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The R&B crooner opens up about the personal struggles behind the career
By Melinda Newman
Special to MSN Music
When Mario listens to the radio today, he says, "I don't get chills." To be sure, there are artists he feels are tremendously talented, but no one makes him feel like he does when he listens to legends like Luther Vandross or Marvin Gaye. "There aren't many singers out, especially in this generation of young crooners," he says.
Not only is he a singer, but Mario also is a rare song-and-dance man, as anyone who watched him waltz and fox-trot his way to third place on Season 6 of "Dancing With the Stars" knows. Throw in his acting chops, on display in movies like "Step Up" and "Freedom Writers" (he also auditioned recently for a role in "Little Fockers") and he's a triple threat.
Mario's fourth album, "D.N.A.," which seamlessly blends R&B, pop and soul, entered the Billboard 200 at No. 9, and its first single, "Break Up," soared to No. 2 on the R&B charts. Mario and Trey Songz are headlining the 106th & Park tour through November. The singer met with MSN Music following the BET/Live Nation tour's stop in Los Angeles.
MSN Music: Why is the album called "D.N.A.?"
Mario: I feel like sometimes my image is caught up in just music and not so much who I am as a person. With the title "D.N.A.," I'll be able to tell my story more. I never really told this story: When my mother was giving birth to me, they almost lost me a couple of times. They had to go through so many procedures to make sure while I was inside her, that my heart was still beating and that I was still alive.
You were a fighter.
That's what the doctor said: "There's something in his DNA." My mother would tell me this story, and I'd go, "Oh, wow." But now it has a deeper meaning to me than it did when I was younger.
Speaking of your mom, you appeared in "I Won't Love You to Death: The Story of Mario and His Mom," an MTV documentary about your mother's struggle with heroin addiction. Why did you make it?
I didn't feel it was just about my mother, I felt it was about both of us. I definitely felt like it would help people, but I also felt like it would bring my fans closer to me, show people that my life wasn't just about a hit record and that I was a human being and I go through things just like you do. I think everybody has had a family member or friend who has experienced substance abuse in some way or another.
Do people tell you it made them feel like they were less alone?
Oh, definitely. It made me feel like I was less alone. When I learned how many of my fans go through the same thing it was shocking to me. Would I do it again? No, because it was hard. It was tough being that open, you know, in front of the world. Even watching it back sometimes, I can't believe ... where did I get the strength to do that?
What's your relationship like with her now?
Really great. She's there for me in ways that she wasn't able to be before and vice versa.
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