Gorilla

"Gorilla" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars from his second studio album Unorthodox Jukebox (2012). The song was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence, and Ari Levine, who produced the song under the name of the Smeezingtons, with Emile Haynie, Jeff Bhasker and Mark Ronson. Atlantic Records serviced the track to Contemporary hit radio in the United States on September 10, 2013, as the fourth single from Unorthodox Jukebox. Its official remix (G-Mix) features American singers Pharrell Williams and R. Kelly, and was released in Canada and US on November 12. "Gorilla" is a midtempo arena-rock, rock and soft rock song with a power pop hook, "epic" guitars and a Phil Collins-esque synth/percussion combination. Its style has drawn comparisons to Prince's 1984 single "Purple Rain". The single received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its resemblance to early 1980s arena rock, but was criticized for its explicit lyrical content, which addresses the subject of making love like wild animals. The song reached number 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 62 on the UK Singles Chart, being unable to achieve the same success of the previous singles. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales and streaming figures of over a million copies in the US. Mars performed "Gorilla" live at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards and at the 2013 MTV Europe Music Awards. The song was included on the set list of his second world tour, The Moonshine Jungle Tour (2013–14) as the final act, usually performed as an encore and was performed in some shows of the 24K Magic World Tour (2017–18). Background "Gorilla" was the first song written for the album, setting "the tone for the entire project and it kind of became the mascot". This was the reason behind the gorilla on the cover of the album, as Bruno Mars explained in an interview with MTV News. In another interview, this time for GQ, Mars revealed the song's conception, saying that "it was just painting a picture—some animalistic sex". When asked about what the meaning is for "making love like a gorilla", Mars replied aggressively "What does that sound like to you? Come on...What is this, 1933? We can't talk about this?".