Bruno Mars has become a fresh-faced pop sensation in the music industry over the last two years, creating fun, upbeat songs as well as ballads with his unusual and appealing voice.

His highly anticipated sophomore album, “Unorthodox Jukebox,” was released Dec. 11 following the release of the single, “Locked Out of Heaven.”

Mars’ first album, “Doo-Wops and Hooligans,” released Oct. 4, 2010, had traces of old-school jazz mixed with R&B and everything in between.

He went against the usual grain of the bubblegum pop music played on the radio, creating fun songs that reflected his talent.

“Locked Out of Heaven” is the perfect single to create hype for Mars’ second album. It’s fun and upbeat, borrowing its sound from songs by The Police, such as “Roxanne” and “Message in a Bottle.”

But the rest of the album is a mix of so many different sounds it becomes a bit hectic.

The slower songs, “Young Girls,”  “When  I Was Your Man” and “If  I  Knew” all sound vaguely similar to the songs “Grenade” and “Just the Way You Are” from his previous album. “Natalie,” “Moonshine,”  and “Treasure” borrow their sound from the ’80s.

“Natalie” was a fun song with an interesting story. With so many songs out on the radio with no story, it was refreshing to be entertained by the lyrics, not just the beat.

As Bruno Mars fan, this album really impressed me with its variety, even though it was all over the place.

This album never gets old and there’s not just one standout song.  All of them are great. The best songs on this album are “Money Make Her Smile” and “Show Me.”

“Money Make Her Smile” has a slow tempo with a heavy bass. It’s upbeat, with a slight  nod to the ’80s.

“Show Me” surprised me the most. It’s very reggae and, mixed with Bruno Mars’ voice, soulful. With all of the songs being pop-oriented, it was nice to hear one song with a completely different vibe.

Despite being able to relate these songs to various genres and eras of music, they are all  unique.

Bruno Mars’ slightly raspy voice adds so much to the already entertaining lyrics.

But the songs do not correlate with each other. Sometimes it feels like the songs come from completely different artists and genres.

“Unorthodox Jukebox” is not just any pop album, it’s an eclectic group of songs that not only showcases Bruno Mars’ amazing voice but his incredibly good judgement to go away from the typical pop scene and bring a thoroughly amusing array of songs.

I urge fans of any genre of music to sample this entire album because there is a song  for everyone.

I rate it 3 out of 4 guitars.