Bruno Mars: 'SNL' can call me whenever they want

[November 07, 2012]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Bruno Mars' recent appearance on "Saturday Night Live" was more like "Saturday Night Fever": He says he had so much fun hosting the show, he'd be happy to do it again.

"Whatever 'SNL' wants from me, they can always call me," the smiling 27-year-old said in an interview. "I don't know who told them I can act or anything 'cause I can't. I don't know what they saw. (But) whatever they need from me, they can get."

The singer-songwriter's Oct. 20 appearance as host and musical guest gave the NBC variety show its second best ratings this season behind last week's episode, hosted by comedian Louis C.K.

Mars was praised for his hilarious and silly sketches, particularly one skit where he did impersonations of other musicians as a live fill-in at Pandora when the company's computers crashed.

"It was kind of a way for me to face my fears and just let it all hang loose, literally," he said, laughing. "People don't understand that they're changing things right before the show, so you can't memorize lines because they're going to change it. They cut sketches and it's an amazing operation. I wouldn't trade that experience for the world."

The Grammy winner says he watched the show days after it aired live, and that's when things started to sink in, especially seeing himself dressed as a woman.

"I was like, 'Oh my god,'" he said, adding with a laugh: "Called my mom, 'Mom!'"

The "SNL" success is giving Mars a boost as he readies the release of his sophomore album, "Unorthodox Jukebox," out Dec. 11. It features Esperanza Spalding, Mark Ronson, Jeff Bhasker, Diplo, Paul Epworth and others.

On "SNL," he debuted a new song, "Young Girls," and performed his current single, the upbeat "Locked Out of Heaven." It's his 12th Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as a performer, songwriter or producer.

"I love ('Locked Out of Heaven') because it's different ... than what you're used to hearing me maybe sing normally," he said.

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Online:

http://www.brunomars.com/

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/

[Associated Press; By MESFIN FEKADU]

Follow Mesfin Fekadu on Twitter at http://twitter.com/musicmesfin.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.