed the remix a "bop". Gayomali continued, "The pairing with Bardi hits all the feel-good throwback notes." Dean Nguyen from The Irish Times said the remix is a "2018 single-of-the-year candidate" as its composition recalls "Bell Biv DeVoe and Dangerous (1991)-era Michael Jackson". Ron Dicker of HuffPost complemented the duo and the song, "Mars and Cardi B killed it in a remix for the ages." Jody Rosen, writing for The New York Times, opined that the single "sounds like the new jack swing Platonic ideal. It's an imitation so fine-tuned it makes the originals seem ersatz." The Independent Roisin O'Connor said that despite being a Bruno Mars song, Cardi B "steals the show" due to her perfect and reminiscent of the old-school hip hop flow. O'Connor added that despite the flow, "it still manages to capture her distinct style". Jon Dolan from Rolling Stone called the song "the perfect sweet, playful date-night jam if you're stepping out with the arm candy of your dreams."

Accolades