Confusion between subject and object noun

Question

The following is my sentence and I just want to understand who "his" refers to: Bruno Mars or Michael Jackson?

I like listening to Bruno Mars than Michael Jackson but his dance moves are far more iconic.

Answer 1

I like listening to Bruno Mars more than Michael Jackson but his dance moves are far more iconic.

"His" is ambiguous, although the use of the word "but" suggests a contrast with your general preference for Mars, and therefore suggests that "his" refers to Jackson. If you were referring to Mars, you'd probably have written "and" instead of "but".

You could replace "his" with:

• "the former's" (formal) = Mars's
• "the latter's" (formal) = Jackson's
• "Mars's"
• "Jackson's"

Answer 2

First, the example is a comparison and is missing a comparative adjective. Do you like listening more or less to one than another?

Second, a pronoun generally refers to the noun nearest it. There are exceptions, such as Ruth gave the present to Tom, who gave it to her friend. It's clear that who refers to Tom, it refers to the present, and her refers to Ruth, because Tom is commonly a man's name and Ruth a girl's name. Had the names been Frankie and Jesse, then the sentence would be ambiguous.