Born on 27 August, 1986, in Baltimore, Maryland, his full name of Mario is Mario Dewar Barrett. He was one of the three sons born to his mother Shawn Hardaway. At the very young age of 4, he started singing as his mother urged him to. His relationship with his mother was a difficult one regardless the fact that her mother was his main inspiration for taking singing as his career. Mario was raised by his grandmother until she passed away when he was just 12 years old.

Mario, all the way through his childhood days, participated in many of the talent contests and he dreamt of becoming a star at the age of 11. He performed a Boys II Men Song in a local talent show and after that, Mario’s career took a real start. He signed his first record deal with his a manager Troy Patterson, who was more like a parent to him. After the three years of being in the industry, he came in the contact with Clive Davis, a renowned music executive. He also was the former President of Arista Records and was responsible for introducing talents like Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen and others. After hearing Mario, Davis got influenced by his talent and signed him soon after for his J. Records Label.

The first single of Mario released in the year 2002 with the name “Just a First” that was actually a remix of the 1989 of Biz Markie, and was a huge hit of the time. It came as a surprise when the song reached the fourth number of the billboard leaving behind the original single released. After this, Mario released his debut album in July the same years for which he gave the title himself and the album includes the singles “Put Me On”, “Braid My Hair” and “C’Mon”. The debut got to the number nine on the Billboard top 10. At merely the age of 15, he became famous and teenage girls went mad after him.

The next album of the singer appeared after the two years and was titled as “Turning Point”. The album, like the former one was mainly for her girls fan. He then released his 3rd album in the year 2007 which he dedicated to his mother and featured many renowned hip-hop producers like Timbaland and Akon. MTV also made a documentary movie that was based on his relationship with his mother. Apart from his albums and amazing songs, he also appeared in movies like “Step Up” in 2006, “Freedom Writers” in 2007 and “Destination Fame” in the year 2008.

Mario's success also helped him to gain the net worth of $14 million USD approximately and a huge fan following worldwide.