Bruno Mars gets khaki

It might’ve been California dreamland — global pop star shooting a new TV and print campaign right in front of you — but with the accompanying pinch to complete the cliché, I was definitely earthbound.

In a busy studio just outside Hollywood, the absentminded lingering of two of my fingers in a car met its equally absentminded due when one of my companions accidentally slammed the door on them. The new idiom: Shut the door on my fingers, I might be dreaming.

So went my introduction to Bruno Mars, the Fil-Am pop star who was the reason for the proceedings. Extending the wrong hand for a handshake, he accidentally squeezed the minor sprain. It was just one in an event-filled shoot.

Make anybody work six hours straight and tensions are bound to run high — especially when international pop stars are concerned. Bruno Mars gave Bench just six hours to shoot a TV commercial, a billboard, a print campaign, and a look book — not to mention host a makeshift press conference with some Philippine media. If tensions were running high, chalk it up to the compressed timeline, maybe even jet lag.

Pinoy idol: “One word: karaoke. Filipinos love karaoke and I grew up singing my whole life. I guess that’s why I’m so comfortable singing.”

But rally they did. The team, a mix of our own homegrown talents as well as Hollywood professionals, handled the time pressure with aplomb. On the Filipino side, TBWA, the local agency handling Bench’s latest world-conquering campaign, led the fray with managing partner, executive creative director, and chief creative officer Melvin Mangada, creative director Manuel Villafania, and producer Sunny Lucero.

Bench was present, of course, with Miguel Pastor, Jojo Liamzon, and Ben Chan himself looking over the proceedings. The brand’s staple stylist, Noel Manapat, worked on the shoot, making sure the Just The Way You Are singer’s look for the campaign was a funky amalgamation of the brand aesthetic and his own ‘50s-influenced personal style.

Director Nick Santiago and Mike Talampas, Filipinos, conceptualized the video campaign, which harkened back to classic campaigns of brands like Gap and Calvin Klein. The director of photography was equally formidable. Named one of Variety magazine’s “10 Cinematographers to Watch” in 2009, Jonathan Sela added Bruno and Bench to his already illustrious portfolio, with everything from movies to Justin Timberlake music videos.

Bruno himself turned out to be an amiable, gregarious presence. Tirelessly posing for photographer Jiro Schneider, Bruno Mars lent his brand of funk to the proceedings, dancing around for the camera and, at one point, singing. Everything that had endeared him to fans was on display. His is a classic case of past meets present: Motown-ready sincerity and suaveness going hand in hand with of-the-moment edge.

While he didn’t exactly grow up in the Philippines, his approach to pop is very much Pinoy. It’s emotional and often literal, with choruses that are just waiting to be sung in a thousand karaoke bars. “I want my songs to just kind of smack you,” he told Rolling Stone in a 2010 interview. “I’m not gonna Shakespeare it out. If I want to write a song about how I love a girl’s ass, it’s gonna go, ‘I love your ass.’”

Body for Bench: “The underwear? A couple more visits to the gym and I might be on a big old billboard.”

In his sit-down with Philippine media, he didn’t quite talk about female derrieres he loves. Instead, he talked about style, music, Pacquiao, and a topic close to the subject of ass — underwear.

How would you describe your style and how do you think it complements the aesthetic of the brand?

BRUNO MARS: I’m a big fan of 1950s clothing. They make the letterman jackets and cool button-up shirts. It’s simple and classic. I relate to that the most. I don’t ever want to see a picture of me and regret what I was wearing three or four years ago. I think if you keep it classic and put your own little flair to it, it makes it special.

This is the first time you’ve collaborated with a Filipino brand, right? Your thoughts on Bench and the clothes?

It’s fun clothing, man. Being Filipino, it’s exciting for me to have a commercial there with my face on it, wearing these cool clothes. I’m all about it.

Would you say your music influences your style?

Sure, the same way that I don’t want to hear a song that I’ve written three years ago and it sounds out of date, it’s the way I feel about fashion. I like to keep things consistent and special.

I guess your music is classic too, with an edge, right?

I sure hope so, a couple of years from now.

Why is it important for you to collaborate with a Filipino brand in this moment in your career?

I like the clothes. That’s pretty much it. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t like it and I think it represents me in a good light.

If you never went to the Philippines (and played a show) would you still have considered doing Bench?

Behind the billboard: Bench’s new main man Bruno Mars with Ben Chan, Miguel Pastor, Jojo Liamzon, and Noel Manapat from Bench, Melvin Mangada, Manuel Villafania, and Sunny Lucero from TBWA, Girlie Rodis and Raymond Ang from The Philippine STAR, Anton San Diego from Tatler, Arnold Vegafria,

Yeah, sure, absolutely. If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t go.

What would you like to say to your Filipino fans?

To the Filipino fans, thank you so much for supporting my career. You know, we’ve been out there. We did a show in Cebu and Manila and I promise that we’ll be back soon… as soon as we can. We had a blast doing it. Next time, it’s gonna be even better. And I might have cool clothes to wear. (Laughs)

What was your feeling like, when you stepped out in the arena, in Manila or Cebu?

It was amazing. My grandmother is from Cebu so, you know, I grew up eating Filipino food. I can’t speak it too well but I’ve always heard my mother speak it and it was very comforting. It’s a spiritual feeling, you know. This is my roots. The fact that we had sold-out shows there was just beautiful.

How do you think being Filipino informs your craft? Your songwriting, especially?

One word: karaoke. (Laughs) Filipinos love karaoke and I grew up singing my whole life. I guess that’s why I’m so comfortable singing.

How did you feel when you heard the whole audience sing all your songs?

It’s incredible. I did my songs down the street from here, in a small little studio. The fact that we had to fill up a stadium in the Philippines, where English isn’t really the first language, singing Just The Way You Are back and Billionaire back, Nothin’ On You, Grenade, all these songs back, that’s the payoff for me. That’s what we do it for.

Now, Bruno, Bench has a popular line of underwear. Would you ever consider endorsing that?

The underwear? A couple more visits to the gym and I might be on a big old billboard. (Laughs)

Has it all sunk in now? Are you comfortable with fame?

So fresh, so clean: Bench’s main stylist Noel Manapat works with Bruno Mars

I’m becoming a little more comfortable in front of the camera. I wasn’t used to it before. I was thrown into a new lifestyle and everything I do is kind of filmed or photographed. I’m a private guy. I like to keep to myself. I’m shy, maybe. I was working on other people’s music (behind the scenes). It gets kind of tricky for me but I’m beginning to find the fun in it. I don’t take myself too seriously so if I’m front of the camera, that’s what you’re going to get, me clowning around.

How does it feel now? You grew up with Ke$ha and Ne-yo in the industry. Now that you’re all stars, do you still see each other?

I think it’s cool. I felt like that was the stars aligning, the fact that we all got to work together before the first albums. It shows that we were exactly where we were supposed to be. We were around the people we were supposed to be around.

There’s a mention in your song Lighters, with Eminem, of Manny Pacquiao. There’s a whole thing now on the Internet. Was that supposed to be a dis?

I don’t think so. You can’t take it seriously. Everybody knows Pacquiao is incredible and that he’s the best.

You know he sings, right?

I want to do a duet with him! I’d love to. Tell him I want to do a duet.