Turning Point (Mario 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."

Singles

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

Jason Birchmeier from AllMusic wrote, "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."

Baz Dreisinger from Blender said, "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."

The review from 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".

The review from Entertainment Weekly said that "POINT is plenty catchy", giving the album a B-.

Accolades

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

Commercial performance

Its first appearance was in the Billboard Albums Top 200, selling roughly 161,000 copies in the first week, debuting at number thirteen. It was later certified Platinum in the US, selling over 1.2 million copies. 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.

Track listing

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"

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.