Bruno Mars is the hot topic late in the week. After revealing he will premiere his new single 'Locked Out of Heaven' on Monday, Oct. 1 at 7PM via a live online chat, the singer now appears on the cover of Billboard, looking fly in a red button up shirt, gold jewelry and his ever-present aviator shades. The future is so bright, he's gotta wear shades. It's also been revealed that he will release his new album 'Unorthodox Jukebox' on Dec. 11 via Atlantic Records.

"This is me going into the studio and recording and writing whatever I want," Mars told the trade magazine. "This album represents my freedom."

The reason that Mars was so adamant about doing his thing was not just due to the fact that he earned the right after the breakout success of 'Doo-Wops & Hooligans." He was motivated by other factors as well.

"I've had big record label presidents look me in the face and say, 'Your music sucks, you don't know who you are, your music is all over the place, and we don't know how to market this stuff. Pick a lane and come back to us,'" he recalled. "That was disgusting to me, because I'm not trying to be a circus act."

Nothing like a little "No, you can't" to make an artist respond with a "Yes, I can" and a great album!

Watch the Bruno Mars 'The Lazy Song' Video

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