Mario has been giving the world hit singles since he was barely old enough to drive a car, and his smooth R&B and hip hop songs are already regulars on urban music stations around the nation. Most famous for tracks like "Just a Friend 2002" and "Let Me Love You," Mario is never too far away from dropping another highly successful single or album on his loyal, dedicated fans.Mario, whose full name is Mario Dewar Barrett, developed an affinity for music and singing at an early age. He can play the piano, dance, act, and entertain a crowd, and these talents got him noticed at a Baltimore-area talent show when he was 11. His first studio album, Mario, which was released in 2002 when the artist was just 15 years-old, is widely credited for setting his career path on the fast track to international acclaim. Mario featured the hit single “Just a Friend 2002,” which had the right blend of childish innocence and full-grown musical talent to chart in the Top Ten. Young rap/pop stars like Bow Wow were all the rage in ‘02, and even though Mario seemed as though he was just another fresh face in the middle school yearbook shot of the Young Next Michael Jacksons Club, critics took notice of the glimpses of real staying power present in his first body of work. While teen girls fell in love with his voice and playful delivery, the serious hip hop and R&B fans kept a skeptical yet hopeful eye on Mario in anticipation of what he would bring next.With his follow-up album Turning Point, Mario proved that he was more than just a flash in the pan. Turning Point’s most famous song was “Let Me Love You,” a single that elevated Mario from a schoolyard scuffle with other teeny-boppers to a club brawl with the likes of Usher and R. Kelly. Whereas the Mario pictured on- and described in- his self-titled debut album was that of a young punk playing hooky, sitting on a set of railroad tracks in a leather jacket and cornrows, the Turning Point Mario fixed up nicely. Turning Point’s album cover shows a club-ready Mario decked out in a clean, pure white suit jacket. A short, conservative haircut replaced the cornrows on the cover, and likewise the content and capabilities within the album reflected a decidedly more mature version of the artist.Mario’s third album, Go, hit record stores in January, 2007 and featured artists such as Timbaland, The Neptunes and Akon. Sustained chart success and increasing collaborations with some of the big names in hip hop and R&B, as evidenced by Go, are two signs that Mario is one of the fastest rising players in popular music today.
