music.wikisort.org - Composition

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
Released	December 7, 2004
Recorded	2003–2004
Studio	Ameraycan Recording Studio, North Hollywood, California Heads Up Recording, New Jersey Home Cookin' Studios, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Quad Studios, Nashville, Tennessee Sony Studios, New York City Soundvilla Studios, Miami Beach, Florida Stankonia Recording, Atlanta, Georgia The Inferno Recording Studio, Los Angeles, California The Underlab, Los Angeles, California
Genre	R&B[1]
Length	49:18
Label	3rd Street J
Producer	Big Tank Carvin & Ivan Melvin Coleman Drama Family Entertainment Theron Feemster Sean Garrett Jarvis "JRoc" Bonner Allen "All Star" Gordon Lil Jon Harold Lilly Scott Storch The Underdogs
Mario chronology
Mario (2002) Turning Point (2004) Go (2007)
Singles from Turning Point
"Let Me Love You" Released: November 16, 2004 "How Could You" Released: March 15, 2005 "Here I Go Again" Released: May 4, 2005 "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
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Blender	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[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 48th Annual 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]

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]

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for Turning Point

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

References

External links

• Turning Point/Mario

He's a scam on tic tok

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