Mario announces first solo album in six years, ‘Glad You Came’

It’s been six years since Mario released Dancing Shadows, but he’s finally ready to drop another album. Glad You Came, executive produced by James Fauntleroy, is set for a Dec. 13 release.

“‘Glad You Came’ is an offering, not only an offering to my fans who have been very loyal and patient but to myself and the young 15 year old Mario who always vowed to stay true to what felt authentic,” Mario says in a press release.

A trailer for the album shows him as he picks up an old-school dial phone and calls a woman with whom he’s seemingly had relations. When the woman, in the comfort of her bathtub, answers the phone, Mario plays a snippet of a song, before saying, “Glad You Came.” The clip ends with her dropping the phone to the floor.

The phone in the video also makes an appearance in the trailer for Glad You Came, which finds Mario holding the base, with the handset cord around his neck. The album is now available for preorder.

“My successes and failures in the department of love and my imagination are what helped me to create this body of work,” Mario adds to Billboard. “I had the pleasure of creating alongside James Fauntleroy, who executive-produced this project and wrote multiple songs with me. We have the same mission in our hearts of helping to preserve the art form.”

“Being able to create new textures and ways to invite intimacy and imagination back into R&B, Glad You Came embodies the very essence of the quality of classic R&B and retro-futuristic sound that can be played in any space,” he continues. “There’s a level of vulnerability and confidence that permeates this serving.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.