Mario's 'Turning Point' is released in stores today

NEW YORK (J Records) - J Records artist teen sensation Mario, whose self-titled debut album struck RIAA gold on the strength of its massive pop/R&B crossover hit single and video "Just A Friend 2002," releases his sophomore album, TURNING POINT, today.

TURNING POINT features the Scott Storch-produced hit single, "Let Me Love You," which moves from being last week's No 1 most-added record at Rhythm Radio to this week's No 1 most-added record at Top 40 radio. The pure emotional intensity of "Let Me Love You" has struck a chord with radio listeners since the single impacted only three weeks ago. On the Billboard Monitor, the song jumped from No 4 to No 2 this week. The video was filmed in Toronto and directed by star director X (Usher's "Yeah!") and is already in heavy rotation at BET.

It's been more than two years since the summertime 2002 release of MARIO, which featured contributions by multi-platinum star (and fellow J Records artist) Alicia Keys, and in that time the now 18-year-old Mario has grown up. Mario explains, "Any changes that have taken place between that album and this one have all been natural." TURNING POINT underscores that segue from boyhood to manhood.

On the new album, Mario has worked with the A-list of hip-hop and R&B hitmakers, starting with "Let Me Love You" and Scott Storch (Beyonce, 50 Cent, and most recently Terror Squad's "Lean Back"). "Boom" was produced by crunk-master Lil Jon (Usher's No 1 single "Yeah!" and Ciara's No 1 single "Goodies"). "How Could You" was produced by The Underdogs (Ruben Studdard and Tyrese). "Girl I Need" was produced by Harold Lilly (Alicia Keys, Luther Vandross and Monica).

One of the original first-generation artists on J Records, Mario was in his early teens when he made his premiere on the Dr. Doolittle 2 movie soundtrack album in 2001. After being introduced to the industry at Mr. Davis' Grammy week party in February 2002 (wowing the crowd with his version of Stevie Wonder's "You And I"), Mario soon completed his debut album, MARIO.

With plans to attend college, a role in the feature film Destination Fame, and hopes of more acting opportunities on the horizon, Mario's future is bright, as is his outlook. "I'm letting everybody know that I'm creative, controversial and not stuck on one thing," he says of TURNING POINT. "I'm ready to do it all."