The production team co-founded by Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, and Ari Levine was The Smeezingtons.
Mars and Lawrence began collaborating in Los Angeles as songwriters before Levine joined them with production equipment and expertise in drum programming, sampling, and electronic sounds. The trio formalized The Smeezingtons in 2009 and worked together as both songwriters and record producers.
Their early breakthrough came through work on songs such as Flo Rida’s “Right Round” and K’naan’s “Wavin’ Flag.” The latter became especially prominent after Coca-Cola used it as the theme for television coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The team also helped create major Mars hits including “Just the Way You Are,” “Grenade,” and “The Lazy Song.”
The Smeezingtons are not the same as The Hooligans, Mars’s performing band, or The Stereotypes, another production collective that worked with Mars. After the trio split, Mars and Lawrence continued working together in a later production team called Shampoo Press & Curl.