Turning Point (Mario album)

Turning Point is the second studio album by American recording artist Mario, released by J Records on December 7, 2004 in the United States. A R&B record with heavy elements of soul and hip hop music, it involves a diverse roster of collaborators including Scott Storch, Lil Jon, The Underdogs, Carvin & Ivan, and Sean Garrett. The album guests include Cassidy, Juvenile, Jadakiss, T.I. and Baby Cham.

Turning Point
Studio album by
Mario
ReleasedDecember 7, 2004
Recorded2003–04
Studio
GenreR&B[1]
Length49:18
Label
  • 3rd Street
  • J
Producer
Mario chronology
Mario
(2002)		 Turning Point
(2004)		 Go
(2007)
Singles from Turning Point
  1. "Let Me Love You"
    Released: November 16, 2004
  2. "How Could You"
    Released: March 15, 2005
  3. "Here I Go Again"
    Released: May 4, 2005
  4. "Boom"
    Released: October 3, 2005

The first single from the album was "Let Me Love You", which was written by Ne-Yo was a number one hit in the United States and number two in the United Kingdom, becoming Mario's biggest hit to date. The second single was a split single. In the US, "How Could You", a song written by Bay Area singer-songwriter J. Valentine, was released (reaching number 52) but in the UK, "Here I Go Again" was released (reaching number 11). The fourth and final single from the album in the US was "Boom", featuring Juvenile. In support of the album, Mario supported R&B trio Destiny's Child in their tour, Destiny Fulfilled ... And Lovin' It, as an opening act for the American leg. The album received two nominations at the 48th Grammy Awards including Best Contemporary R&B Album.

Concept and themes

In an interview with MTV, Mario explained, "One of the biggest reasons I wanted to do it is that I did want to stand out from everybody. I get to share it with the world... It's good for me. I been blessed to be in this situation. Everything's been going great. I just been pacing myself, working real hard on this album. That's what my life is about right now: my transition into manhood."

The interviewer from MTV said, "If you look at the production credits for the mid-tempo record, you may be surprised to discover that the song was produced by Scott Storch, who's been making noise with club bangers like "Baby Boy" and "Lean Back" the last couple of years."

Mario said, "He did a lot of stuff back in the day, you'd be surprised," Mario said of the producer's talents and versatility. "He played me some stuff he did for Erykah Badu, for Lauryn Hill, for Eminem and 50 Cent. When I went to Scott, we went in the studio and freestyled and came up with some great records."

The interviewer stated, "Storch also produced "Call the Cops" and the "Let Me Love You" remix with Jadakiss and T.I. Mario called on Lil Jon and Juvenile for "Boom."

Mario said, "It's a straight club banger... There's another record called 'How Could You.' I did that with the Underdogs. It's a ballad about me being in a relationship with some shorty. She was doing some things behind my back. I'm telling her, 'Yo, how can you teach somebody the ghetto Kama Sutra?' It's a timeless record, real strong and powerful. Then there's a record called 'Nikes Fresh Out the Box.' I'm talking about a girl, but I'm comparing her to my Nikes."[2]

Release and promotion

Singles
  • The first single, "Let Me Love You", was released on October 12, 2004. Produced by Scott Storch, it was a worldwide success, peaking at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks and #1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs for eleven consecutive weeks. In the UK, the single peaked at #2. It also peaked at #1 in New Zealand, Germany and the Netherlands, becoming his biggest hit to date.
  • "How Could You" was the second single, peaking at #52 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #14 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs. It was, however, a worldwide disappointment, only reaching #37 in Australia.
  • The third single, "Here I Go Again", failed to peak on the Billboard Hot 100 but reached #9 on the chart of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs. Worldwide the single was a success; it reached #11 in the UK, #15 in Australia and #16 in Ireland.
  • The fourth and final single, "Boom", was his lowest charting song to date, peaking only #23 at Rhythmic Top 40.

DualDisc edition

Due to the success of the album, it was repackaged and released in a DualDisc format on April 19, 2005 in the US. It includes the album in enhanced stereo, the music videos for "Let Me Love You" and "How Could You", sessions at AOL Special Live Performances of "Let Me Love You" and "How Could You", and a photo gallery.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Blender[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[4]
MTV Asia(7/10)[5]
The New York Times(positive)[6]
The Situation[7]
Uncut[8]
USA Today[9]
Vibe[10]
The Washington Times(positive)[11]

In his review from AllMusic, Jason Birchmeier wrote that "there's not much else on Turning Point that comes close to matching the balladic magic of "Let Me Love You" [...] Above all, though, it's "Let Me Love You" and its remix that make Turning Point a noteworthy effort for this teenager and a fine second album overall."[1] Jem Aswad from Entertainment Weekly said that Turning Point "is plenty catchy, but it’s also so full of sugar that the spoon stands up," giving the album a B-.[4] Virgin Media said that "the production is tight throughout the album but not overly polished, and there is enough edge maintained from start to finish to suggest that Mario may indeed buck a few R&B trends in the months to come."[12]

Baz Dreisinger from Blender felt that "though the Baltimore-born singer is newly legal (as he tells us on the too-terse club jam "18"), his enticingly even-toned voice—smooth as R. Kelly's—transcends teen-pop. It's even manly enough to convey lovelorn intensity ("Here I Go Again"), offer explicit "Directions" to an uncorrupted gal pal ("Trust me, I got skills"), then sweetly stage an "intimate talk" with her ("Like Me Real Hard"). Only his age-appropriate tracks—the singsong club jingle "Girl I Need", or the irony-free homage to "Nikes fresh out the box"—remind us that Mario is not a boy, but not yet a man."[3] USA Today critic Steve Jones found that "the material seems more what you'd expect from an 18-year-old [...] There are still a few lightweight ditties and songs that show he hasn't completely left his youth behind ("Nikes"), but he seems pointed in the right direction."[9]

Accolades

The album was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the Grammy Awards.[13]

Commercial performance

Turning Point's first appearance was in the US Billboard 200, selling roughly 161,000 copies in the first week, debuting at number thirteen. It was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), selling over 1.2 million copies.[14] The album's last appearance was week 37/2005 in the Belgium Albums Top 50. Its peak position was number 6, on the Dutch Albums Top 100; it stayed there for one week. Its highest entry was number 9 in the Dutch Albums Top 100.[15]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Turning Point.[16]

Turning Point – Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."18" (featuring Cassidy)
  • Neff-U
  • Garrett[a]
3:46
2."Let Me Love You"
4:09
3."Couldn't Say No"
  • Barrett
  • Feemster
  • Garrett
  • Neff-U
  • Garrett[a]
3:49
4."Boom" (featuring Juvenile)
4:06
5."How Could You"
The Underdogs3:56
6."Girl I Need" (featuring Baby Cham)
  • Harold Lilly
  • Derryck "Big Tank" Thornton
  • Robert Christianson
  • Robert Garrett
  • Marley Simms
  • Lilly
  • Big Tank
3:44
7."Call the Cops"
  • Storch
  • Waller
3:34
8."Here I Go Again"
  • Feemster
  • Jason Argsheben
  • Reginald Lewis
  • Aaron Sledge
  • Bryan Sledge
Neff-U3:21
9."Nikes Fresh Out the Box"
  • Lilly
  • Hume
4:31
10."Directions"
  • Lilly
  • Melvin Coleman
  • Lilly
  • Coleman
4:11
11."Like Me Real Hard"
  • Barias
  • Higgins
  • Bonner
  • Smith[a]
4:50
12."Shakedown"
  • Allen "Allstar" Gordon Jr.
  • Dwayne Huff
  • Xavier Cordova
Allstar3:33
13."Let Me Love You" (Remix featuring Jadakiss & T.I.)
  • Storch
  • Phillip "Taj" Jackson[a]
4:29
UK edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."Whiz"
3:42
15."Just a Friend 2002"
Campbell3:34
16."C'mon"
Campbell3:24
DualDisc bonus tracks
  1. "Entire Album in Enhanced Stereo"
  2. "Let Me Love You" & "How Could You" (music videos)
  3. "Sessions @ AOL Special Live Performances: Let Me Love You & How Could You
  4. "Photo Gallery"

Notes and sample credits

  • ^[a] signifies a vocal producer
  • "Girl I Need" contains a portion of the composition "Gimme a Break," written by Robert Christianson, Robert Garrett, and Marley Simms.
  • "Nikes Fresh Out the Box" contains a sample from "You Walk Your Way" and contains a portion of the composition "Shout," both performed by The Isley Brothers.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album’s Liner Notes[16] and AllMusic.[17]

  • Mario - vocals sung by (1-3, 6, 8, 10, 12-13, lead on 4-5, 7, 9, 11)
  • Kamel Abdo - recording engineer (1, 3, 9-10, vocals on 6), mixing (1)
  • Allstar - mixing (12)
  • June Ambrose - stylist
  • Johntá Austin - background vocals (4)
  • Marc Baptiste - photography
  • Jarvis “JRoc” Bonner - Keyboard (1-3, 4, 10-12)
  • Ivan "Orthodox" Barias - music programming, recording engineer (11)
  • Big Tank - music programming, instrumental recording engineer (6)
  • Warren Bletcher - assistant engineer (4, 10)
  • Joel Campbell - additional keyboards (12)
  • Chris Carmouche - recording engineer (4, 10), mixing (4)
  • Cassidy - rap vocals (1)
  • Cham - vocals sung by (6)
  • Eric Dawkins - background vocals (5)
  • Peter Edge - executive producer
  • Ron "Neff-U" Feemster - instruments played by (1, 3, additional on 8)
  • Steve Fisher - vocal recording engineer (13)
  • Delvida Flaherty - production coordination
  • John Frye - recording engineer, mixing (4)
  • Sean Garrett - vocal arrangement (1, 3)
  • Serban Ghenea - mixing (11)
  • Conrad Golding - recording engineer (2, 7, instrumental assistant on 13)
  • Reggie Hamlet - guitar, bass guitar (9)
  • John Hanes - recording engineer (11)
  • Jaymz Hardy-Martin III - assistant engineer, digital editing (6)
  • Dabling "Hobby Boy" Harward - music director, music editing, recording engineer (5)
  • Carvin "Ransum" Higgins - recording engineer (11)
  • Charles "CJ" Hilton Jr. - background vocals (9)
  • Bob "The Builder" Horn - guitar, bass guitar, recording engineer (8)
  • Kameron Houff - recording engineer (2, 7, instruments on 13), mixing (13)
  • Larry Jackson - A&R
  • Jadakiss - rap vocals (13)
  • LaMarquis Jefferson - bass played by (4)
  • Juvenile - rap vocals (4)
  • Chris LeBeau - artwork
  • Craig Love - guitar (4)
  • Kevin Mahoney - music assisted by (5)
  • Manny Marroquin - mixing (1-4, 6-10, 12)
  • Dwayne Moore - bass guitar (11)
  • Jamie Newman - assistant engineer (13)
  • Troy Patterson - a&r, executive producer
  • James "L-Roc" Phillips - keyboards (4)
  • Herb Powers - mastering
  • Angelo Qualia - recording engineer (12)
  • Tim Roberts - assistant engineer (11)
  • Darrell Robinson - drums (11)
  • Franky "Vegas" Romano - guitar, digital editing (11)
  • Dave "Natural Love" Russell - music editing, recording engineer, mixing (5)
  • James "Hal" Smith - background vocals (11)
  • Johnnie "Smurf" Smith - keyboards (11)
  • Frank "Mumbles" Sutton - recording engineer, tracking (11)
  • T.I. - rap vocals (13)
  • Mike Tyler - guitar (2, 13)
  • The Underdogs - instruments performed by (5)
  • Mike "Hitman" Wilson - vocal recording engineer (13)

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[37] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[38] Platinum 1,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history
List of regions, release dates, labels and formats
Region Date Label Format
United States December 7, 2004 J Records CD release, digital download
Japan[39] February 28, 2005 BMG Japan
United Kingdom[40] March 7, 2005 J Records
Australia[41] March 14, 2005 J Records
Germany[42] April 4, 2005 J Records
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References
  1. Allmusic review
  2. "Mario Sings About His Nikes And His Honeys On Turning Point".
  3. Blender review
  4. Aswad, Jem (December 24, 2004). "Turning Point Review". Entertainment Weekly: 71. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  5. "MTV Asia review". Archived from the original on August 31, 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-31.
  6. "Critic's Choice: New CD's". The New York Times. December 20, 2004.
  7. The Situation review Archived March 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Mario - Turning Point CD". cduniverse.com.
  9. "USATODAY.com - 'Speak': Lohan is heard". usatoday.com.
  10. "Vibe". google.com.
  11. "Mario Comes of Age on 'Turning Point' - HighBeam Business: Arrive Prepared". Archived from the original on September 15, 2012.
  12. "Mario – Turning Point Review". Archived from the original on October 11, 2007.
  13. "Mario grammy nominations". Rock on the Net. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
  14. "Billboard Bits: Sandy West, Mario, Thomas Dolby".
  15. "Mario – Turning Point – Music Charts". αCharts. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
  16. Mario. “Turning Point” (Album Notes). J Records. 2004.
  17. "Turning Point - Mario | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  18. "Australiancharts.com – Mario – Turning Point". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  19. "Austriancharts.at – Mario – Turning Point" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  20. "Ultratop.be – Mario – Turning Point" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  21. "Ultratop.be – Mario – Turning Point" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  22. "Danishcharts.dk – Mario – Turning Point". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Mario – Turning Point" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  24. "Lescharts.com – Mario – Turning Point". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  25. "Offiziellecharts.de – Mario – Turning Point" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  26. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Mario". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  27. "Italiancharts.com – Mario – Turning Point". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  28. "Charts.nz – Mario – Turning Point". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  29. "Swisscharts.com – Mario – Turning Point". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  30. "Mario | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  31. "Mario Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  32. "Mario Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  33. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2005". hitparade.ch. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  34. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2005". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  35. "Year-End Charts: Billboard 200 Albums - 2005". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  36. "2005 Year-End Chart – Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  37. "British album certifications – Mario – Turning Point". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 9, 2020. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Turning Point in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  38. "American album certifications – Mario – Turning Point". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 9, 2020. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  39. "bestprices.com". bestprices.com.
  40. "Music - Virgin Media".
  41. "SANITY Error Page". sanity.com.au.
  42. Sony Music Entertainment. "Musicbox MP3 Downloads". musicbox.de.
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