Mario Dewar Barrett, born on the 27th of August,1986 performs under the mononym Mario but is also known as Mariosoultruth, Mista Barrett or Rio to his fans. Mario, is an R&B artist/singer, a model, a song writer, an actor and a philanthropist.
Mario is well know for his singles "Just A Friend" in 2002, "Let Me Love You" in 2004, "How Do I Breathe" in 2007. He is also known for "Break Up" in 2009, "Thinkin' About You" and "Ooh Baby" in 2010. He has released four studio albums ( Mario, Turning Point, Go and D.N.A ) till date and has also appeared in films such as "Step Up", "Freedom Writers" and "Destination Fame".
Growing Up
Mario was born an African American in Baltimore, Maryland and was brought up by his maternal grandmother in several part of the city. At the early age of four, Mario showed interest in singing and was encouraged by his mother; who bought him a karaoke machine.
He later joined a musical group in high school, and learned to play the piano.He was discovered at age eleven by producer Troy Patterson after singing "I'll Make Love To You" at a talent show. He attended Milford Mill Academy up to the tenth grade, where he was inspired by his music teacher and was offered a
A Career is Launched
Mario was introduced into the music industry in 2001 singing Tameeka as a soundtrack for Dr. Doolittle 2. He also did a rendition of Stevie Wonder's "You and I" at a Clive Davis' Grammy party in 2002, thus kick starting his musical career.
Mario
A self titled debut album released in July of 2002. The album sold over 96,000 copies in the first week and was eventually certified Gold, selling over 596,000 copies. It features hits "Just a Friend 2002," "Braid My Hair" and "C'mon".
Track listing
- "Just a Friend 2002" Composed by Warryn "Baby Dubb" Campbell, Harold Lilly, John Smith & Biz Markie
- "C'mon" Composed by Warryn "Baby Dubb" Campbell, Luther Campbell, David Hobbs, Chris Wong Won, Mark Ross
- "Braid My Hair" Composed by Warryn "Baby Dubb" Campbell & Harold Lilly
- "2 Train" Composed by Kerry "Krucial Keys" Brothers, Paul "L" Green & Alicia Keys
- "What Your Name Is" Composed by the The Underdogs, Damon Thomas, Harvey Mason, Jr. & Mario
- "Holla Back" Composed by The Underdogs, Mischke, Steve Russel, Damon thomas, Harvey Mason, Jr.
- "Could U Be" Composed by The Underdogs, Mischke, Steve Russell, Damon Thomas, Harvey Mason, Jr.
- "Put Me On" Composed by Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, Bertram Reid, W.Cunningham, N. Durham, Ronald Miller & Alicia Keys
- "Chick wit da Braids" Composed by Gerald Isac
- "Never" Composed by Gerald Isac
- "Girl in the Picture" Composed by Anthony Akiens, Mario, Kevin "KL" Lewis & Daniel Mickens
- "Just a Friend" (Old School Version)(Japanese bonus track)
Charts
| Chart (2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 9 |
| U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | 3 |
Turning Point
A second album released in December 2004 with a more matured minded Mario which was portrayed through out the tracks of the album. The first single from the album was "Let Me Love You" which hit number one in the United States and number two in the United Kingdom, becoming his biggest hit to date. The second single was a split single. In the U.S., "How Could You" a song written by Bay Area singer-songwriter J. Valentine was released (reaching number 52) but in the UK, Here I Go Again was released (reaching number 11). The fourth and final single from the album in the US was "Boom" featuring Juvenile.
The album became more successful than his first album and was later released as a dual disc as a result of that success.
Track Listing
| No. | Title | Composers | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "18" (featuring Cassidy) | Drama Family Entertainment &Mario | 3:46 |
| 2. | "Let Me Love You" | Scott Storch, Shafer Smith & Kameroun Houff | 4:09 |
| 3. | "Couldn't Say No" | Scott Storch, Mario, Ron "Neff-U" Feemster & Sean Garrett | 3:49 |
| 4. | "Boom" (featuring Juvenile) | Lil Jon, Lamarquis Jefferson ,Johnta Austin, Craig Love &Terius Grey | 4:06 |
| 5. | "How Could You" | The Underdogs, Antony Dixon, Eric Dawkins & J. Valentine | 3:56 |
| 6. | "Girl I Need" (featuring Baby Cham) | Harold Lilly, Robert Christianson, Marley Simms, Derryck Thornton & Robert Garrett | 3:44 |
| 7. | "Call the Cops" | Scott Storch, Mario & Robert Waller | 3:34 |
| 8. | "Here I Go Again" | Drama Family Entertainment, Ron "Neff-U" Feemster & Jason Argsheben | 3:21 |
| 9. | "Nikes Fresh Out the Box" | Alloy "Fai" Hume, Rudolph Isley, Ernest Isley, O'Kelly Isley, Jr., Ronald Isley, Marvin Isley, Bryan Sledge & Harold Lilly | 4:31 |
| 10. | "Directions" | Melvin Coleman & Harold Lilly | 4:11 |
| 11. | "Like Me Real Hard" | Frank Romano, Ivan "Orthodox" Barias, Carvin "Ransum" Haggins & James "Jayshawn" Smith | 4:50 |
| 12. | "Shakedown" | Dwayne Huff, Allen "Allstar" Gordon & Xavier Cordova | 3:33 |
13. | "Let Me Love You (Remix)" (featuring Jadakiss& T.I.) | Scott Storch, Clifford Harris,Jason Phillips, Shaffer Smith & Kameron Houff | 4:28 |
Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Albums Chart[9] | 17 |
| Austrian Albums Chart[9] | 33 |
| Belgian Albums Charts (Flanders)[11] | 10 |
| Belgian Albums Charts (Wallonia)[11] | 42 |
| Danish Albums Chart[9] | 25 |
| Dutch Albums Chart[9] | 6 |
| European Top 100 Albums[12] | 14 |
| French Albums Chart[9] | 42 |
| German Albums Chart[9] | 13 |
| Irish Albums Chart[9] | 62 |
| Italian Albums Chart[9] | 25 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Albums Chart[9] | 22 |
| Swiss Albums Chart[9] | 13 |
| UK Albums Chart[9] | 8 |
| U.S. Billboard 200[13] | 13 |
| U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[14] | 2 |
