''D.N.A.'' is the fourth studio album by American R&B singer

Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...

. It was released first in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on October 12, 2009, by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

and the following day in the US with

J Records J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG’s record labels in late 2008. It was distributed through the RCA Music Gro ...

. On the album Mario has worked with some songwriters he already worked with, including

Bryan-Michael Cox Bryan-Michael Paul Cox (born December 1, 1977) is an American record producer and songwriter who is notable for his work with artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, and Toni Braxton. Among his most notable productions are "Be Wit ...

as well as new collaborators including

The-Dream Terius Youngdell Nash (born September 20, 1977), better known by his stage name The-Dream, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His co-writing credits include songs with "Me Against the Music" (2003) for Britney Spears, "Ride ...

Soundz Kenneth C. Coby (born August 1, 1983), better known as his stage name Soundz is an American record producer and rapper from Milwaukee, Wisconsin signed to US Records and EMI Publishing. He was born to Charles and Lolita Coby, both former singer ...

and

Jim Jonsin James Gregory Scheffer (born June 8, 1970), professionally known as Jim Jonsin, is an American record producer, songwriter, businessman and DJ from South Florida. Jonsin has collaborated with numerous artists, including Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, ...

amongst others. The album's lead single "

Break Up A relationship breakup, breakup, or break-up is the termination of a relationship. The act is commonly termed "dumping omeone in slang when it is initiated by one partner. The term is less likely to be applied to a married couple, where a bre ...

" features

Sean Garrett Garrett Robin Hamler, known professionally as Sean Garrett, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is responsible for a series of chart-topping compositions, most notably Usher's " Yeah!" which ranks second on the ''Billboa ...

and

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...

. It was released on April 28, 2009, in the US, peaking at number 2 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Chart and 14 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, becoming his most successful single in five years since " Let Me Love You". The second single, "

Thinkin' About You ''Thinkin' About You'' is the fifth studio album by American country music singer Trisha Yearwood. The album reached #3 on the ''Billboard'' country albums chart. This album produced back-to-back Number One hits for Yearwood on the ''Billboard'' ...

" was released on September 4, 2009.

Recording and production

At the end of 2007 Mario told ''

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

'' that he had already begun designing the concept for his new album and that production would begin in February 2008. Later in an interview he described this album as World music, an old school R&B influenced with a modern dance pop sound and calling this the "most personal, colossal album of his career".LIVESTEEZ: "Interview: Mario Bares It All"
December 18, 2009 In late 2008 a track titled "Emergency Room" leaked to the internet, credited to Mario and featuring Rihanna, and also played by various radio stations throughout the country. Initially people were quick to assume it was

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

on the track, as the studio vocalist

Priscilla Renea Priscilla Renea Hamilton (born September 14, 1988), known professionally as Muni Long (pronounced "money long"), is an American singer and songwriter. Under her birth name, her solo debut studio album, ''Jukebox'', was released through Capitol R ...

's voice resembled Rihanna's. The song is produced by

Also the song's title was especially controversial, because of the situation which

is with her boyfriend

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

, which

Vibe.com ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

has documented extensively. Of the song Mario said "This was a rough cut that I was working on and wanted to present it to Rihanna and her record label. Those aren't Rihanna's vocals on the song at all. The record was far from done. I'm still proud of the record but want to make sure that the truth is out there."

Concept and themes

Mario described the song "The Hardest Moment" which is set to be on his album as "Personal, because I say things in the record that have multiple meanings. Like the chorus says, "A man that ain't afraid to cry is a man that's not afraid to die." That to me, even though I'm talking about a relationship in the song, I'm talking about that point in a relationship where everything is over. It's like, you guys are cool, you guys are friends, but you're totally going separate ways. That's probably one of the hardest things a young man and young woman can go through in their relationship. And, so that's what I'm saying in that line. But it also means to me that a strong man is not afraid to be vulnerable, to cry and let it out. In a previous interview the song "Starlight" produced by

, Mario has explained the record: "the song is about going after a woman and describes it as dreamy and swaggerized". The album was originally scheduled to be released under the title ''And Then There Was Me''. But on January 10, 2009, Mario told Singersroom.com that the album title may change for his effort. When asked to explain what they original title meant he said "''And Then There Was Me'' is more than just me sayin' my music is fresh, but who I am as a person. That title for me is like, you've got the

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, '' I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, ''Trey Day'', ...

', the

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

s, and you've got the

s of the world—you've got all these new artists. This is my fourth album, and some of them aren't even on their third lbum��I'm coming back with something fresh and new. And then there's me, there's Mario." The album title has since changed to "D.N.A" to reflect the musical changes that Mario has gone through since his last album.

Release and promotion

Mario was initially unsure of when the album would be released. However, in an interview with Rap-Up.com, he was considering March or April 2009.Rap-Up: "Mario Eyes March Release.."
December 18, 2009 The release date was pushed back to June 2009.Bossip: "Studio News: Mario's ''And Then There Was Me''"
February 23, 2009 But then on Twitter he said "It's getting close "And Then There Was Me" late summer". Online retailers,

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later confirmed a September 22, 2009 release date for the project, which later changed again to October 13, 2009, by J Records and Mario's official website, for a United States release. It is Mario's second album to feature a ''Parental Advisory'' warning for strong language, the first being 2007's release of '' Go''. In early September 2009, Mario,

Day26 Day26 is an American male R&B music group formed in August 2007 by Sean "Diddy" Combs in a handpicked selection at the end of MTV's ''Making the Band 4.'' The group consists of Robert Curry, Brian Angel, Willie Taylor, Qwanell Mosley and Michael ...

and

announced on

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

that they will be all together on a tour with

RichGirl RichGirl was an American R&B vocal girl group consisting of four members: Audra Simmons, Christina "Brave" Williams, Kristal Lyndriette Smith (then known as Lyndriette and now known as Kristal, a member of June's Diary) and Amber Streeter (no ...

across the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

With 106 & Park supporting the tour."Yuup & R&B Lames on 106 - a Webcam & Vlog video"
September 4, 2009

Singles

" was the lead single of the album featuring

and

. It was written by Garret and Mario with production from

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. The song peaked at number 2 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart and reached a high of 14 on the main

. *"

" is the second single to be released on September 4, 2009. The song debuted on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, at number 96. The single was produced by The Runners and The Monarch and as of Mid-November 2009, had reached a new high of 45. *"Stranded" was sent to US Urban AC radio on November 23, 2009 In January 2010 the song entered on the ''Billboard''

peaking at number 84. *Mario recorded a music video in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. metropolitan area for the song "Ooh Baby" and was released on January 21, 2010.

Critical reception

Upon its release, ''D.N.A.'' received generally positive reviews from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 73/100 from

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. Ken Capobianco of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' called the album an "unfussy, beautifully sung set" in which "the 23-year-old Mario taps into the tenderness of early Maxwell", producing "straight-up love songs without histrionics...and Mario's singing so smooth that Stevie Wonder would approve." Andrew Rennie of ''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'' argues the album is "grown-up, seductive and a little bit explicit (when it needs to be)...it's a small triumph for guys trying to get in touch with their emotions through the medium of R&B." Mariel Concepcion of ''

'' magazine praised Mario's "representation of desolation" on ''D.N.A.'': "Mario has a broken heart and he's pouring it all out on his latest set." Glenn Gamboa of ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

'' concluded that Mario has now "mastered smooth R&B". Steve Jones of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' notes, "with each new album, Mario...has grown a little more adventurous artistically." ConcreteLoop.com gave D.N.A. a mostly positive review, stating the album "is refreshingly different in a sea of R&B that tends to sound a little monotonous." In summation of his album review, Nile Ivey of

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

said ''D.N.A.'' "kept a consistent setting giving the consumer the full on experience on what it's like for a man to endure a painful separation. Not to say Mario himself went through one, however, he did a hell of a job convincing us he did." Though the reviews were mostly positive, there were a few criticisms leveled at ''D.N.A.''. Andy Kellman of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

laments, "while it will please the majority of the fan base, the material does not allow Mario -- a vocalist more versatile than many would like to admit -- to do much more than toggle between a Lothario and a softie." Mikael Wood of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' called Mario "forgettable" in his mixed review of the album, arguing: "lack of personality doesn't kill the disc's ample pleasures. It just makes you wonder whose D.N.A. we're examining." DJBooth.Net was left believing that ''D.N.A.'' represents Mario "expanding as a musician, but not necessarily evolving."

Commercial performance

''D.N.A.'' debuted at number 9 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and number 2 on

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

chart selling 32,000 copies in its first week. Mario commented on the sales to ''Billboard''; "I can't say why I don't get my just due, but it only makes me hungrier," he says. "I want to continue challenging myself and making incredible music that will connect with fans around the world. I plan to keep creating a distinctive lane for myself. ''D.N.A.'', with the help of "Break Up," does just that.

Track listing

Notes * signifies additional producer * signifies co-producer Sample credits *"Before She Said Hi" features a portion of the composition "Bootleggin", as written by Dixon Wylie, Bobby Dan Pointer, Ronald Simmons and Simtic Simmons

Personnel

*Vocals: Mario & Rico Love *Background vocals: Mario & Rico Love *Engineers:

Paul Boutin Paul Boutin (born December 11, 1961 in Lewiston, Maine) is an American magazine writer and editor who writes about technology in a pop-culture context. Boutin, who began writing for ''Wired'' in 1997, wrote for ''The New York Times'' from 2003 ...

, Mikkel S. Eriksen,

Kuk Harrell Thaddis Laphonia "Kuk" Harrell ( ) is an American songwriter, vocal producer, arranger and engineer. He was a member of a songwriting–production team composed of himself, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and The-Dream, Terius "The-Dream" Nash. In ...

, Malay, Damien Lewis, Phil Margaziotis, Kevin Mayer, Carlos Oyanedelm, Miguel Pidero, Brian "B Luv" Thomas, Pat Thral, Miles Walker, Mike "Hitman" Wilson & James M. Wisner *Production engineer: Pat Thral *Musician: Los Da Mystro, Mikkel S. Eriksen & Tor Erik Hermansen (aka Stargate), Eric Hudson & Malay *Bass: Andre Bowman *Guitar: Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds *Strings: Lee Blaske, Ashanti Floyd & Kevin "Gripp" Griffin *Strings arrangements: Jeff Bova *Programming: Sean K. & Malay *Drum programming: Brent Kolato & Ken Lewis *Groomer: Julian Payne *Executive producer: Peter Edge, Robert P. Teamer, Sean Garrett & Mario *Mastering: David Kutch *Creative direction/design: Michelle Holme *Creative producer: Erwin Gorostiza & Robert P. Teamer *Photography: Florian Schneider *Styling: Sylvia Akuchie & Rhasika J. Thompson *Assistant: Kory Aaron, Ghazi Hourani, Edward Lidow, Giancarlo Lino, Erik Madrid, Christian Plata, Jay Henchman, Fareed Salamah, D.P. Samuels, Jason Sherwood & Mike Tsarsati *Production assistant: Christy Hall & Robert P. Teamer *Conductor: Los Da Mystro & Rico Love *Creative producer: Erwin Gorostiza & Robert P. Teamer *Vocal engineer: Kuk Harrell *Vocal producers: Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Kuk Harrell & Rico Love *Mixing: Vidal Davis, Vicent Dilorenzo, Jaycen Fowler, Robert Marks,

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work. Life and career M ...

, Dave Pensado, Phil Tam & Phil Tan *Digital editing: Jeff "Supa Jeff" Villanueva *Featuring vocals: Gucci Mane, Sean Garrett & Big Sean

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dna 2009 albums Albums produced by Bangladesh (record producer) Albums produced by Dre & Vidal Albums produced by Eric Hudson Albums produced by Jim Jonsin Albums produced by Rico Love Albums produced by the Runners Albums produced by Sean Garrett Albums produced by Stargate Albums produced by Tricky Stewart J Records albums Mario (American singer) albums Albums produced by Kuk Harrell