Mario (Singer)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Mario (Singer)

• Mario started living with his grandmother as his single mother could not pay attention to him due to her drug addiction.

• When he was just 4 years old, he announced to his family that he wanted to become a singer.

• His mother encouraged him to sing at the local barbershops, where he also earned money for his performances. She later gifted him a karaoke machine.

  

• At his school, he joined a musical group. He learned Piano there, which he used as a basis for his melodies and tones.

• When he was 11 years old, he sang ‘I’ll Make Love to You’ at a Coppin State College talent show, following which the music producer, owner, and CEO of Third Street Music Group Production, Troy Patterso,n signed him up.

• When his grandmother died in 1999, Patterson adopted him and served as his guardian.

• He grew up Christian but practised Islam for 4 years after being adopted at the age of 13. At the age of 20, he became a mystic.

• His music teacher at his school, Milford Mill Academy, inspired him to pursue a music career.

• He signed a record deal with Clive Davis’ J Records at the age of 14.

• He was influenced by the music of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Nat King Cole, Brian McKnight, Boyz II Men, Michael Jackson, Usher, and Joe.

• He started recording his debut music album, ‘Mario’, in July 2001, which was released in March 2002.

  

• On 7 December 2004, he released his second album, ‘Turning Point. It had the single ‘Let Me Love You’ which remained number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks.

• In 2006, he and Patterson got into a dispute about their deal and the money he was being paid. They later parted ways.

• He later hired a new manager, J. Erving.

  

• In October 2007, he was featured in an MTV documentary titled ‘I Won’t Love You to Death: The Story of Mario and His Mom.’ It showed him helping his mother to overcome addiction.

• On 9 October 2007, he released his 3rd album ‘Go’ in South Africa under the Gallo Records. It was released 2 months later in the USA on 11 December 2007. The album was dedicated to his mother.

  

• He partnered with professional dancer Karina Smirnoff in 2008 and participated in season 6 of Dancing With the Stars before getting eliminated in week 8.

  

• In 2009, he started his entertainment company named Soul Truth Entertainment.

• He is a supporter of animal rights and supported PETA in the campaign against killing animals entitled ‘Ink, Not Mink.’

  

• In 2015, he started reading Crystal books to learn more about energy, spirituality, and chakras of the body. He has titanium, amethyst, selenite, and opalite crystals.

• In 2016, he founded his independent record label, New Citizen LLC. He signed a distribution deal with EMPIRE and changed it to The Orchard in 2020.

• In a 2022 interview, he revealed that one week before a live concert, he sings until his voice goes hoarse and then lets it rest until the show so that he can sing for hours.

• In June 2024, a fan DM’ed him on Instagram that he only dated white girls. He replied that he dated anyone with great energy.

  

• In December 2024, he made headlines after becoming the runner-up in season 12 of the FOX channel show Masked Singer as ‘The WASP.’

  

• In an interview, he said that singing in the mask was 5 times tougher, so he practised while wearing the mask.

• The organizers of the Masked Singer show had invited him a few years ago, too, but he had rejected the offer then.

• He revealed in 2024 that he was writing a memoir titled, ‘Life in Exchange.’

• He ran an organization named Do Right Foundation that counselled children who had substance-abusing parents. He ran it for 5 years but closed it as he didn’t know the legal structure of giving grants.

• His first tattoo was ‘soul truth’ on his back, which reminds him of what his grandmother told him on her deathbed to stay true to his soul.

• He once said that he would choose Chris Brown, Usher, and Lucky Daye if he had to make a supergroup with 3 more people.