Fresh off his amazing performance on Saturday Night Live, 13-time Grammy nominee and KLUC artist Bruno Mars checked in with Chet Buchanan & the Morning Zoo. The Hawaiian- born, multi-talented singer-songwriter found SNL to be challenging. “They had me singing in a lot of sketches and I also had to go to band rehearsal,” said Bruno. “So, by Saturday, my voice was hating me.”

Long before the success of co-writing Travie McCoy’s “Billionaire” and CeeLo’s “F*** You, Mars moved from Honolulu to Los Angeles and struggled to be heard and get by. “When I hit rock bottom, I was kinda forced to sell everything I had, clothes and shoes.” What’s more, he was forced to sell the tools that he needed to succeed in the music industry. “Finally, the last thing I had to give up was the guitar I bought and the piano I bought,” said Bruno.

We also uncovered the true meaning of his hit “Grenade” and exactly what was his first big purchase after he started making money? Find out by listening to the the full interview below: