Bruno Mars hit the stage at the 2013 MTV VMAs tonight (Aug. 25) with a 'Gorilla' on his back.

Okay, so it wasn't really on his back. He performed his lush, expansive new single 'Gorilla' while an image of a green lighted gorilla flashed behind him on a screen throughout the performance. So one could say that there was a gorilla at his back.

Mars, who just pocketed the 2013 VMA for Best Male Video for 'Locked Out of Heaven' moments earlier, performed the butter smooth song while standing atop a riser.

There were lots of bright lights and smoke on the stage and Mars was supported by a full band, adding to the lushness, richness and fullness of the song.

As a performance, we loved it because it was gimmick-free and a different delivery for him. Mars is usually flanked by a crew of dancers and gets all sort of Rat Pack-y on us. While we like that old school approach, this was more about Mars and his voice and his lyrics.

He didn't do what many of his fellow performers did. Lots of them tried really hard to do something memorable. Mars just got up there and sang.

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