The funky R&B duo Silk Sonic's debut single, 'Leave the Door Open,' has earned them a #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and a slot at the 2021 Grammy Awards.

Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, two halves of Silk Sonic, recently sat down with Apple Music's Zane Lowe to discuss the making of their hit debut track, Silk Sonic's origins, and how they roped in funk legend Bootsy Collins. 

Silk Sonic Origins

Mars and .Paak had been sitting on the idea of Silk Sonic for years now. Actually, one of the songs in their upcoming album is the manifestation of the journey that went on to become Silk Sonic. 

Mars explained that the song 'Leave the Door Open' came from a phrase that he randomly came up with while on tour in 2017. The phrase turned into a hook, and the hook gave way to studio sessions. 

Admittedly, there was not a set plan per se. The duo was just jamming, writing, and it instinctively came about. 

Building Up To 'Leave the Door Open'

Mars and .Paak came to the realization that they loved a lot of the same music, and by that time, they had become good friends.

Even amid the pandemic, while other artists made music long-distance, they decided to get in the studio. They wanted the magic to happen face to face. 

They spent time in the studio trying to figure out what works and what would make everyone just feel good. Their song 'Leave the Door Open' is the brainchild of that idea. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Bruno Mars (@brunomars)

In .Paak's words, "it's a song that requires so much patience and delicate..." To which, Mars added, "Delicatessens. A lot of meat went into this song."

Silk Sonic Meets Bootzilla

Now that they had an idea to build upon, Silk Sonic needed a host to tie their whole album with a neat little bow, and they unanimously choose the legendary Bootzilla for the job. 

According to the two, Collins was the ultimate host that could thread all these songs together since both of them grew up loving him. Mars has even gone on record to state that Collins is "the definition of a superstar." 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Bruno Mars (@brunomars)

As for .Paak, he was still getting over his awe over Mars' legendary perfectionist streak. The 'Make It Better' singer admitted that only one other person made him work as hard as Mars did. That was his original mentor and Hip Hop veteran Dr. Dre.

The duo further confessed that they see this project as the next evolution of their careers, and they could not wait to perform their tracks for a live audience.