"Locked Out of Heaven" Bruno Mars

Forget the singles artists (that means you, Flo Rida) and the fading veterans (sorry, Usher!). What the music industry needs right now is a true male pop star, and Bruno Mars—whose debut album, Doo-Wops and Hooligans, earned platinum sales, two #1 hits and six Grammy nominations—is probably the closest we have. Mars has distinguished himself over the past two years, both as a writer and a performer, for his ability to make retro influences feel strikingly current. That sensibility is on full display in new single "Locked Out of Heaven," the first from his sophomore effort, Unorthodox Jukebox. Featuring a reggae-fied New Wave inflection, it sounds like a lost Police track, updated for the 21st century with the occasional electronic touch. Mars sells it with a darkly alluring urgency that suggests this is exactly what pop radio has been missing. He's especially fantastic on the middle eight, wailing in tortured ecstasy as though he's just discovered the greatest pleasure he can never have. A-