Bruno Mars says writing a hit song is one of the hardest things to do.
The singer hit the music scene with his first album Doo-Wops & Hooligans in 2010 and recently released Unorthodox Jukebox, which spawned smash-hit Locked Out of Heaven.
His tracks often have sexual connotations and daring lyrics, but Mars is proud he treads a fine line with his music as he believes that takes guts.
"You know how hard it is to write a big song? That s*** is hard, man. It's so hard to do. Might be one of the hardest things to ever do," he told GQ magazine.
"I don't ever want to come out with something safe and get away with.
"It's got to be more than sounding good."
His latest album includes track Gorilla, which comes complete with explicit lyrics.
The singer is happy to shock, calling the song "awesome" and drawing on his own favourite tunes.
"The music I like are events. F***ing Bohemian Rhapsody is my favourite song - that song's an event." he said.
"Smells Like Teen Spirit. Those songs are events. That guy (Kurt Cobain) put everything he got into that, and he meant it."
While he doesn't mind shocking his audience, the 27-year-old hopes fans will also see the beauty in his music.
"If you think it's blasphemous, then obviously you don't know that it's poetry," Mars said.
"You're not listening to it right if you're picking it apart like that."
