|
The following biography
is from
Wikipedia.org
The
Free Encyclopedia.
Mario (born Mario Dewar Barrett on August 27, 1986)
is an American R&B singer. He is best known for his hit singles "Just a Friend
(2002)" and "Let Me Love You", which won him two Billboard awards, as well as
for appearing in the films Step Up and Freedom Writers. His latest album, Go!
will be released on December 11, 2007 in the United States, but was released in
South Africa on October 09, 2007 under Gallo Records
****
Birth name Mario Dewar Barrett
Born August 27, 1986 (1986-08-27) (age 21)
Origin Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Genre(s) R&B, pop
Occupation(s) singer-songwriter, dancer, actor
Years active 2000 present
Label(s) J/3rd Street/SonyBMG
Website www.mario2u.com
****
Biography
Early life
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, who raised him while his single mother struggled with a drug
problem.[1] Mario wanted to become a singer at the age of four. His mother
supported his dream and bought him a karaoke machine. Mario was in a singing
group with comedienne Mo'Nique's oldest son while in school. He was always
dedicated in having his career.He learned to play the piano and used that skill
to create musical melodies and songs. He was discovered at age eleven and signed
on 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 (2002)
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]
Turning Point (2004)
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 sold over 1.7 million copies.
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]
Go! (2007)
Mario's third album Go! which was released in South Africa under Gallo Records
on October 09, 2007 is scheduled to be released 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]
Knightwritaz
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-Symon้. Mario claims to be more
of the songwriter in the team. [3]
MTV is airing a special, "I Won't Love You to Death: The Story of Mario and His
Mom," dealing with his mother's heroin addiction.
Discography
Further information: Mario discography
Albums
2002: Mario
2004: Turning Point
2007: Go
Singles
Year Title Chart Positions Album
U.S. U.S. R&B UK AUS NZ GER ITA
2002 "Just a Friend 2002" 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" 109 38
"Kryptonite (featuring Rich Boy/Eve)" [4]
Acting career
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 and become a director. [5]
Filmography
Step Up (2006)
Freedom Writers (2007)
Notes
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^ "Mario Gets Back To Making Music With Akon, Timbaland, Neptunes". MTV News.
Retrieved on 2007-04-14.
3^ Mario Teams With Akon, Timbaland on New Set
4^ Interview. Middlechild Promotions. Retrieved on 2007-06-09.
5^ Adler, Shawn. "Mario Sheds A Tear For 'Freedom,' Says He Wants To Direct",
MTV.com, 2006-12-19. Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
Mario also has a show airing on MTV on October 21 titled "I Won't Love You To
Death" which is based on the troubles he has with his mother's 23 year heroin
addicition.
****
The
above biography has been copied in part or in whole
from an article on
Wikipedia.org
"The Free Encyclopedia." It has been modified under
the NGU Free Document License Section 5 in the
following manner: (1) All links within the article
have been removed, including text links such as
"[#]"; (2) The "[Edit]" text and link have been
removed [if you would like to update the article,
you may do so from the original page]; (3) the table
of Contents links and text have been removed; and
(4) all of the sections of the original article have
not been copied. All of the above text is available
under the terms of the
GNU Free Document License.
URL of Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_%28singer%29
Date Article Copied:
November 2007
We
will try to replace this article with an original
biography in the near future, but we hope this will
be of help to our visitors in the mean time. |
