Marry You


"Marry You" is a song by American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars from his debut studio album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans. Written and produced by The Smeezingtons, it serves as the record's sixth track and was released as a single outside of the United States. "Marry You" is a pop, doo-wop and soul song. The recording focuses on spontaneous marriage and therefore, since its release, has frequently been used as a proposal song. "Marry You" received generally positive reviews from music critics, with some complimenting its production and its reminiscence of 1960s pop style. Some criticized a perceived lack of creativity.
Despite not being released as a single in the US, the song charted at number 85 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has been certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. It charted on most international markets within the top fifteen, reaching number 10 on the Canadian Hot 100, number eight in Australia, the top five in New Zealand, and number 11 in the United Kingdom. The single was certified three-times platinum by Music Canada and two-times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. Mars performed "Marry You" on The Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour, the Moonshine Jungle Tour and the 24K Magic World Tour. The song has been covered a number of times, most notably by the cast of Glee; their cover outperformed the original song by reaching number 32 on the Hot 100.

Background and release

"Marry You" is one of the eleven songs composed and produced by The Smeezingtons, the collaboration of Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, and Ari Levine, for Mars's debut studio album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans. Lawrence explained the inspiration behind the song in an interview with American Songwriter stating, "e had this image of a slow-mo video in Vegas of a couple running, and she's in her gown and he's in his tux, the wedding party is behind them. This sort of crazy, daring, wedding feeling". Lawrence was surprised at the impact of the song after watching some YouTube videos. He stated that "e always thought it was a good song and catchy, but we didn't think it would affect pop culture the way that it has. The first time we saw one of those YouTube videos...we were almost in tears... the power of what it is we can create. These ideas, words, and lyrics and how they can get into the fabric of society and affect people's lives in such an amazing way." In an interview with Idolator Bruno Mars said that the song had its beginning by "just playing the chords," and then freestyling the lyrics "I think I wanna marry you!". He continued, "you're in Vegas...had way too many drinks, and you love everybody, and you want to do something that you probably shouldn't do and you'll regret in the morning."
"Marry You" was written and produced by Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine. The latter and Mars played and recorded all of the instruments on the track. Levine was also responsible for engineering the song at Levcon Studios. The single was mixed by Manny Marroquin and assistants Christian Plata and Erik Madrid at Larrabee Sound Studios in Los Angeles, California. It was mastered by Stephen Marcussen at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California. On August 22, 2011, "Marry You" was released in the United Kingdom via digital download. It was announced on September 13, 2011 that the song would be released in Germany.

Composition

"Marry You" combines elements of pop, doo-wop and soul. It lasts three minutes and fifty seconds. According to the digital sheet music, it was composed in time signature of common time and in the key of F major with a tempo of 145 beats per minute. The track features double hand-claps, piano, echoing church wedding bells and a sing-songy chorus. Mars' vocal range spans from C4 to D5. His vocals in the song have been described as "plaintive" and "ach so gently", while wooing throughout the track.
The song has been characterized as possessing a "forceful velocity" and an "instantly hummable melody". It was further described as "buoyant", "bubbly" and a "Motown marriage track". A love song, it lyrically tells about a couple that go to Las Vegas, give up their "capricious impulses" and spontaneously decide to get married. Although the song has since become a "classic marriage tune", Lawrence has stated that the writers instead meant to imply a "racy kind of idea". Critics have compared the song to 60's girl groups, to the "spacious drums" of Coldplay, and the "surf pop of The Beach Boys".

Critical reception

"Marry You" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Digital Spys Lewis Corner gave it a strong review, rating it four out of five stars, with him labeling it as a song that "would not only impress the Elvis impersonator in any Vegas chapel, but is enough to make him a shoo-in for ultimate seducer of 2011" and a "60s-inspired jive-starter". NPR's Ken Tucker and Emily Yang of The Signal said that the recording's sound was reminiscent of the 60's pop. Nina Baniamer of Contactmusic.com found the track's production "epic and ambitious" and called the "anthemic" song "sure fire hit". The Boston Globe critic Ken Capobianco praised the song for its "artfully arranged throwback" and exalted Mars's vocals on his love songs, such as "Marry You". Leah Greenblatt, writing for Entertainment Weekly, stated that "Marry You" has "a malt-shop heart" beating beneath its "digital skin", which shows innovation and creativity. The Independent music critic, Andy Gill, flattered the single by calling it "overly ingratiating". Blues & Soul said that "Marry You" is the second part of Just The Way You Are', similarly the "euphoria gets deployed", there is simplicity on the song which culminate in "the perfect platform for Mars' angst ridden yearning vocals to ride over the top complete with church bells."
In a mixed review, Tim Sendra of Allmusic praised the song's "dynamic and nuanced production", yet founding the track "pleasantly silly". In a negative review, Mike Diver of BBC Music thought confessed that the recording was a "too-clingy and very creepy love song" and noted its lack of inspiration. Similarly, Slant Magazine's Eric Henderson suggested that the song was spun off of Cee Lo Green's "Fuck You", where the word "fuck" was changed to "marry". He further added that the single was a "bizarrely syncopated piledriver".

Commercial performance

In the United States, "Marry You" debuted at number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 11, 2010. It reached a peak of number 85 on January 15, 2011 and remained on the chart for a total of 5 weeks. The song was never released as a single in the United States, despite its strong airplay on mainstream and adult top 40 radio stations. As of January 2015, the track had sold 2.2 million copies in the United States. It was certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The song's reception was stronger outside of the United States, thus debuting at number 89 in Canada on December 11, 2010, after the Glee performance of the track. It reached its peak position of number 10 on the Canadian Hot 100 in early November 2011. It was certified three times platinum by Music Canada. In the United Kingdom, "Marry You" debuted and peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart and remained on the chart for 39 weeks. The single performed well across the rest of Europe, reaching the top 10 in Austria, Czech Republic, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Slovakia and the top 20 in Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, and Switzerland. In 2014, the song re-entered the Spanish Charts two years after its first appearance, reaching a new peak of 26. It also made its debut on the Danish Charts at number 34, having already been certified gold by the IFPI Denmark in 2012. Despite never entering at the Italian Single Charts, it was certified platinum by the Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana.
In Australia, "Marry You" debuted at number 50 on the ARIA Singles Chart on December 12, 2010 and remained on the chart for three weeks. It reappeared on the chart on June 19, 2011, reaching a peak position at number 8 for two non-consecutive weeks; it dropped off the chart after 19 weeks. The single was certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association in 2011. The single reached number 5 on New Zealand's RIANZ Singles Chart and spent five months on the chart. In Asia, the song peaked at number 67 on the Japan Hot 100, and was awarded gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. The single reached number 12 in South Korea and sold 2,152,783 copies there as of 2015.

Live performances and covers

Mars has performed the song at several shows, first at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City on August 25, 2010. On November 6, 2011, Mars and his band performed it live at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards. He also sang it on December 8, 2012 for the 2012 edition of Jingle Bell Ball, an event annually held and promoted by Capital FM at the O2 Arena in London. It was the eight song of his debut worldwide tour, The Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour, and was eight or sixth on his second and third worldwide tour, The Moonshine Jungle Tour and 24K Magic World Tour, respectively.
The song has been covered several times, first on the "Furt" episode of the television show Glee, which aired on November 23, 2010. The show's cover version achieved moderate success by peaking at number 19 in Canada and number 32 in the United States. It reached number 27 in Australia and number 31 in Ireland. On January 1, 2013, the song was covered by Sunny, Sooyoung, and Yoona of South Korean girl group Girls' Generation for their comeback special, Girls' Generation's Romantic Fantasy. Rapper and actor Donald Glover, who performs music under the stage name Childish Gambino, sang a cover of the song in the film Magic Mike XXL. The cover appeared on the movie's soundtrack album, which was released on June 30, 2015.

Credits and personnel

Engineering and mixing
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Doo-Wops & Hooligans, Elektra Records

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart Peak
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Year-end charts

Weekly charts for other versions

;Glee version
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All-time charts

Certifications

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Release history

CountryDateFormatLabel
United KingdomAugust 22, 2011Digital Download
GermanySeptember 13, 2011Warner Music Group