When Usher turned down the song “Just A Friend,” perhaps his crew did not know what they were doing. By doing so, they inadvertently opened the door for a young teen from Baltimore to slip in and steal the hearts of millions of girls (and on the low grown women) who would have been pinning after Mr. Raymond.
But was glad that they did. Mario burst on the scene with a different swag.
Mario was cool. After the “Just A Friend” joint dropped, his follow up track was “Braid My Hair.” Vocally, he was more mature than all the other singers coming out in his age group. Picture him as Clive Davis’ male version of Monica. Like Monica, he never quite hit the uber popularity levels of some of the other child/teen singers. He let his music do his bidding. Consider his early 2000 hit, “Let Me Love You.” This double-platinum hit stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 9 consecutive weeks.
A few years later in 2009, he dropped another studio album called D.N.A.. The album featured the hit single “Break Up,” featuring Gucci Mane and Sean Garrett. But by 2010, Mario was getting weary of the life he had achieved in the limelight and retreated in a space of self-reflection and world travel (yeah he is super big in Asia).
And now, a little older, he returns with a new album entitled Dancing Shadows. This 11 track album features all kinds of songs. His lead single “Drowning” talks about being with one person and still thinking about another.
The title track, “Dancing Shadows,”deals with the real life relationship drama that many people experience when trying to get to know one another.
He even has some party jams like “Good Times” that makes you think of Michael Jackson. It is a quality effort from a quality artist.
The post After A Decade, Mario Returns To Music As On His Grown Man Vibe appeared first on The Source.