International music sensation Bruno Mars lit up Seoul’s Olympic Park on Tuesday night as 13,000 rowdy fans filled the Gymnastics Stadium for the Hawaii native’s first-ever concert in Korea.

“We came to get you all moving, to get you all shakin’ and to get you all dancing, so get off your feet!” Mars shouted as he kicked off the show.

Through his ongoing worldwide Moonshine Jungle Tour, the original hooligan himself pulled out all the stops in a near-nonstop 90-minute show that closed with an electrifying double encore. After opening with “Moonshine” from his second studio album “Unorthodox Jukebox,” he quickly transitioned into smash hit single “Treasure” and brought the whole crowd to their feet. By just the second song of the night, the fans seemed transfixed by his humbling smile and soulful vocals, as Mars always manages to combine the sexy throwback musical groove with modern funk. 

Mars not only captivated the audience members with his wide vocal range and heart-wrenching vocal style, but also his smooth moves on the stage. The singer commanded the entire stage with his cool, slick dance interludes, looking as though he had his heart set on being crowned the new generation’s king of pop music.

With his Michael Jackson-inspired dance moves right down to the pelvic thrusts, spins, intricate footwork and even his take on the original King of Pop’s iconic moonwalk, Mars never failed to bring back old-school funk on top of his signature reggae, doo-wop and R&B pop style hits.

The musician even took on one of Barrett Strong’s classic hits “Money (That’s What I Want)” and was brought to his knees shredding out a killer guitar solo before eventually slowing it down with Ginuwine’s debut ’90s R&B single “Pony,” during what could only be described at the evening’s seductive section.

Mars later went on to perform past hits including his feature section on Travie McCoy’s “Billionaire” as well as “The Lazy Song,” “Just the Way You Are,” “Marry You” and “Grenade.” The only performance that seemed to be missing from the near 20-song set list was 2011 chart topping ballad single “It Will Rain.”

After saying his goodbyes and walking off stage, Mars returned in no time and promptly kicked off a double encore performance with a sick drum solo before performing a energetic rendition of “Locked Out of Heaven” as a tidal wave of flickering gold confetti exploded toward the fans. He then ended the fanfare with the live remix version of his explicitly racy track “Gorilla.”

Bruno Mars heads to Japan this week for performances in Osaka and Edogawa before returning to Hawaii.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)