Mario (singer)

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Mario
Birth name Mario Dewar Barrett
Born August 27, 1986 (1986-08-27) (age 21)
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Genre(s) R&B, pop
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter, dancer, actor
Years active 2000 – present
Label(s) J
Website www.mario2u.com

Mario (born Mario Dewar Barrett on August 27, 1986) is an American R&B and pop singer. He is best known for his hit singles "Just a Friend (2002)" and "Let Me Love You"(2004), which won him two Billboard awards, as well as for appearing in the films Step Up and Freedom Writers. His latest album, Go! was released on December 11, 2007 in the United States, but was released in South Africa on October 9, 2007 under Gallo Records.

Contents

Mario was born in Baltimore, Maryland and grew up in Pikesville, Randallstown, Gwynn Oak and other working-class neighborhoods in Baltimore County, Maryland.[1] He grew up with his grandmother in different areas of Baltimore, Maryland, she also raised him while his single mother struggled with a drug problem.[1] Mario said at the age of four that he wanted to become a singer. His mother supported his dream and bought him a karaoke machine. By the time Mario was in high school, he was dealing drugs and had joined a gang. It was then when that Mario's mother Shawn entered him in another talent contest in an effort to apply his talents and keep him from the streets. Mario joined a musical group in high school with the oldest son of comedienne Monique Imes. He was always dedicated to having a musical career. He learned to play the piano and used that skill as the basis for his melodies and songs. He was discovered at age eleven and signed by producer Troy Patterson, after singing "I'll Make Love to You" at a Coppin State College talent show.[1] Mario attended Milford Mill Academy up until the tenth grade where he was inspired by his music teacher, during his early teen years, and was offered a record deal at the age of fourteen, signing with Clive Davis' J Records.[1] His musical influences include Stevie Wonder, Fernando & Q-Bah, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Nat King Cole, Brian McKnight, Boyz II Men, and Joe. His first introduction to the music industry was the Dr. Dolittle 2 movie soundtrack in 2001. He sang a captivating performance of the Stevie Wonder classic You and I at Clive's Grammy party in 2002, and began recording an album.

Mario began recording his debut album Mario at age fifteen, a year before releasing it in July 2002. The lead single Just A Friend 2002, which was a cover of Biz Markie's hit, was an instant success, peaking at #4 on the charts. Follow up singles were Braid my Hair & C'mon. He was the opening act on the Scream Tour 3, which featured Bow Wow, Nick Cannon, B2K & Marques Houston. As of 2006, his debut album has sold over 700,000 copies.[1] During this period, he became a draw in the teen market.[1]

After his debut album was released, Mario wanted to record an album that was more mature. He enlisted a number of well-known producers to help him, such as Scott Storch & Lil' Jon. He released his second album, Turning Point, in December 7, 2004. The album was more successful than his first, mainly because of the hit single "Let Me Love You". The single, described by reviewers as "melodic and sweetly lilting, reminiscent of Michael Jackson's vintage romantic ballads",[1] was successul, peaking at the number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks.[1] Other follow up singles include How Could You written by J. Valentine, with a cameo appearance in the video by rapper Cassidy, Here I Go Again, which video starred upcoming model and singer Cassie, and Boom featuring Juvenile. To date, Turning Point has went double-platinum.

In February 2006, Mario filed a lawsuit against his former manager, Troy Patterson, alleging that Patterson had paid him $50,000 for the sale of more than 3 million records. Mario has homes in Baltimore, Atlanta and Los Angeles.[1]

Mario's third album Go! which was released in South Africa under Gallo Records on October 09, 2007, in the U.S. on December 11th 2007 and includes collaborations with Jermaine Dupri, Ne-Yo, Janice Robinson, Eric West, Scott Storch, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Timbaland, Bryan Michael Cox, Nelly, Alicia Keys, The Neptunes, Jim Jonsin, Akon, Dre & Vidal, Warren Campbell, Sean Garrett, Trey Songz and Mr. Collipark. Mario, who has described the album as "sex... more personal... more passionate", had more creative control on Go! than on his previous two albums.[1] The first single to be lifted from the album was "How Do I Breathe." The second single that is now in rotation is "Crying Out For Me". [2] On December 13,2007, Mario was on "106 & Park" where he stated that his third single off the album will be " Music For Love". The entire album was made available for the public to listen to on his Myspace page before its release. He also has a new song that came out on December 11, "Do Right".

In a interview at billabord and DJ.Booth Mario saids that he is going to tour, work with singers to their projects and start record a new album "by the time school starts back up, like after next summer." "You can imagine how many different concepts and things I had," the 21-year-old explains. "But there's really even more than that, because I'm gonna start recording, like, [at] the end of January."


http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003685564

http://www.djbooth.net/index/interviews/entry/mario-interview-1116071/

Knightwritaz is a production team of which Mario is a part. The production team includes Mario, Sterling Simms, Warren "Oak" Felder and Marsha of Floetry. Aside from producing songs for Mario's album Go!, the team has written and produced songs for Jennifer Lopez, Chris Brown and Raven-Symoné. Mario claims to be more of the songwriter in the team. [3]

Mario Already Conceptualizing Next Album Gary Graff, Detroit His third album, "Go," just came out this week, but R&B singer Mario is already planning to release his fourth less than a year from now, "by the time school starts back up, like after next summer."

Mario tells Billboard.com that he's in the midst of a creative spurt that yielded 70 songs he considered for "Go" before settling on the dozen tracks that made the album -- including the first single, "How Do I Breathe," and its follow-up, "Music For Love."

"You can imagine how many different concepts and things I had," the 21-year-old explains. "But there's really even more than that, 'cause I'm gonna start recording, like, [at] the end of January."

Mario says one difference between "Go" -- which follows 2004's double-platinum "Turning Point" -- and the next album will be fewer collaborators. "Go" features a different producing and writing team on every track, including Akon, Timbaland, the Neptunes and StarGate. For his next set, Mario says he's "probably gonna work with no more than four producers, maybe two or three, but no more than four."

Needless to say, he's looking ahead to a busy 2008. With "Music For Love" due out in late January, Mario plans to start a tour in February or March. "I want to do a big production tour now," he says. "But it's gonna take creating videos and visuals that make people want to come out and see a show." To that end, the video for "Music For Love," he says, "is gonna like you're watching a performance. That's the sense I get from that record, so that's gonna draw people out to the shows."

Besides all that, Mario hopes to add to his film resume in the new year as well. Though he's still smarting from being turned down for a role in "Dragon Ball Z," Mario -- whose previous roles include "Step Up" and "Freedom Writers" -- hopes to find a project in the near future.

"Of course I want to pursue it and read some more (scripts) and try to find something where I can break in between albums," he says. "It's kind of hard to juggle, but I'm very much excited about that part of my career, too."

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003685564

MTV aired a special on October 21, "I Won't Love You to Death: The Story of Mario and His Mom," which dealt with his mother's heroin addiction. The documentary is about how the singer strives for help to stop his mother's addiction. While doing this, he seeks help from family and friends. Mario wrote a letter to his mother stating how appreciative he is and begs her to stop her addiction. At the end of the letter he says, "I love you, but I won't love you to death."

Mario has also written a song titled Do Right that is dedicated to his mother. This song explains his mother's addiction and how it affected his childhood, and highlights how much he looks up to her.

Further information: Mario discography

Year Title Chart Positions Album
U.S. U.S. R&B UK AUS NZ GER ITA
2002 "Just a Friend" 4 3 18 — 15 — — Mario
"Braid My Hair" 74 18 — — — — —
2003 "C'mon" — 61 28 — — — —
2004 "Let Me Love You" 1 1 2 3 1 1 2 Turning Point
2005 "How Could You" 52 13 — 43 — — —
"Here I Go Again" — — 11 15 36 27 50
"Boom (featuring Juvenile) — — — — — — —
2007 "How Do I Breathe" 46 18 21 33 — 42 — Go!
"Crying Out for Me" 97 23

Mario starred along side Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan in Step Up, a dance-themed film released on August 11, 2006. For his next film, Freedom Writers he acted opposite Academy Award-Winner Hilary Swank and Patrick Dempsey of Grey's Anatomy. The film was a drama about inner-city school kids. It was released on January 5, 2007. Mario did not take acting classes before undertaking the role.[1] Mario has stated that he would like to own his own film production company entitled "inside Paris Productions" and become a director. [4]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ollison, Rashod D.. "A maturing Mario", The Baltimore Sun, 2006-12-27. Retrieved on 2006-12-27. 
  2. ^ {{cite web | title="Mario Gets Back To Making Music With Akon, Timbaland, Neptunes
  3. ^ Mario Teams With Akon, Timbaland on New Set
  4. ^ Adler, Shawn. "Mario Sheds A Tear For 'Freedom,' Says He Wants To Direct", MTV.com, 2006-12-19. Retrieved on 2006-12-19. 

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