Bruno Mars and Sexyy Red's 'Fat Juicy & Wet' has fans confused: 'Bruno said WHAT!?'
Want sexiness without a drop of subtlety? Bruno Mars and Sexyy Red have you covered.
Their latest track, "Fat, Juicy & Wet," released Thursday, offers a dialogue so NSFW that listeners should be inclined to double-check their headphones settings just to make sure the lyrics don't play aloud.
Sexyy Red, known for her raunchy rhymes, holds nothing back; Mars, whose style has become an increasing call-back to old-school groove, proves his censorship sensibilities have not followed suit.
Previously more of a romantic crooner with tracks like "When I Was Your Man" and "Just the Way You Are," Mars' more recent collaboration with Anderson .Paak in the newly formed Silk Sonic employs the same soulful vibe but with more edgy lyrics.
And while Red's "Get it Sexyy" and "Pound Town" opt for a more graphic approach, past tracks from Mars like "Versace on the Floor," "Please Me" with Cardi B set the stage for their pairing.
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Fans were skeptical of the collaboration, pointing out the match seemed incongruous off the bat and doubling down after hearing the track itself.
"Fat, Juicy, Wet should've stayed on the hard drive," one X user posted. On TikTok, there was a cacophony of criticism and confusion. "What in the multiverse is this?!?" one account commented on the clip Mars posted of the music video. "Did I just hop timelines???? Bruno said WHAT!?" another user commented.
That sentiment ran throughout the comment section, though sometimes with a more positive skew. One account called it "the collab we didn't know what we needed," while another wrote, "His ability to collab with the most unexpected artist will never cease to amaze me."
With lyrics so raunchy it's unclear how a radio edit – let alone a KIDZ BOP version – could scrub it clean, the duo bashes you over the head with sexual innuendos, but seems, at least in the music video, to be in on the joke.
With surprising celebrity cameos from K-pop star Rosé and Lady Gaga (both of whom Mars also recently collaborated with), the song's video brings the sexual metaphors to life in a way that borders on satire.
If you can get past the lyrics, the heavy-handed beat and catchy background vocals make for an odd "why do I love this?" listening experience.
"People are hating on it, but I kinda low-key like it," one X user wrote. "This new Bruno Mars song is so UNHOLY, UNGODLY. let me put it on repeat," another shared.
Despite some popular acclaim, music connoisseurs did not grant the collaboration a pass. "I'd be willing to erase this song from my memory if it weren't for the beat — Bruno and his boys the Stereotypes butcher the West Coast ratchet club sound of a decade ago by giving it a Las Vegas show tunes sheen," Alphonse Pierre, a critic at Pitchfork wrote of the track.
That Las Vegas show tunes sheen is a bit of Mars' signature, and previous tracks like Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk" and "24K Magic" have leaned into catchy hooks and the showy imagery that defines the city's famous strip.
Mars may pay no mind to the critic's corner, however as his commercial success remains largely bullet-proof. On Wednesday, he became the first artist to reach 150 million monthly listeners in Spotify history and announced Thursday an extension of his long-running Las Vegas residency.
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