Mario

Full Bio A prodigious talent by any standard, R&B vocalist Mario (born Mario Dewar Barrett in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1986) caught the performing bug when he participated in a talent contest at the tender age of 11, then decided to travel to New York City and make it as a vocal artist. In time, Mario caught the attention of Clive Davis, whose J Records label signed the young hopeful to a covetable recording contract. Mario issued his eponymous debut album at age 15, which sold an astonishing 700,000 copies and generated the blockbuster single &"Just a Friend." A follow-up, the 2005 album ^Turning Point, sold two million copies and yielded an even more popular track, &"Let Me Love You," which crested the charts and remained at number one for around nine weeks. Through it all, Mario worked with such musical heavyweights as Sean Garrett, T Wayne, Stee, and Michael Crooms.