''Dancing Shadows'' is the fifth studio album from American singer and songwriter
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 ...
, released on October 5, 2018.
The release of the album marks the first under the singer's own imprint New Citizen Music, in partnership with
EMPIRE Distribution
EMPIRE Distribution, Records and Publishing Inc. (marketed as EMPIRE) is an American distribution company and record label founded in by Ghazi Shami with offices in New York City, London, Nashville, and Atlanta. It has released albums in vario ...
. ''Dancing Shadows'' is the first project by the singer that features his own songwriting on every track.
The album serves as a follow-up to his fourth album ''
D.N.A.'' (2009) and his first studio effort in almost a decade. It was executive produced by Mario and English producer
Jake Gosling
Jake Gosling is an English music producer, songwriter, remixer, manager, and publisher best known for his work with artists such as Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga, The Libertines, James Bay, Shawn Mendes, All Time Low, One Direction, Major Lazer, Christ ...
, with additional producers
xSDTRK
Yonatan "xSDTRK" Ayal (born September 27, in Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or ...
, Daecolm, Pham, J Warner,
P2J
Richard Olowaranti Mbu Isong (born 11 July 1987), professionally known as P2J is a Nigerian-British producer from London, England. He is best known for his work with the likes of Beyoncé, Wizkid, Stormzy, FKA Twigs, Burna Boy, Tems, Doja Cat & ...
and Ryan McDermott.
The album's
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
, "Drowning" was released on July 20, 2018, along with the accompanying music video, while the second single, "Dancing Shadows" was released on September 14, 2018 and also includes an accompanying music video.
The album didn't make an impact on the US
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...
. To further promote the album, Mario appeared as an opening act for
B2K
B2K (Boys of the New Millennium) was an American boy band that was active from 1998 to 2004, and again from 2018 to 2019. In 1998, the group was formed by American dance choreographer Dave Scott and Interscope A&R Keshia Gamble. The members ...
on
The Millennium Tour
The Millennium Tour is a concert tour predominantly headlined by Omarion. When 2019 dates were announced they were promoted as B2K being the main headliner with Mario, Pretty Ricky, Lloyd, Bobby V, Ying Yang Twins and Chingy as an opening acts f ...
.
Background and development
In August 2011,
RCA Music Group
RCA Music Group was an umbrella group of labels distributed by Sony Music Entertainment that existed between March 2004 and 2009, and for a short period of time between July 2011 and October 2011 as all RCA Music Group labels were merged with RCA ...
announced it was disbanding
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 ...
along with
Arista Records
Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...
and
Jive Records
Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, an ...
. With the shutdown, Mario, and all other artists previously signed to these three labels, will release his future albums on the
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 ...
label.
During his appearance on BET's
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 ...
on July 10, 2013 to premiere, the video for "Somebody Else", Mario stated that he felt the album recorded with Rico Love did not feel part of his career plan and that he scrapped that album and went on to record his then-titled album ''Evolve'', which was set to be released on September 17, 2013. The album was not released, and Mario left RCA Records in 2015.
In mid-2015, Mario announced that he has reunited with
Scott Storch
Scott Spencer Storch (born December 16, 1973) is an American record producer and songwriter. He started off as a keyboardist for the group the Roots.
Early life
Storch was born on Long Island, New York. He was raised in South Florida and Phila ...
, who produced his 2004 hit "
Let Me Love You", on a new album, titled ''Never 2 Late'' for a song called "Enemy", that ended up being finished by
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 ...
and published on his acclaimed album ''
Heartbreak on a Full Moon
''Heartbreak on a Full Moon'' is the eighth studio album by American singer Chris Brown. The album is a double-disc, consisting of 45 tracks, and was released digitally on October 31, 2017, and onto CD three days later by RCA Records. Brown for t ...
''. The album was scheduled to be released on November 27, 2015, but was pushed to December 4, 2015, but the album was not released.
On May 6, 2016, Mario premiered and released the single "I Need More". On December 13, 2016, he released the single "Let Me Help You". On June 16, 2017, he released the single "Pain is the New Pleasure". A remixed version of "Let Me Help You" featuring
Jamaican recording artist
Konshens
Garfield Delano Spence (born 11 January 1985), also known as Konshens, is a Jamaican dancehall recording artist.
Biography
Garfield Delano Spence was born on 11 January 1985. Prior to his solo career, he was a member of the duo SoJah with his ...
was released on August 18, 2017.
In mid-2018, Mario spoke with the FunX radio station during the Oh My! Music Festival in June 2018, announcing that the album's final title was ''Dancing Shadows'' and would be released later in 2018 with a new single called "Drowning": "We changed the name of it. Making an album is like giving birth to something. You go through different names and different vibes."
Following the release of the second single, "Dancing Shadows", and its accompanying music video, the album's cover art, release date and tracklist were revealed.
Singles
"Drowning", was released on July 20, 2018, as the album's first
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
and was accompanied by its
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
. The song has peaked at number 30 on the US
Adult R&B Songs
The Adult R&B Songs chart (formerly called Adult R&B Airplay) is an airplay chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on urban adult contemporary radio stations, whose playl ...
chart and later peaked at number 28.
The title track "Dancing Shadows" was issued as the album's second single on September 14, 2018, alongside its music video.
"Care for You" was released alongside its music video on March 15, 2019, as the third single from the album. The music video was directed by Khufu Najee.
The music video for the track "Goes Like That" premiered on October 4, 2018. The remix version by GXNXVS was released on August 2, 2019.
Track listing
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes and
Tidal
Tidal is the adjectival form of tide.
Tidal may also refer to:
* ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple
* Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim
* TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music
* Tidal (servic ...
.
Notes
* signifies a co-producer
* signifies an additional producer
* "Good Times" originally didn’t feature credited vocals by
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray V ...
.
* "One Man Woman" features background vocals from Felicia Fury.
Charts
Release history
References
{{Authority control
2018 albums
Mario (American singer) albums
Albums produced by Jake Gosling
Empire Distribution albums