Bruno Mars capped off a great year by snagging Billboard's "Artist of the Year," edging out Robin Thicke, Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake as well as breakout artists Imagine Dragons and Macklemore& Ryan Lewis.

His album "Unorthodox Jukebox" even caught Bruno Mars by surprise because it was his most ambitious creation yet. Unlike his debut album "Doo-Wops & Hooligans" released in 2010 which went platinum piggybacking on such hits "Grenade," "Just the Way You Are," his newest album is much more experimental.

The variation is also richer in "Unorthodox Jukebox," ranging from edgy, pop, soul and R&B featuring singles like "Locked Out of Heaven" and "Treasure." It maintained top ranking on the Billboard 200 after debuting at No. 2 last December and never falling below top 20 through September this year. According to Nielsen Soundscan, the album already sold 1.8 million copies.

Because of the success of his musical career, Mars is able to do what he does best: sleep.

"My dream was to not get a day job but to sleep, wake up and do my music. And hopefully, my music does all the talking. I want to keep that dream forever. That's it. That's what I love to do," Mars told Billboard mag.

When prodded for his secret why he seems to have the Midas touch when it comes to rolling out successful songs, Mars can only point to his close partnership with Ari Levine and Philip Lawrence as the "Smeezingtons." They have been together for seven years now.

Mars explained: "I may say, 'Yo, I like this song but if Ari or Phil say it's the corniest shit they've ever heard, I trust them. And the other way around. We all know when we're onto something, like with 'Locked.' It was, 'Man, there's a good pocket on this song right now. Let's keep it going."