Which performer was young Bruno Mars known for impersonating in Hawaii?

Young Bruno Mars was known in Hawaii for impersonating Elvis Presley. Born Peter Gene Hernandez and raised in Honolulu, Mars began performing with his family’s band when he was about four years old.

His uncle, an Elvis impersonator, encouraged the child to perform Presley songs, and Mars developed a stage act built around Elvis’s voice, movements, and charisma. He became known locally as “Little Elvis,” appearing in Hawaii entertainment and performing at venues including the Sheraton Waikiki. In 1990, he appeared in the Hawaiian publication MidWeek and performed during the Aloha Bowl halftime show.

Mars came from a deeply musical family. His father was a percussionist, his mother was a singer and dancer, and the family band exposed him to rock and roll, reggae, hip-hop, and rhythm and blues. Those early performances helped form the showmanship that later became central to his career.

People sometimes associate his childhood impersonations with Michael Jackson because Mars also performed as Jackson later in his youth. Elvis Presley, however, is the performer specifically linked to his early reputation in Hawaii.