Mario (entertainer)

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Mario
Mario being interviewed at a charity event for cancer in San Diego, California, on September 14, 2008
Mario being interviewed at a charity event for cancer in San Diego, California, on September 14, 2008
Background information
Birth name Mario Dewar Barrett
Also known as Mario
Born August 27, 1986 (1986-08-27) (age 22)
Origin Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Genre(s) R&B, pop
Occupation(s) Singer–songwriter, actor, dancer, model
Years active 2000-present
Label(s) J, Sony BMG, EMI, 3rd Street
Website www.mario2u.com

Mario Dewar Barrett (born August 27, 1986)[1][2] is an American Grammy-nominated R&B and pop singer, actor, model, dancer and philantropyst. He is best known for his hit singles "Just a Friend 2002" (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.

Mario is currently working on his fourth album which is due out mid-2009.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Mario who is African American was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in Pikesville, Randallstown, Gwynn Oak and other working-class neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland [3]. He grew up with his grandmother in different areas of Baltimore, Maryland, she also raised him while his single mother struggled with a drug addiction.[3] 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. Mario joined a musical group in high school with the oldest son of comedienne Mo'nique. 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.[3] 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.[3] His musical influences include Stevie Wonder, Fernando, Q-Bah, Claire and Shay all from FunX radio Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Nat King Cole, Brian McKnight, Boyz II Men, Usher, 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.

[edit] Personal life

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 [4]. 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" [5]. The documentary, produced by Gigantic! Productions, won a 2008 Prism Award for its accurate portrayal of drug abuse [6].

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[7]. The song is featured on his third album Go.

[edit] Career

[edit] Mario (2002-2003)

Main article: Mario (album)

Mario began recording his debut album Mario. 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 Lil' Zane, Bow Wow, Nick Cannon, B2K & Marques Houston. As of 2006, his debut album has sold over 700,000 copies [3]. During this period, he became a draw in the teen market [3].

[edit] Turning Point (2004-2006)

Main article: Turning Point (album)

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 on 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"[3] was successful, peaking at the number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks. The single is written by Ne-Yo[3]. Other follow up singles include "How Could You" co-written by J. Valentine, with a cameo appearance in the video by rapper Cassidy; "Here I Go Again"(whose video starred model/singer Cassie; and "Boom" featuring Juvenile. To date, Turning Point has sold platinum and the lead single 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's new manager is J. Erving and he was chosen by Mario [8]. Mario has homes in Baltimore, Atlanta and Los Angeles [3].

[edit] Go! (2007-2008)

Main article: Go! (Mario album)

Mario's third album Go is dedicated to his mom Shawntia Hardaway and was released in South Africa under Gallo Records on October 9, 2007, in the U.S. on December 11, 2007. The album includes collaborations with Jermaine Dupri, Ne-Yo, Janice Robinson, Eric West, Lionell Davis, Scott Storch, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Timbaland, Bryan-Michael Cox, The Neptunes, Jim Jonsin, Akon, Dre & Vidal, Warryn "Baby Dubb" Campbell, Sean Garrett and Mr. Collipark. [9] Mario, who has described the album as "sex...more personal...more passionate", had more creative control on Go than on his previous two albums [3]. The first single to be lifted from the album was "How Do I Breathe" which was released in May. The second single was "Crying out for Me" after a poll on his website. [10] The single was later certificated Gold by the RIAA.[11] On December 13, 2007, Mario was on "106 & Park" where he stated that the 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". Go has sold 331,540 copies in the U.S.[12]

In an interview with DJ "Z", Mario stated that problems with the record label caused the album launch to be pushed back 6–8 months. [13]

[edit] And Then There Was Me (2009-Present)

Main article: And Then There Was Me

Before the release of his third album Go on 21 December 2007. In an interview to Billboard Mario confirmed that he was working on a new album "by the time school starts back up, like after next summer” “But there's really even more than that, 'cause I'm gonna start recording, like, [at] the end of January" [14]. While the album is being released with different producers including Darkchild, Babyface, Polow da Don, RedOne, CJ of Charlio Productions, Malay, Jazze Pha, Stargate, KP, Tricky Stewart and The-Dream as confirmed by Mario [15][16][17]Mario said that he would like to work with no more than 4 producers for this album [14]. Mario has described this album as World music, an old school R&B influenced with a modern dance pop sound [17]. The album is being described as his “most personal, colossal album of his career.” In a Saynow message on Sept 14th 2008 from Mario[citation needed] he revealed that the new album is halfway done and he is finishing up the rest in a studio in L.A. he also sang a snippet of one of his new songs.

Mario stated that the album will be released in March or April 2009. [18][19]However on March 7, 2009 in an interview Mario confirmed that the album was originally be released in June which it's release date now is set to September according to his website.[14][20] The first single is "Break Up".[21]

He told to Singersroom that the title may change for his effort which will reportedly have a single out within a few weeks. [22]

[edit] Other ventures

[edit] Acting career

Mario starred alongside 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.[3] Mario has stated that he would like to own his own film production company entitled "Inside Paris Productions" and become a director. [23]

[edit] 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, Usher and Raven-Symoné. Mario claims to be more of the songwriter in the team.[24] On a interview with Rap-Up he senteced that he was no longer part of the Knightwritaz.[25]

[edit] Do Right Foundation

Mario's Do Right Foundation was established to educate and inspire kids who suffer from drugs addiction from their parents. [26]

[edit] Modeling

On 10th of January 2009, Mario ventured to be the face of Pelle Pelle's European Spring/Summer 2009 campaign with various press shots for the campaign running throughout the next few months.[22][27]

[edit] Pilot career

On 5th of March 2009, Mario said on Twitter that he had made an ABC network testing for a new Pilot.[28] As result, he made an announce to "The Electric Company" on PBS, with the "Soft G".[29]

[edit] Soul Truth Entertainment

In a interview with Rap-Up, Mario said that "Soul Truth Entertainment" was his new entertainment company. The company is used to find new artists which can build a creative relationship with and create a long-term career with.[25]

[edit] PETA

Mario is the new face of PETA in the campaign against killing animals entitled "Ink, Not Mink". He tells: "Be comfortable in your own skin, and let animals keep theirs".[30][31]

[edit] Dancing with the Stars Performances

While on season 6 of Dancing with the Stars, Mario beacame the youngest contestant to be on the show, and performed the following dances with his professional partner, Karina Smirnoff[32]

Week # Dance/Song Judges' score Result
Inaba Goodman Tonioli
1 Cha-cha-cha/ "Request Line" 8 8 8 N/A
2 Quickstep/ "Valerie" 9 8 9 Safe
3 Tango/ "Roxanne" 7 6 8 Bottom Two
4 Paso Doble/ "Higher Ground" 8 7 9 Safe
5 Samba/ "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" 9 9 9 Safe
6 Rumba/ "Let's Get It On" 9 9 10 Bottom Two
7 Foxtrot/ "I'm Your Man"
Mambo/ "Mambo A La Sandoval"		 8
9		 8
9		 8
9		 Safe
8 Viennese Waltz/ "If I Ain't Got You"
Jive/ "Little Bitty Pretty One"		 9
9		 9
8		 9
9		 Eliminated


[edit] Discography

Further information: Mario discography

[edit] Awards

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Mario

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Films

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Step Up Miles Darby Small Role
2007 Freedom Writers Andre Bryant Small Role
2009 Destination Fame Wizzy Small Role
I Can Do Bad All by Myself Tre Small Role

[edit] Notable TV Appearances

[edit] References

  1. ^ Southern, Nathan. "Mario - Overview". Allmovie. http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=2:476803. Retrieved on 2008-12-18. 
  2. ^ Laufenberg, Norbert B. (2005). Entertainment Celebrities. Trafford Publishing. p. 424. ISBN 1412053358. http://books.google.com/books?id=mzTW9Nitee4C&pg=PA424&lpg=PA424&dq=mario+%22August+27+1986%22&source=web&ots=EuYbQxLfXe&sig=MxY0tLwiufLy2YCp2Te66nE2FJo&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA424,M1. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ollison, Rashod D. (2006-12-27). "A maturing Mario". The Baltimore Sun. http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bal-to.mario27dec27,0,3126202.story?coll=bal-features-headlines. Retrieved on 2006-12-27. 
  4. ^ "R&B Star Mario Tackles His Mothers Drug Addition On TV Special". http://mog.com/MrFrost/blog_post/118405. 
  5. ^ "Singer Mario Launches Do Right Campaign!". http://www.theinsider.com/news/723982_Singer_Mario_Launches_Do_Right_Campaign. 
  6. ^ "PRISM Awards Honor Accurate Portrayals:Substance Abuse, Mental Health Issues Include Bipolar Disorder, Meth Addiction". http://www.samhsa.gov/samhsa_news/volumexvi_3/article15.htm. Retrieved on 2009-02-08. 
  7. ^ Spotlight on RnB Staff (22 April 2007). "Mario Ready to 'Go'". Spotlight on RnB. http://www.xs4all.nl/~mroyen/news.htm. Retrieved on 14 March 2009. 
  8. ^ Gail, Mitchell. "R&B artist Mario gets personal on 3rd album". http://www.reuters.com/article/musicNews/idUSN1828950620070619. 
  9. ^ http://www.mario2u.com/music/go
  10. ^ Rodriguez, Jayson. ""Mario Gets Back To Making Music With Akon, Timbaland, Neptunes". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1557037/20070412/mario.jhtml. Retrieved on 2006-12-19. 
  11. ^ Rock On The Net Staff. "Rock On The Net:Mario". http://www.rockonthenet.com/artists-m/mario.htm. 
  12. ^ "Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Top 200 Soundscan (01/15/2009)". http://pulsemusic.proboards48.com/index.cgi?board=gmn&action=display&thread=80953&page=2#1979333. 
  13. ^ "Mario Interview". Djbooth.net. http://www.djbooth.net/index/interviews/entry/mario-interview-053007/. Retrieved on 2008-12-18. 
  14. ^ a b c "Billboard Interview". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003685564. Retrieved on 2007-12-14. 
  15. ^ "Mario in Studio with Rodney Jerkins, Babyface, Polow da don, Red One, CJ, Malay, Jazze Pha". http://www.mario2u.com/blog/to-all-my-mario-fans-out-there. 
  16. ^ "Rap-Up.com:// no one on the corner has swagga like us » Blog Archive » Mario Eyes March Release For Fourth Album". Rap-up.com. http://www.rap-up.com/2008/10/30/mario-eyes-march-release-for-fourth-album. Retrieved on 2008-12-18. 
  17. ^ a b "LIVESTEEZ - Exclusive Interview: Mario Bares It All". Livesteez.com. http://www.livesteez.com/news/news_detail/1427. Retrieved on 2008-12-18. 
  18. ^ "YouTube - Broadcast Yourself". Youtube.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRgTt_oUTpI. Retrieved on 2008-12-18. 
  19. ^ "Rap-Up.com:// no one on the corner has swagga like us » Blog Archive » Mario Eyes March Release For Fourth Album". Rap-up.com. http://www.rap-up.com/2008/10/30/mario-eyes-march-release-for-fourth-album/. Retrieved on 2008-12-18. 
  20. ^ "Mario's Mixtape". 11 June 2009. http://www.mario2u.com/news/mario-mixtape. Retrieved on 13 June 2009. 
  21. ^ Bossip Staff (23 February 2009). "Exclusive* Studio News: Mario’s "And Then There Was Me". Bossip. http://bossip.com/86689/exclusive-studio-news-marios-and-then-there-was-me/. Retrieved on 7 March 2009. 
  22. ^ a b "Singersroom - Mario Says 'Me & Pelle,' Fashion Spread & New Album". http://singersroom.com/news/entertainment-story-3050.asp. Retrieved on 2009-01-10. 
  23. ^ Adler, Shawn (2006-12-19). "Mario Sheds A Tear For 'Freedom,' Says He Wants To Direct". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1548309/20061218/story.jhtml. Retrieved on 2006-12-19. 
  24. ^ Concepcion, Mariel (2007-04-19). "Mario Teams With Akon, Timbaland on New Set". Billboard.com. http://billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003573905. Retrieved on 2009-05-08. 
  25. ^ a b Georgette Cline. "10 Questions for Mario". http://www.rap-up.com/2009/05/26/10-questions-for-mario/#more-19091. Retrieved on 2 July 2009. 
  26. ^ The Tyra Banks Show (25 January 2008). "R&B Singer Mario’s Foundation for Children of Addicts". http://telepicturesblog.warnerbros.com/tyrashow/2008/01/rb_singer_marios_foundation_fo.php. Retrieved on 30 March 2009. 
  27. ^ Pelle Pelle featuring Mario
  28. ^ Barrett, Mario (2009-03-05). "Mario ABC network testing for a new Pilot". twitter. http://twitter.com/MarioSoulTruth/statuses/1285253933. Retrieved on 2009-03-08. 
  29. ^ "THE ELECTRIC COMPANY: Mario Barrett's "Soft G"". Youtube. 2009-03-13. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TjxgMwNabo. Retrieved on 2009-03-20. 
  30. ^ Lauren Walker (2009-5-27). "Mario: A New Point of View". http://www.singersroom.com/interview/artist-v-159.asp. 
  31. ^ Parmeeta Ghoman (2009-4-29). "New PETA "Ink, Not Mink" Campaign - Mario shirtless!". http://www.examiner.com/x-6361-SF-Womens-Fashion-Examiner~y2009m4d29-New-PETA-Ink-Not-Mink-Campaign--Mario-shirtless. Retrieved on 2009-6-8. 
  32. ^ "'Dancing With the Stars: Mario ponders the quickstep'". http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/critics/blog/2008/03/dancing_with_the_stars_mario_p.html. 

[edit] External links

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