Background and career
Mario Dewar Barrett (born August 27, 1986), known mononymously as Mario, is an American R&B singer, songwriter and dancer. Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, he signed a record deal with J Records—at the age of 14—to release his self-titled debut studio album (2002). Its lead single, "Just a Friend 2002", peaked within the Billboard Hot 100's top five, while the album peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200. His second album, Turning Point (2004), was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-number one single "Let Me Love You," which was nominated for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, won two Billboard Music Awards, and yielded his furthest commercial success. His third studio album, Go (2007), saw mild success with its singles "How Do I Breathe" and "Crying Out for Me". His fourth album, D.N.A. (2009), matched his self-titled debut on the Billboard 200, while its lead single, "Break Up" (featuring Gucci Mane and Sean Garrett), peaked within the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 and received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In the following year, Barrett was ranked No. 98 by Billboard on their "Artist of the Decade" list. His fifth album, Dancing Shadows (2018), saw further lyrical introspection and creative control than previous commercially-oriented projects, serving as his first independent release. Aside from his musical career, he appeared in several television shows and films such as Step Up (2006) of the Step Up franchise, Freedom Writers (2007), season 6 of Dancing with the Stars and Empire (2018–2020). In 2019, Mario starred in the live television production of the Primetime Emmy nominated musical Rent. In 2024, he was runner-up on season 12 of The Masked Singer.
Mario Dewar Barrett was born on August 27, 1986, in Baltimore, Maryland, to his mother Shawntia Hardaway and father Derryl Barrett Sr., a singer in a gospel group called Reformation. He also has a half-brother Derryl "D.J." Barrett Jr., who is a professional drummer. He grew up in west Baltimore and other working-class neighborhoods in Baltimore County, Maryland. He lived with his grandmother, who raised him while his single mother struggled with drug addiction. At the age of four, Mario proclaimed that he wanted to become a singer. In support of his dream, his mother bought him a karaoke machine. Mario joined a musical group in Milford Mill Academy with the oldest son of comedian Mo'Nique and best friend Jaye Brebnor and also his younger god sister Chea Tyler. Barrett 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. 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. His musical influences include Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Nat King Cole, Brian McKnight, Boyz II Men, Michael Jackson, Usher, and Joe. His first introduction to the music industry was the Dr. Dolittle 2 movie soundtrack in 2001. He sang a cover of the Stevie Wonder song "You and I" at Clive's Grammy party in 2002, and began recording an album.
In July 2001, Mario began recording his major-label debut album, titled Mario, which was nearly a year before the official release in March 2002. The album's lead single "Just a Friend 2002", which was a cover of Biz Markie's song, was a success, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Follow-up singles were "Braid My Hair" and "C'mon". He was the opening act on the Scream Tour 3, which featured headliners such as B2K, Marques Houston, Nick Cannon, Jhené Aiko and AJA. As of 2006, his debut album has sold over 700,000 copies. During this period, he became a draw in the teen market.
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 and 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" was successful, peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks. The single was written by Ne-Yo. 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 is certified 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, which was later found to be false accusations. Mario was later sued by Patterson and lost. Mario's new manager is J. Erving, and he was chosen by Mario.
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, Scott Storch, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Timbaland and Bryan-Michael Cox. Mario had more creative control on Go than on his previous two albums. The first single 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. The single was later certificated Gold by the RIAA. 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 album was made available for the public to listen to on his Myspace page before its release. He released the song "Do Right" on December 11. Go has sold 331,540 copies in the U.S. 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. In 2008, Mario competed on season six of Dancing With the Stars. He was partnered with Karina Smirnoff. They were eliminated in week eight of the competition.
In a 2009 interview with Rap-Up, Mario said that "Soul Truth Entertainment" was his new entertainment company. Before the release of his third album Go, Mario confirmed in an interview with 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". The album is involving a wide range of producers and songwriters such as Darkchild, Babyface, Polow da Don, RedOne, and CJ of Charlio Productions, Malay, Jazze Pha, Stargate, KP, Tricky Stewart and The-Dream. Mario said that he would like to work with no more than four producers for this album. Mario has described this album as world music, an old school R&B influenced with a modern dance pop sound. The album is being described as his "most personal, colossal album of his career." In January 2009, Mario became the face of Pelle Pelle's European Spring/Summer campaign with various press shots running through the first part of the year. For his fourth album D.N.A., the lead single "Break Up" was released on April 28, 2009. The song features Sean "The Pen" Garrett and Gucci Mane. In the U.S., the song peaked at number 2 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Chart and 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Mario's most successful single in five years. The single has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for a shipment of over 500,000 units. "Thinkin' About You", was released as the second single reaching number forty-five on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Chart. "Stranded" was never labeled as the third single due to the limited airplay that it received. Lack of interest led to the single being canceled, although in January 2010 the song entered on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs peaking at number 84. "Ooh Baby" was later confirmed to be the third single from the album, it peaked on the week of March 19, 2010 debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 95. The album was made available for the public to listen to on his Myspace page before its release. The album debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200, selling 38,000 copies in its first week, becoming Mario's lowest-selling debut in the United States. So far, it has sold 93,385 copies in the U.S.
