Mario Barrett
Born: August 27, 1986
Birthplace: Baltimore, MD
Zodiac Sign: Virgo
Mario Dewar Barrett, known mononymously as ,Mario, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and model. He is known for his singles "Just a Friend" (2002) and "Let Me Love You" (2004), which won him two Billboard Music Awards. He has released four studio albums: Mario (2002), Turning Point (2004), Go (2007), and D.N.A. (2009). At the end of the 2000s decade, Mario was ranked #98 by Billboard on their "Artist of the Decade" list.
After a long period of nine years, Dancing Shadows was issued as his fifth album on October 5, 2018.
Aside from his career in music, he appeared in several television shows and films such as Step Up (2006), Freedom Writers (2007) and Empire (2018). In 2019, Mario starred in the live television production of the musical Rent.
MTV aired a special on October 21, 2007, I Won't Love You to Death: The Story of Mario and His Mom, which dealt with his mother's heroin addiction. The documentary is about how the singer strives for help to stop his mother's addiction. While doing this, he seeks help from family and friends. Mario wrote a letter to his mother stating how appreciative he is and begs her to stop her addiction. At the end of the letter he says, "I love you, but I won't love you to death". On the documentary, produced by Gigantic! Productions, he won the 2008's Prism Award for its accurate portrayal of drug abuse. Mario has written a song titled "Do Right" that is dedicated to his mother. This song explains his mother's addiction and how it affected his childhood. The song is featured on his third album Go.
In 2009, Mario endorsed PETA in the campaign against killing animals entitled "Ink, Not Mink". He tells: "Be comfortable in your own skin, and let animals keep theirs". Mario has homes in Baltimore, Atlanta and Los Angeles.