Ryan Reed of '' Paste Magazine '' called it " a driving pop anthem that moves from a punchy , ' Roxanne ' - esque new-wave groove to a soulful , synth-driven chorus . " Matt Cibula of PopMatters further explained the track , writing , " It starts out like an early Police single , with some straight-up '' Reggatta de Blanc '' syncopation and a shockingly good Sting vocal impression . But the chorus opens up to turn into something less Police-y and more , dare I say it , Bruno Mars-y . " Kitty Empire of '' The Observer '' wrote that the song " channels the Police , but its 21st-century builds owe as much to rave-pop as they do to producer Mark Ronson . It 's an ill-omened meeting that somehow gels . " Jason Lipshut of '' Billboard '' gave a very positive review , stating that " ' Locked out of Heaven ' is Mars ' best solo single to date , with the singer-songwriter yelping about fornication as a tossed salad of chopped guitars and vocal exclamations buttress his sumptuous leading-man act . Sometimes , the perfect lead single is hard to find ; other times , it walks right up to you and delivers a big , cozy hug . " Melinda Newman of HitFix praised " Mars ' singing and the catchy little background vocals , " which according to her , " keep the song moving downstream at a rapid pace . " She also noted that " Even clumsy lyrics like ' your sex takes me to paradise ' ca n’t diminish that joy that the beats and melody bring . " " Locked Out of Heaven " received several nominations , including Outstanding Song at the 2013 NAACP Image Awards . It was nominated for Top Radio Song and Top Pop Song at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards . The single received a nomination at the 2013 MTV Millennial Awards for International Hit of the Year . In the same year , " Locked Out of Heaven " received the accolade for Top 10 Gold International Gold Songs at the RTHK International Pop Poll . It also received a nomination for Choice Single : Male Artist award at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards . At the 2013 MTV Europe Music Awards , it won the award Best Song , the only category it was nominated . In December , 2013 , the song was nominated at Los Premios 40 Principales 2013 for Best International Song , however it lost to " Impossible " by James Arthur . The song was one of the several winners of the 2014 ASCAP Pop Music Awards for Most Performed Song . In 2014 , " Locked Out of Heaven " received nominations for Record of the Year , Song of the Year and Best Remixed Recording , Non-Classical for its Sultan Ned Shepard remix at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards , but did not win for any . In 2015 , the recording was also nominated for Outstanding Creative Achievement in the category of Record Production/Single or Track at the TEC Awards . '' The Village Voice '' s annual year-end Pazz & Jop critics ' poll selected it as the 25th best song of 2012 , tying with five other songs
56th Annual Grammy Awards
56th Annual Grammy Awards
Locked Out of Heaven