Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	70/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The A.V. Club	B
Entertainment Weekly	B+
Consequence of Sound	B-
Rolling Stone
Slant Magazine
The Observer
The Guardian

24K Magic (pronounced "twenty-four karat magic") is the third studio album by American singer Bruno Mars. It was released on November 18, 2016, by Atlantic Records. Recording sessions took place from 2015 to 2016, while the third record was produced its entirety by Shampoo Press & Curl, who are serving as the executive producers, with the additional production by The Stereotypes, Jeff Bhasker and Emile Haynie. It marks the first time Mars has not produced under The Smeezingtons.

Its title track was released as the album's lead single on October 7, 2016. It was announced the cities and countries the singer will be touring during the 24K Magic World Tour.

After ending the Moonshine Jungle Tour, Bruno Mars began working on his third album "Now it's time to start writing chapter 3". He hadn't come up with a date for the release, stating "Until it's done" and "It's gotta be just as good if not better". Previously, the singer-songwriter was interviewed by that's Shanghai and gave some details of the new album, confirming Mark Ronson and Jeff Bhasker as record producers. "I want to write better songs, I want to put on better shows, I want to make better music videos. I want my next album to be better than the first and the second." The singer has been in the studio with engineer Charles Moniz, who called it "the next movement of Bruno" and confirmed the album was close to being finished on February 2016.Rolling Stone ranked Mars' third album as one of the 20 most anticipated of 2016. Mars' father confirmed the album was set to be released in March and seven songs have already been recorded, but his son's appearance at the Super Bowl halftime show led to the release being postponed for several months.

Mars has been in the studio with Skrillex. The latter said "what we're doing is so f—king different, awesome and next level and sounds like nothing else that's happened before". In another interview Skrillex claimed "Who knows if I'll do something that's more of a Skrillex thing with him, but he have a vision for his album, and I'm helping him produce it on some of the songs". Mars has also played some of his new songs to Missy Elliott.Jamareo Artis of The Hooligans, disclosed that he has been working on the album for about a year, "trying different ideas and experimenting". He furthered, "it's going to have a new sound...the material is very groove-oriented", set to be released this year.Andrew Wyatt, who was involved in Mars' previous studio albums, has been in the studio. In an interview with Carson Daly, Mars revealed that there were no features on the album, including his work with Skrillex, as it was not completed in time for the album's release. The singer has also confirmed to be working with Babyface on a song and the recording being influenced by late 80's and early 90's. During the Elvis Duran and the Morning Show Mars said "that there is a groove, a pocket, a swing that I want to hear." He continued, "the album has a 90's spirit". Mars, on the Carson and Cane show of WNEW-FM, said "you're gonna get a little heart-break on this album, you're gonna get it all." A private album listening party was held in New York City, in a club named Tao. In an interview with Zane Lowe for Beats 1 Mars explained with the third album he "wanted to make a movie," he said. "A real movie. I told myself, 'We're gonna have a screenplay and we're gonna go to that." The movie in his head was set in New York during a summer night "The baddest rooftop house party. 2:30 in the morning, the band comes out, fucking dipped in Versace. The girls are screaming. And then the flyest lead singer the world has ever seen comes on and starts singing some shit." Regarding the plot of the movie Mars also stated that he is unaware of it, he said joking "it's about a Versace-wearing pimp". The singer continued "You hear my other albums, I'm bouncing around from genre to genre. I wanted to really hone it in and give myself a world in which I could keep it contained."

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